Shenzi had been out for a hunt, and she'd left Polly behind with Van Callis to watch over her. It was a long trek–one all the way to Rekes, with some hunters from another colony. "Don't worry," Van Callis gave a gleeful smile, "I know where we can still have some fun–and beat the loneliness." Although he was the far more shy type himself, heck, even the idea of big parties made him feel nervous, Shenzi had told him that Polly was an aspiring bard–so what could go wrong? "Really?" The green, parrot-like tar'kee pleaded with big eyes. "Really!" Van Callis answered, giving a triumphant nod. Neither of the two realized that they were being followed–by Akira and Sharkbait.
Just like that, off they were–trekking through the L'Hatzif jungle. Van Callis kept his path low to the forest floor, and traveled the well-trodden paths: Those where footprints that had left darker patches of moss, and the mushroom trees had been cleared out. Nearby, nukap grunted as they chewed on roots, and as the xiunari approached, they scattered off into the dark bushes. Polly smiled as a glowing butterfly landed on her nose, one of the small but beautiful native species.
"Shh!" Sharkbait gingerly warned the giant draconic tark'ee as a redwood twig broke underneath him. "Sssorry," he breathed, "What are they doing?" The two hadn't meant to be spies, they'd just heard Van Callis' proposition–and had wanted to come too! But they'd missed their chance to ask and now it felt like they were doing something… Wrong by tagging along. "Heading towards…" Sharkbait lifted a pair of binoculars to his eyes, focusing in on the belemoid and tark'ee travelers. "Lights?" Strung up in the middle of the jungle, blue and purple and orange orbs hanging from a string.
"Welcome…" Van Callis kept a strong face, even when his anxiety was picking up a little. "To the tribe of Na'reem!" Polly's eyes widened as their camp came into view–an all-out party! While a tsabhua beat on a set of mushroom drums, young xiunari fought by hitting each other with dustings of colored dyes, and their older relatives danced around a large, purple campfire. They wore brightly colored, floral necklaces. Polly had never seen such a momentous celebration in her life–she'd never needed anything more! "C'mon, let's go!" She called. "No no, that's really more for you–" Van Callis tried to argue, but Polly yanked him along with her.
"Where did they go?" Sharkbait peaked an eye on the dancing villagers, following the circle around the fire until he was certain that he didn't see a little green tark'ee there. "If only I could study the architecture from above, then I'd be able to see the…" Akira mumbled to himself as two saltwater tsabhua hurried up to his sides. They threw a sheet over him, fast as lightning, and the dancing stopped. The chieftain, a tsabhua wielding a feathered staff, gasped. "He is here!" He declared. All around the fire–a palette of colors and species–bowed in reverence.
"What's that?" Polly pulled Van Callis closer to the commotion, a stick in her paws of fried, colorful batter. She pulled one of the pieces into her mouth, savoring the sugar glazed icing and the soft, mochi filling. "It looks like…" The L'Hatzif native narrowed his eyes, focusing on the scene before them: What must have been a draconic tark'ee was covered with a costume of feathers and scales, the beady eyes of a dragon with flowing whiskers drawn on. A grey-and-blue belemoid–one he recognized–hurriedly tucked into a bow before the great beast. That's… Sharkbait, he realized, frowning. They'd been followed?
"A dragon!" Van Callis gulped, willing to hide the truth to entertain the pup further. The villagers each reached for their floral necklaces, strings beaded with colorful flowers, and formed a line. The chieftain started first, setting his feathery luau atop the dragon's head–it was too small to go around his neck. "Uh, the dragon–appreciates you!" Sharkbait gulped, trying his best to play along. "He blesses you with good… Digestion!" He told the next one. As Van Callis and Polly approached, he hid his face. "For you!" Polly tossed her small flower necklace up. Then she giggled and fed him the last dango.
"I know that's you, Akira! Just try to have some fun, and fit in with the party."
Sharkbait: 1 mentions
Polly: 3 mentions
Akira: 1 mentions
Sharkbait: 2 mentions
Polly: 2 mentions
Sharkbait: 1 mentions
Polly: 2 mentions
Akira: 1 mentions
Sharkbait: 2 mentions
Polly: 2 mentions
Akira: 1 mentions

Celebration Crashers!
Education Stage: Assistant
Prompt Used: Observe a festival or party within a nearby tribe.
Focus Colonist/s: Polly 2266, Akira 2292, Sharkbait 2231
Relevant Research: Research Plus
Experience Breakdown:
Akira, Polly, and Sharkbait
700 Words: 8
Environment: +2
Homeland: +1
Total: 12
Van Callis
Base: 3
Research Points Breakdown:
Base RP: 12 + 12 + 12 + 3 = 39
Research Plus: +39
Researcher: +5
Total: 83 RP
Colonists
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