The sun was setting on the first day of winter. Rivulets of golden light struck the great river as a northern wind blew down and ruffled the changing leaves of the trees that bordered the Rio Grande. Dagrún had sent her companions across the terras, searching for yearlings that wanted to get together for a little party and competition as a last hurrah to autumn. With her kestrel's help Dagrún started a large bonfire and laid out a number of ceramic bowls as well as wine and brandy she'd stolen from Álarr's cellar, as well as several bottles of ale she'd mugged off an unfortunate loner.  Once that was all done she settled down to wait for the party goer's to arrive. Her companions had delivered the place and time so she would rely on that. Dagrún didn't want to risk a howl to signal the start of the celebration, at least not yet. She didn't need any worrying adults sticking their nose into the yearlings' business.

OOC:  Ok, the party is officially started! Feel free to post here.  I'm going to go ahead and get the tournament fights/races going now since we have quite a few competitors. The pairings are listed below. I will create a visual roster at a later date.

The player on the left has 3 days from now to start a thread for their fights/races!  

** For fights remember these are without companions/weapons/armor to make things easier on the judges **

Please post the threads in the Rio Grande territory. Also remember in order to keep things moving along we'll be adhering to the 3 day default limit.


FIGHTING

1. Aoife vs Kaija

2. Aris vs Kuroki

3. Spark vs Katja

4. Carnage vs Legacy

5. Ardyn vs Ulfr

6. Fidelias vs Takeshi

7. Malachai vs Solo

8. Dagrun vs Bronze

9. Lukina vs Pontifex

10. Avantika vs Daphne

11. Kali vs Ophie

12. Askell vs Gossamer


RACES

1. Aris vs Gossamer

2. Suspense vs Bog

3. Legacy vs Fidelias

4. Dagrun vs Corbie

5. Ophelia vs Kuroki

6. Arne vs Modesty

7. Lukina vs Soul

8. Kali vs Ardyn

9. Spark vs Kaija

10. Askell vs Ulfr

11. Psalm vs Aoife

Ophie had never gone to a party before and hadn't even considered going till Kaija had brought it up. Sure, in theory it actually sounded pretty fun, but in practice?  Oh no no, what if Ophie made a scene? What if people stared at her? She'd worked herself up into a right state, fur standing on end as her veins thrummed along with her heartbeat. But now that she was actually here, brave enough to step out of her comfort zone it wasn't too bad. Not awful at least. The ambiance was laid back and chill, there were drinks and festivities and though it was early yet even she could see the makings of a good time. Being the not so little glutton she was, Ophie made a bee-line right for the drinks on offer. It wasn't as good as food but it would do, Ophie was here to have her fill! Unsure what to start with, Ophie looked to Kaija for her opinion. Maybe they could share! "What one should I try?" She hummed, wondering what the little scribbles on the bottles meant.

Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi

He’d recognized the companion that had come bearing news of a party, and so, he’d gathered those in Valhalla that had missed the message to let them know, and a day or two prior to the party, they set out. [Keeping vague so any yearlings from Valhalla can choose whether or not they came with him or went a little earlier or later.] He’d made his mother aware of the plans, both as a courtesy to his mother as an alpha and a parent, and a safeguard—if, by some horrible twist of events, this turned into something out of a scary story, or he and his fellow Valhallan Yearlings were attacked on the way there, whether by slavers or predators, he wanted his mother to have a general idea of where to look to bring help. He didn’t want a repeat of his grandmother and uncle’s disappearances. His mother was pleased by the chance for the young wolves of Valhalla to meet others their age from other packs, or loner life, so it wasn’t a matter of convincing her. If anything, she’d have booted them out to go have a little fun if he’d been hesitant. She wouldn’t hold them back from enjoying themselves as long as they were responsible enough to know their limits and to cause no trouble with other packs. The pouches bore a few clay bottles of alcohol, packed in rabbit pelts to protect them from the jarring of travel, as well as a few packages of dried meat, spices, and herbs for cooking. He wore a harness that his four large pouches could buckle to, though it wasn’t a harness he used often, but it had been made clear that this would be a party and a tourney like the one held by Ashen, where you fought on your own merits without weapons, armor, or companions to assist and protect you. Lyr came along, though. He’d sit out the fights but having him along meant being able to see problems in the road ahead on the way. The path to the site was relatively easy to find, and he led the way down the path, Legacy on his tail with her own pouches of goodies. They weren’t the first to arrive, and he set out the foods and drink, grinning aside at the bulky girl already perusing the selections, before making his way to Dagrún, grinning. He hadn’t seen the girl since they’d been pups, but that had been an eventful meeting, all things considered. “Hey, long time no see. How have you been?” His tone was cheerful, ears perking to see if she’d answer, though he wouldn’t push for one as he scanned the river, noting some places that might be great to pluck fish out of. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Laoise Adravendi

Lee followed behind Ardyn and Legacy at a lazy trot down the path that lead to the party, her bag of healing supplies bouncing softly on her side. She wasn't going to bring it at first but when Ardyn said there would be sparring matches, Lee decided to bring a few herbs for pain and some clay pots of salves for minor scraps and cuts that may happen. What better way for her to practice healing at a party that was bound to have a few knuckle heads showing off. But mainly she brought it just in case her brother happened to get a few cuts. A soft and amused smile danced on her russet lips at the thought. Soon the path opened up to reveal a few other yearlings setting out and or sampling the goodies spread out and Lee slowed her pace to a casual walk as her blue gaze scanned the party. She didn't recognize the other yearlings, though Ardyn seemed to have as he went up to a girl and greeted her. Lee followed suit and said in a friendly tone "Hi i'm Lee." her blue eyes flicking between the two other females before her eyes drifted to the various drinks and snacks. She had already ate before she came so she claimed a ceramic bowl of sweet smelling wine to sip on while she watched the competitions. "You're going to compete in a fight and a race, right Ardyn?" she asked her brother, her russet brows coming together slightly as she tried to remember what he said a few days ago. She reclined to her haunches and neatly tucked her charcoal tail at her side with her healing bag and her drink in front of her while they all waited for more party goers to arrive. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Legacy Ancora

Legacy had been rather excited to hear about the yearling gathering Ardyn was leading her to, and had packed her pouches with some of the supplies meant for festivities like this. Nomad mead and brandy, honeyed bison jerky, among a few other things. As they joined the small gathering, Legs left the offerings in the food area, giving her silver and black tail a friendly wag to the tall, well-padded yearling at the food arrangements and pointing out some of the spiced – read, spicy – jerky she’d made herself, murmuring, “That’s honeyed venison jerky with a kick, I tried adding pepper flakes to the seasoning process and it really cleared out the sinuses but you might not be able to taste anything through the heat. Milk helps cool it off, though. I’m Legacy Ancora, by the way; nice to meet you.” She flashed a bright grin as she stepped aside, picking out a few interesting tidbits before moving to a spot near the water, watching the slowly growing gathering with a contented smile. She didn’t plan on tasting much of the drink. She was content to watch the others enjoy. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Spark had been curious about the gathering that had been brought to her by the cougar. So it was no surprise to her when her paws brought her upon the still small gathering, her silvery eyes roving over the group. She wasn't sure who else had been present at the last tournament though she certainly recognized the big shimmering brute, a single impassive nod the only greeting she'd offer him for now. Her attention turning to the yearling who seemed to be in charge here, before turning her attention towards the blazing bonfire they'd prepared. Spark tapped out curiosity and anticipation, a sign for no one in particular but herself, even without having spent much time among her kin as of late she was reticent to let go of her culture and so kept her mask impassive and showed emotion only through a sign language no one else seemed to ever speak.

"Speech"

Image by Honrin

Wendigo was late to the party, but in his defense he had a good reason. There had been the most precious little fox he’d ever seen. So cute, so fluffy, so snowy white. He’d seen it and thought to himself ’oh yes, I have to wear it’. And so began a long chase. It had ended in what he considered a success for the both of them; he got a lovely fox coat and the fox got to be a lovely fox coat. Win/win.

He frisked onto the scene wearing the still raw and a little bloody fox pelt around his shoulders like a rich lady’s stole. Looking like its face had been freshly peeled off its skull and with its paws and tail still attached, it didn’t exactly look like it belonged in a sophisticated woman’s wardrobe. To boot, it also smelled strongly of fearful fox musk, but Wendigo was oblivious to its many flaws. He was in love with its plush fur and the downy softness made him so very happy.

The merry gremlin leaped to the drinks and began to riffle through the things on offer. He was indecisive; tempted first by one and then intrigued by another’s color, smell or container. On and on his perusing went; one was a bowl, one was a bottle, another was a lovely color. There were simply too many options. It was likely he would have remained in limbo had not the voice of a girl caught his attention. Wendigo turned to look at Ophelia and lit up. There was so much to take in! It was like the drinks all over again; his eyes didn’t know where to go. “Whoa,” he enthused. “You’re huge! Like the opposite of me.” He spoke no lie; she was tall and obese; he was short and borderline emaciated. “Nice! What’s the saying ‘more to love’?” Oh, drinks. That’s why he was here. Without considering the girls any further, Wendigo went back to rummaging through the drinks.