The Dauntless

"Peppers, huh? Well I'm no stranger to fire, so I might just surprise you," She says, giving the children a wide grin. "Lay 'em on me."

Nketiah leans back. "I'm guessing her father wasn't the type to give you a choice. Still, it is very noble. Most Ekujae would have abandoned her, or more likely mercy killed her to avoid a slow death by starvation. We are not especially forgiving of things with dark natures."

The girl smiles broadly and chatters loudly in Ekujae, drawing the attention of many elves. She then takes the bundles from her friends and lays them out in a line in front of Suki. "Least hot," she says, pointing to a yellow pepper on Suki's left. "Most hot. Go!"

”Thank you,” Dorrak smiles at the compliment, resisting the urge to deny it. ”I believe that everyone carries some darkness in them, whether that be from their nature or trauma, and what makes the measure of someone is whether they succumb to it or rise above it.”

Intrigued, Suki takes one of the yellow peppers and pops it into her mouth. Around her the children each take a pepper of their own, doing likewise. Swallowing the pepper easily, Suki smirks. "So that's how we're playing this, huh?" She says, grabbing the second pepper. "Well let's go then," She finishes, popping the second pepper in her mouth. She downs it as easily as the first, though one of the children isn't so lucky, tapping out and going for drink to relieve the heat.

As the remaining competitors take their third peppers, Suki is initially shocked by just how hot they were getting. While she eventually chokes it down, the second child has had enough, and taps out much like their first friend.

Moving on to the fourth pepper, Suki is overwhelmed. As she fights the heat, she finds her composure slipping, cuing a round of laughter from the elves that gathered to watch the competition, though she's satisfied to see the last child is likewise struggling with this chile. As they both teeter on the edge of their endurance, Suki slams her fist into the table. By the Gods she would not be beaten by a pepper! Mustering her will, her eyes flash red for a fraction of a second as she forces the pepper, and her building bile, down. Across from her the last opponent, clearly not blessed by Fire Dragon blood, taps out.

Smirking, euphoric on the drug of victory, Suki takes up the hottest of the peppers, and tosses it back. After a moment's struggle, she swallows it, before collapsing backwards off her bench, one fist raised in victory. Lying on her back, she pants, somewhat surprised at the lack of actual flames coming from her mouth.

Nketiah gazes at Dorrak with a thoughtful look in her eyes, but lets the conversation lapse to companionable silence for a bit before excusing herself to go check on something.

The gathered elves applaud Suki's victory politely, though the fact that she only beat literal children and then only by a small margin makes it less impressive (although there's a smattering of murmurs from those who have tried these peppers before, and they are significantly more impressed). Once Suki fully recovers and sits up, the girl who speaks Taldane (who also lasted the longest out of the three of them, and is the oldest by several years though it's very difficult to tell with elves) nods respectfully and hands Suki a satchel. "You are tough," she says. "Mama makes this from our peppers for the healers. It could help."

A few seconds later, as Django and Antoinette begin to get comfortable, Nketiah returns in far less good of a mood than she was earlier. She drops onto the bench (next to Dorrak, naturally) in a huff. "My father is an idiot," she says before grabbing a hunk of bread and tearing off a bite.

Dorrak raises a single eyebrow. "How so?" he asks, having been rather impressed by Jahsi when they first met.

“See my father and his friend Akosa over there?” Nketiah gestures her staff toward where the two elves are speaking quietly to each other. “They’re both clueless. They have been friends since childhood and been in love for the past ten years, ever since my father helped Akosa recover from his time with the Aspis Consortium and Akosa helped my father recover from my mother’s death. And neither of them will do anything about it! They both have too many concerns invented in their own minds, and they both worry what my mother would think. I know precisely what my mother would think, she would also think they are both being clueless! I have let them dance around each other for years, but today I have decided that life is too short, even for elves. Maybe even especially for elves.” Nketiah seems pensive for a moment, before she shakes her head and scoffs slightly. “The elders here always say it isn’t our place to interfere in other people’s personal lives, but I am a half-elf, so fuck it! I'm going to turn this festive atmosphere into a romantic one and see if those two can catch a hint. Want to lend a hand?”

"Can't say I know anything about love, my upbringing didn't lend itself well to romance... but stuff like that has never stopped me before," Suki says, nursing a cup of water and still pointedly breathing through her mouth. "So count me in."

Antoinette rolls her eyes and seems a bit annoyed at the interruption to her moment with Django. "It is not wise to play matchmaker. Often in trying to force the hand of those who are reluctant you end up pushing them further apart."

"Which is why I won't be forcing their hands directly," Nketiah says. "That's kind of why I was hoping you would help me, this is a conversation Ba and I have had more than once and he would be suspicious of anything I tried myself, but if someone else were to point something innocuous out or set a little mood lighting or something of the sort, well, that's probably just coincidence."

”As long as it’s just a subtle nudge like that, I could help,” Dorrak agrees. ”I’m reluctant to do more than that with something so personal.”

”I’m all for it myself,” Django says with a big grin. ”Life’s short, let’s get these wacky, centuries-old kids together.”

While the others debate the ethical and effectiveness concerns of such an operation, Suki, who after all had already agreed to help, scans the feast. Once Dorrak and Django have signed on at least, she leans forward. "Well as I mentioned, I don't know much of love. I did notice growing up that the... others... tended to get frisky at parties like this one though, usually after raids. Maybe we can work the party to our purposes." Casting a glance across the party she notes the group of musicians playing for the crowd. "Say, Nketiah, you wouldn't happen to know if any of those musicians speak Taldane?"

Nketiah glances at them. "I don't think so, but I can translate for you."

"Can you get them to play something lively, lot of percussion, maybe some strings if you've got 'em?" Django asks with a big grin.

Suki nods. "You do that, I'll go see if I can't adjust the lighting around here a bit. Dimmer lighting is supposed to be romantic, isn't it?"

Django and Nketiah go to the band and request a change in music. One of them looks at the two of you, then glances at Dorrak, grins, and opens a case behind him, pulling out, of all things, a saxophone. "Got it from an Avistani trader I escorted out of our lands," he explains through Nketiah's translation, before he leads the others in a song that can only be described, though the phrase does not yet exist in this world, as smooth jazz.

Meanwhile, Suki puts together an impressive display of candles, adjusts the torchlight, and even enlists some of the children in catching fireflies for her, resulting in an incredibly romantic atmosphere. With the mood set and their respective feelings pointed out, the romantic tension between Jahsi and Akosa is now very visible, as the two awkwardly shuffle even as elven couples pair off to dance with one another.

For someone who was completely unflappable staring down a barghest, Dorrak seems uncharacteristically nervous when asking Nketiah once her and Django come back. "Nketiah, would you like to dance with me and nudge your father and Akosa to do so as well?" Dorrak asks.

Nketiah's skin flushes, barely visible between beneath her white face paint as she nods and takes Dorrak's hand. The two dance slowly to the rhythm of the music, Dorrak learning the steps as he goes but picking them up quickly. As the two dance, Nketiah is largely silent for the first time all day, but at one point when her father is looking in your direction she subtly nods in Akosa's. Jahsi's expression turns from amused to slightly annoyed, but when he looks at Akosa, it softens again. He seems to ponder for a moment, lets out a sigh, and approaches Akosa. The other man is startled, but they begin dancing with each other, and as soon as the song is done, they both leave the party together.

Dorrak himself is silent as well during the dance, laser focused on making sure he doesn't mess this up and frankly too flustered to say anything either, though he does smile when Jahsi and Akosa dance together, and finds himself holding Nketiah's gaze as they dance. As the song comes to an end and Jahsi and Akosa leave, he lets out a deep breath, "That worked out well," he comments, before adding, "And I... enjoyed that as well."

Nketiah smiles. "Yes, me too... say, would you-"

Before Nketiah can finish her statement, the music comes to a smooth but fast stop, then instantly picks up the pace, saxaphone vanishing. The rhythm of the drums echoes through the night, and every Ekujae turns in the direction of the center of Akrivel, quickly dropping to their knees when they see a palanquin fast approaching. Nketiah gives a small, sharp gasp and grabs Dorrak by the hand, leading him to the rest of the group. The palanquin carries two chairs on it, not much larger than an average table chair, and seated in each is a young Ekujae woman, their appearances differing only in their clothes-one wearing a green patterned dress and copper jewelry studded with uncut gems and the other in a dark blue tunic and pants, copper bracers, and a number of copper amulets wrapped in green cloth. As it grows closer at the crowd of elves all kneels, it becomes evident that the palanquin doesn't seem to be held aloft by anything as it approaches, though it moves as though there were someone beneath it. When it reaches where the party stand.

"You are the ones called the Dauntless." The one in the tunic says. It isn't a question.

"We are Ose Panin-" says the one in the dress.

"And Ose Atsu, of the Leopard Clan." the one in the tunic finishes.

"Our mother was of the Heart Clan," Ose Panin adds, almost as an afterthought.

With a deep, respectful bow, Django replies, more confidently than he had on meeting Jahsi, "It is an honor, your majesties. I'm Django Lovell, of the Dauntless. My mother was Alindra of Kyonin."

Dorrak follows the Ekujai's lead and takes a knee, bowing his head. "Dorrak, son of Hakdar and Kessa, at your service."

"Suki of the Red Scales. I... don't know my mother," Suki says awkwardly, likewise dropping to a knee.

Likewise, Antoinette follows the Ekujae's method of respect and takes a knee with bowed head. "Antoinette, daughter of House Valois of Galt."