Unicorns of the Vale

Kahain and Starstrider had worked most of the night to get everything set up just right. She couldn't help the proud smile as she turned to survey the scene. Iris had joined in weeks ago to help grow all of the plants needed to make a garden in the middle of the plains.

Set atop one of the gentle sloping hills is a wicker archway that is trained with roses of all colors, growing up and through the arch. It is a riot of reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, and purples that announces to the world the location of the party. The smell of roses drifts through the whole garden, and out into the plains, carried by a light breeze.

That is only the beginning. The path that Starstrider had set out the night before with stepping stones starts several feet before the archway and then wanders in and around the gardens. There are bright colored flowers growing everywhere, even in the late part of winter, and the path branches and forks through them. A short hedge grows along the outside to mark the boundary of the garden and party area. There are benches to sit on that offer a view of the whole area. Along the path are poles with lights set up to automatically turn on once the sun goes down. Roses grow around the poles and there are several pink, red, and a couple of blue and green hearts taped on to the poles as well.

The path opens up to a pavilion once it finishes its leisurely wandering through the gardens at the entrance. To one side is a pile of empty shoe boxes, as well as other boxes of various shapes and sizes. There are tables set up with ribbons, cardboard paper, crayons, markers, etc. Anything that could be used to decorate the boxes, or make Valentines Day cards can be found on those tables. There is even a table covered with candy hearts, and chocolates, and other home made little treats (all in little baggies or wrapped in plastic). On a placard in between the tables and the boxes are a set of handwritten instructions. It reads (in Starstrider's more easily read handwritting):

Welcome! Here you can make Valentines Day Cards, and decorate boxes to hold them. Let your inner artist run wild! Please save the treats for those you are giving the cards too, if you feel the inner munchies coming on or a sudden urge for sweets there are tables with candy galore (in larger sizes) just further on the path.

The path wanders from there, on to a grass field perfect for dancing or sitting on. There are tables filled with Kahain's homemade punch, and chocolate, and candy galore. There are chocolate and peanut butter brownies, and even a batch of chocolate covered rice crispie treats. In the center of one table is a chocolate fountain with fruit piled around it. A few pretzels and other salty snacks are interspersed for those without much of a sweet tooth. Starstrider laid out the cups and plates and napkins that Kahain had forgotten in her zeal for the sweets. There are a couple of blankets laid to the side in case anyone wants something to sit on.

There are several instruments laying to one side courtesy of Starstrider, in case anyone feels like starting an impromptu band, or serenading a special someone. Speakers are set up around the perimeter cleverly disguised as rocks, and there is a cd player hidden away off to one side.

The whole thing is set up and ready waiting for the people to wander in and join the Valentines Day celebration!

- Kahain

Razi was wandering by when suddenly her nose filled with the scent of fresh flowers. Entranced she followed it to the beautiful garden path. She wondered what it was for, but upon further investigation she noted the Valentine’s Day theme. She suddenly remembered hearing about a Valentine’s Day party, how foolish of her to forget! She wandered down the path and noted the card table. At first she nearly passed it by the crafts, who would she give one to anyway? However, a slight blush grew on her cheek as she remembered her new friend, Balios. She turned around and quickly, yet carefully, made him a card. The design was simple and the message wasn't long, but it said all she needed to say. Smiling she continued down the path to where the food was, scanning the crowd of faces for him.

~Razi

Nuria stood outside of the garden. She didn't feel like going in. What point was there? She hated all this lovey dovey stuff. It reminded her too much of everything she wanted. Giving an exasperated sigh she started down the path. She was here wasn't she? Might as well try to have fun. She made her way through the roses and flowers, getting annoyed when a red rose got caught in her mane. Try as she might she couldn't loosen it but instead she had to cut it and continue on down the path. She eventually found some water in which she was able to see her reflection and to her surprise found the rose rather pretty in her mane, just below her ear. Smiling as if it had been planned she sauntered on, maybe this could be used to her advantage. Happy Valentine's Day.

~Nuria

Makan snorted. A whole day devoted to love. Jeez. If they wanted a holiday like that why call it something lame like Valentines? Why not “Makan Day”? He smiled smugly. That was the right name for it. He walked down the garden path, strutting and trying to look dashing. He passed the cards without a second glance and continued on to the food. He grabbed a cup of punch and looked around.

So… who wants to be my valentine today…

He spotted a pretty purple mare a little ways a way, put on his best smile, and headed over to introduce himself.

~Makan

Kokopelli breathed deeply of the roses. Nothing better than Valentine’s Day! A day of love. He smiled at that. Apollos snorted and stepped on his brother’s foot, guessing what he was thinking.

“Behave yourself. This is a party. I’m not bailing you out if you need it” He warned.

“Relax,” replied Pelli, “I got this under control. And you know I’m by far better in a fight than you. All you can do is heal me afterwards.”

With that Kokopelli pushed past his brother and into the unicorns at the party, scanning the crowd for a mare worthy of his attention. Apollos rolled his eyes and followed his brother, grumbling something about no respect for healers and elder brothers.

~Kokopelli and Apollos

The strong smell of flowers wafted into Pan's nostrils as he walked through the mass of colours. He sneezed, and looked about him curiously. He had never celebrated Valentine's Day before. Of course he knew about it, but it had never seemed like a big deal to him. It still didn't really, but the garden was so festive that he figured it wouldn't hurt to check out the party. He passed several unicorns along his way, and glanced briefly at the decoration table. It occured to him that he really had nothing to say to anyone, as per usual, so he kept on down the path. When he reached the pasture he smiled, spotting the food table. Food was always a good way to stay occupied without looking akward. Upon reaching the large variety of food he grabbed a plate and started piling sweets onto it. Once he had a good amount, he moved and sat down in the grass, crossing his legs and nibbling on a rice krispie treat as he scanned the growing crowd. He noticed one young stallion, a light, greyish blue, who seemed close to his age. He pondered going and striking up a conversation, but then it became apparent that he was searching for a mare. Pan smirked at his own lack of confidence and kept looking.

-Pan

Castor grimaced as he stood in front of the rosy entrance to the garden. Valentine's Day, eh? He had never liked the holiday. Mare's were always really needy on Valentine's Day, which is why he'd always made sure to be single on this day. He rubbed the back of his ears for a second, before sighing and walking forward. Oh, well. Maybe, since it's a party, a mare would be willing just to dance and flirt with him, and wouldn't require all the pleasantries. With renewed confidence at the thought, Castor smiled and passed under the arch. He walked quickly through the garden, not paying attention to the flowers, but instead scanning in front of him for a pretty mare or two. As he rounded a bend a red figure appeared on the path in front of him. Recognizing the mare, Castor trotted forward, walking up behind her. "Well, look who we have here," he said, touching her on the shoulder. He gave her a friendly smile, noticing the rose in her mane. It goes well with her red coat, he thought. "Hm. That rose fits you," he nodded towards the flower, but then forgot about it and walked alongside Ria. She was definitely the only mare here who he wouldn't think of as just another fun time. "This doesn't seem like your kind of place. Never thought of you as much of the lovey-dovey type. You made sure I knew you weren't." As he talked he never stopped scanning the other unicorns they passed.

-Castor

Orka walked slowly through the garden, peering at the flowers around him. The concept was new to him. He'd heard of Valentine's Day once or twice before, but he hadn't actually understood it. A whole day just to celebrate the one you love? Just the thought made him blush furiously. The word love didn't come to him now without thinking of Briar. He imagined her, and wondered about how beautiful she'd look among all the roses. The teal stallion, shakey and nervous from thinking about Briar, accidently bumped into one of the rose bushes he was passing. Frowning and pulling himself back to the middle of the path he rubbed the back of his arm, where a thorn had pricked him. A nearby unicorn stared at him, and he ducked his head and hurried forward. When he reached the table that held the hearts and candy he stared at it, wondering what it was for. He tried to peek at what someone was writing, trying to figure out what the point of this was. the unicorn caught his look and turned to where he couldn't see. Sighing in agitation he finally noticed the sign with Starstrider's writing. He cocked his head to the side and read it. When he was finished, he smiled, as if he knew a secret. Grabbing a heart shaped card, he stood still for a moment, before he slowly started writing. Briar, I do not know what to put here. I don't know how you feel, and I don't know what's customary to put on these things, but I would like you to know that I'd follow you to the end of the world. I would fight a million wyrms for you, or even swim the across the Summer Sea if you were on the other side. You make me feel happier than I've ever felt, and I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am for that. He wanted to write more, felt like he had more to say, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Grabbing a few of the candies, he stuffed them in his pocket, and started walking back up the path. He figured there was some way to give the Valentine to the person using the boxes, but he figured that if he was going to make one he might as well hand it to Briar himself. Stopping at a bush, he stared at it, before carefully breaking off two beautiful roses; one red, one white. With these he went and stood back at the entrance, nervously staring down at the Valentine, hoping Briar would show up.

-Orka

Nuria started as a hand touched her shoulder but she quickly checked herself as Castor spoke. She laughed at his observation about her rose, she thought it looked good. But it made her want to laugh harder as she noted him scanning the crowd. Always looking for a mare, she thought, chuckling.

"You aren't really the type to be here either, Castor. Though I guess a love party makes picking up a mare easier. I just happened to be here for the company. I thought I might as well drop in, say hi to acquaintances, eat some free food, and then leave."

She pushed his shoulder and winked playfully as she nodded over to the dance floor.

"Most of the mares are over listening to the music. I'd search there first. Can you dance?"

Her purple eyes sparkled as she watched him, hoping he was paying enough attention to at least answer her. And if not that would be all right. He would just be without her advice.

~Nuria

[[OOC: I guess this is like the other "party" and the Unis have hands, clothes and such..I hope it is because I wrote it as such - if not I guess I have to do some editing ]]


Balios was nervous, of reasons he wasn’t really sure of. Would Razi be at the party? He liked to be on time, in fact most of the times he was early when a time for meeting was set. He preferred to wait on the location than be late. He had tried to dress up for the occasion. Casual but still not the everyday type of clothes. Not that he was vain but he wasn’t “that” bad. The CD in his hand felt like a burning piece of coal. He had wrapped it up in pink paper with tiny red hearts and topped it off with a small stuffed teddy bear holding a small heart. Recently he had bought a computer program made for music lovers like him. He had plugged in the microphone and his keyboard to his computer and then the time had just flown by. Several hours later he had made his very own music CD with songs written by him. It was several types of music on the disc and even some traditional ballads. But he didn’t really plan on sending it somewhere, no, there was only one person that would get this disc. Razi. He smiled when he thought of her. Balios he liked her a lot but wasn’t sure it could be counted as “love” yet. They just met some time ago and was just started to get to know each other better. He wasn’t sure about her feelings for him either. He hoped that his blunder earlier wouldn’t count against him. Maybe this little gift would make her happy, at least he hoped so. As he walked up he saw her standing at a table filled with craft material. He swallowed hard. Breathe, he thought to himself, it’s not like you don’t know her. He walked up to her and spoke, “Hey there pretty lady”

-Balios

The spotted mare walked along the street with confidence. Valentines Day was for softies but her sister had asked her to come to this party. Fine, she had to cancel a few things but what won’t you do for your sister. Then something had come up and now Mai wasn’t sure if her sister would show up or not. So convenient. Hopefully there would be a stallion there that would make the evening amusing. Not that she was out to get a mate or something. Nah, she just wanted to have fun! Some whistles and rude comments from some half-grown colts playing basket on the street made her grin. The short white dress with a polo-neck showed every curve of her body, and instead of a low-cut neckline it had a “keyhole” in shape of a heart. When she turned around one could see her back since the dress had a similar “keyhole” there, only larger where the point of the heart ending just above her rump. Her handbag had the shape of a heart to make the outfit complete, it was covered in red spangles. After several more comments as she passed she couldn’t take it any more, if her sister had been here then maybe she could have remained calm. She turned slowly towards them, eyeing every one of them and let them look at her. Then she answered the one that seemed to be the leader of the group. He was also the one that droped the final comment that made her loose her cool. “So...you like what you see?” she said with a seductive tone in her voice. Mai stepped up close to him and let her golden eyes hold his in a iron grip. She stroke his cheek and felt him tremble. She smiled to herself, he certainly didn’t expect this. It only made it more fun. She stepped even closer like if she would give him a kiss, instead she whispered in his ear. “Try not to let your mind wander colt...It is too small and fragile to be out by itself”. She heard some gasps from the others as she walked off. Silly little boys she thought. She knew that her clothing maybe wasn’t that suitable for a valentine’s party in case it would be foals there but it was the stuff she liked to wear. If you got it show it. She just walked just past the crafts table where a mare and a small stallion stood. She didn’t know them. There weren’t so many guests there yet but there were two stallions standing together that looked somewhat interesting.

-Mai

Illuminati walked in shyly, tripping over her own hooves. She blushed a deep scarlet and picked herself up. Her silvery mane fell over her eyes as she looked at the stallions. She sighed and sat down. No one will talk to me.. she thought, I'm not pretty enough. Her violet eyes sparkled as she looked at all the cards. She stood up and walked over to the refreshment table. She sipped a strawberry into the chocolate fountain. Eating it slowly, savoring the sweet taste she looked around, if only a stallion looked at me..... She sat down on a bench, sniffing the delicate smell of roses.

Balios smile got wide as he read the card Razi handed over. Her handwriting was as nice as the person that wrote the card. His own writing was terrible, that’s why he preferred his trusty computer. As he opened the card and read the poem inside he felt himself blush slightly.

“Thank you Razi I wish you the same” He leaned over to give her a quick hug. He took a little sniff as he hugged her, her perfyme smelled nice. After the hug he looked down again at the card she had given him. “This is so beautiful! Thank you so much!” He looked up and his green eyes sparkled as he looked at her.

“You should be a laysongwriter! And speaking of lays, I do have something for you” He handed over the gift he had hid behind his back. “Im sorry that I don’t have a card, I don’t write so nice as you do”

-Balios

Castor playfully shoved Ria back, having barely been moved by her own push. But he listened and followed her gesture, sure enough spotting a group of giggling mares. A smug smile caught upon his face, but it dropped as he lifted a hoof to go towards them.

Dance? He turned back towards his friend, giving a smaller, more nervous laugh. "Um... let's just say I'm not great at it." Of course he would if he had to, and he wasn't that bad... there was just something about dancing that had never appealed to him. "Maybe..." he hated to say it, and grimaced down at Ria, "maybe I'll look somewhere else first." Turning away from the floor he spotted a golden mare speckled with black dots, wearing the most stunning outfit. His mouth flew open, and he almost babbled to himself before remembering Ria's presence. They had called a truce as friends, but he still wasn't willing to look extremely stupid in front of her. "Um..." he mumbled, glancing at Ria, "Hope you don't mind, but I think I'm going to have to excuse myself for a moment." He started away, but regaining himself, turned. "And why not stay a bit longer than you plan. Have some fun." With that he flashed a grin and started towards Mai.

Noticing she was in turn heading for some stallion, he picked up his pace. Straightening the collar of his shirt, he cleared his throat and approached her, cutting her off from the other two stallions. "Why hello there," he said in his deepest voice. "I don't believe I know you, though I think I should. My name's Castor." He smiled handsomely at her, wondering if she had the attitude to match her outfit.

-Castor

Illuminati stood up and walked to the dessert table. She dipped some pretzels in chocolate and munched them. Her lilac eyes scanned the area, hoping that someone would talk to her. Her silver hair flowed in the wind, and her golden dress billowed around her slim form. She sighed, and a crystal tear slid down her cheek. She sang softly to herself in her silvery voice.

Pan sat in the grass, quickly making his way through the pile of sweets on his plate as he watched all the others around him. Swallowing the last bite of a cookie he reached down to his plate, only to bring his hand back up empty. He looked down. Drat. Out of food. He hadn't realized how hungry he was, so with nothing better to do he headed over to the food table. After grabbing a few strawberries he turned for some pretzels, but saw a mare standing there. She didn't seem yet like a full-grown mare, but he could tell that she was a little bit older than him.

Waiting patiently for her to move, he started in surprise to see a tear roll down her cheek. Looking away awkwardly he pretended to search the table for something else. Seeing that no one else seemed to be approaching the mare, he nervously sidled over. It wasn't usually in his nature to start a conversation, but he felt bad for the cream-coloured mare.

"Um, excuse me, ma'am," he said in his small, barely half-grown voice. "It's just, I was standing here looking for something else to eat, and I couldn't help but overhear your singing. It's really nice." He tried to smile up at her, but it came out small and weak due to his shyness. "Is there no one here that you know?"

-Pan

Illuminati looked at him and smiled, her violet eyes sparkling. "Thank you.. No I don't know anyone." She sighed, "I'm Illuminati. Who are you?"

“You might have guessed what it is, I can’t really draw or write, only sing and I just found this really cool computer program that lets you…” He stopped midsentence and stroke some golden locks away from his face. His hair constantly fell forward and at times it was very annoying. “I’m sorry, I won’t bore you with the computer stuff, anyway, I did record a few lays and added some music from my keyboard. From now on I won’t have to book a studio to do it.”

He nodded at her question. “Yeah, sure, guess you have to teach me some new moves. Hope they have something to eat, I’m starving!”

As they spoke he noticed a rather dressed up mare pass by. Surely she did have a nice curve and a nice bounce but he didn’t recognize her as anyone he knew and he looked back at Razi. “Oh, I almost forgot” In a small plastic bag he took out a small red rose. Its stem wasn’t long and all the thorns were taken off. The stallion bent forward as to place it in her hair. “May I?” he asked before attaching it. “A rose for a rose?”

-Balios


Mai looked up. She hadnt seen him coming. The stallion in front of her had a nice voice and was really nice looking. The spotted mare looked up at him and met his eyes under thick lashes. He was nicely dressed too, always a plus, and you could tell that he either worked out of did something that ment pysical work because his body looked good. This could be fun, she thought to herself and gave him a inviting smile. Tal wasn’t here to stop her play. “Well hello there handsome, my name is Mai” she answerd, her voice low and sensually raspy. She let her tounge moistorise her lips, and played with a string of her hair before she spoke again. She smirked. “So apart from being sexy, what do you do for a living?”

- Mai

((OOC: Oh my---I would never dare act like Mai so I take my chance to "act it out" with her )

Dancing wasn’t really his thing. It seemed like someone had provided him with two left feet but at least he didn’t mind trying. It was supposed to be fun and he didn’t mind to make people laugh. He knew he didn’t have the same feeling for rhythm when it came to dancing as he had when it came to singing. But most of all, if Razi would dance then he wouldn’t leave her side! The music was good though. As he spotted the cleverly hidden CD player he thought he saw something that looked like a karaoke machine. He hoped that it was. He was very hungry so he escorted the mare to the tables with food and sweets as well as handing her a plate.
“Looks good, doesn’t it? Kahain and Starstrider did a mighty fine job. I have actually never met them. Do you see if they are here? Feel I should thank them for sending the invitation.”

-Balios

Razi followed Balios as he led her over to the food table. She took in the spread with wide eyes. There were all sorts of goodies and as Balios handed her a plate she was all ready trying to figure out what she should eat. She nodded at his remark that they should thank whoever put this on. Kahain and Starstrider? She had never met them. Whoever they were she would make sure to thank them profusely if she met them. She started putting some fruit on her plate along with some holiday cookies when she noted the blue and green paint mare beside her. She smiled warmly at her. Then flicked her ear as she noted the stallion singing and playing at the microphone. She turned to look at him and had a sudden idea.

"Balios, why don't you sing? I'm sure everyone would love to hear you! I know I would."

She smiled at him encouragingly. She was sure everyone would enjoy his music. She wanted to hear more of his songs. Maybe he would sing one from her CD.

~Razi

Illuminati's answer surprised Pan. He was sure she'd know someone at least. Even he knew Kahain and starstrider, who had set up the party. Thinking of them, he glanced over to find starstrider happening to walk by. He waved back, and turned to look at Illuminati again. "Oh, you may call me Pan. It's nice to meet you."

The mare seemed shy as well, and it gave Pan a little bit of confidence. Grabbing a few last chips from the table, he said, "If you'd like, you may come sit with me. I don't dance well, or any of that, but if you'd like someone to talk to you are definitely welcome to." He nodded with his head towards the spot where he'd been sitting earlier.

-Pan


At Mai's smile Castor felt suddenly very excited. It'd been a little while since he'd gotten a mare. The last he had tried had ended up beating him at his own game, but that wasn't to be thought of now. Now, all he needed to concentrate on was this beautiful mare. Her sultry voice slid into his ears, and he bit his bottom lip, looking Mai up and down once more.

"Oh, nothing much. I'm just a firefighter." He shrugged, as if it were no big deal. Yet, he knew most mares fell for that kind of things. They always found it so heroic and brave to be a firefighter. "But, I'm not here to hear about myself. What kind of work would a pretty unicorn like yourself do? Because whatever it is I definitely need to start hanging around there more often." He gave her a sly wink, and motioned for her to have a seat on a nearby bench.

-Castor

(OOC: I would definitely not ever do this kind of stuff either.)

Illuminati smiled at Pan, "Thank you." Her violet eyes sparkled, "I don't dance very well either, but I can talk your ear off if motivated! It's really great to meet you." She laughed, sounding like silver bells. She moved gracefully, though not as graceful as most, "I like your name Pan. It reminds me of running through green forests when I was younger."

She really only needed one person to talk to her to open up. Her eyes sparkled with exitement to have somebody care enough to talk to her. Her silver hair fell over her eyes, and she brushed it away. She looked at the other mares. She wasn't quite as pretty, or chatty. She wasn't dressed as nicely either. Oh well, she thought, I wasn't looking for a guy like some of the others were. I just wanted a chance to be with others.. She sighed, trying to block out some memories.

She turned back to Pan and smiled, red lips curved slightly, "What do you do mostly?"