#halisi

Halisi: Nuts, well that's a funny nickname, but okay. I know mom and baba have had the Asims over for parties a couple of times, but a lot of the details kinda flew over my head.

Jahi: What doesn't fly over your head? 😑

Kalim: Oh! So then you're royalty too! 😲 Wait, are you and Leona-

Halisi: Cousins? Sure are! 😁

Shriek: *sticking her snoot in Leona's face* Ya got big buff parkour cousins and you didn't tell me?!

Leona: *shoving Shriek away* You know I keep my distance from this place. *gestures to Hali* And distant is exactly what we are. Hali's family's a branch of the Kingscholars from the west. Minor nobility, all things considered. *to Hali* They send you up here to climb the royal ladder?

Halisi: Well I do help out sometimes with the landscapers and maintenance crews when we're having slow days! 😊 Mostly, I'm training, so I don't really get up on ladders all that much. I climb trees and cliffs as part of my exercise though, it's such a rush and the views from the top are so pretty!

Leona: *sighs* Yup. Good ol' Hali. Still got her head in the clouds.

Halisi: I got a picture of that from my mountain jog the other day! 😃 Check it out! *to Mahi* Heeeey! Mahi, right? You wanna see some pics?

Mahina: *continuing to glare from her corner as she ignores Hali and looks to where Carla is talking with some older beastwomen guards*

Palace Guard A: We're so sorry, Captain! 😟

Carla: It's fine, these things happen.

Palace Guard B: We've been away from field work for some time, and it seems to have dulled our senses. We'll be more careful!

Kifaji: See to it that you are. I would expect far more of senior officers.

Carla: All due respect, Grand Chamberlain, but Cheka gives everybody the slip sooner or later. Practically a badge of honor at this point.

Kifaji: That I cannot deny. Now then, young man. Time for you to be on your way. No more of this Ivory Springs tagalong nonsense.

Carla: Ivory Springs?

Shriek: That's where we're headin'. *grabs Cheka's hand* All of us. 😤

Cheka: Please, Carla... 🥺🙏

Jahi: After the scare you gave everyone? Yeah, nice try, little man.

Leona: You heard 'em. See ya, fuzzball.

Palace Guard A: Please don't be a bother to Prince Leona, little one.

Palace Guard B: We shall escort Prince Cheka back to the palace.

Kifaji: See that you do.

Cheka: *sniffling as the guards begin to lead him away*

Carla: ...Wait! Grand Chamberlain, allow the three of us to accompany Prince Cheka to Ivory Springs.

Cheka and Shriek: Really?? 😃😃

Leona: What?? 😧

Kifaji: Captain Carla, I hardly think that's-

Carla: Please, sir. It may not be my place to say, but Cheka doesn't get to see the world outside nearly as much as he should. As a prince and as a regular kid. Besides, supervised outings like these will lower the chances of him running off again. Better than him trying to sneak out of the palace on his own, right?

Jahi: Did you forget we still have Bead Brawl training?

Carla: We wiped out most of the drills this morning. All we have left is a couple more spars and we can knock those out later.

Halisi: I'm game! We can finally take it easy for a little!

Jahi: Mh... well we have been busting our tails all week. And I guess if we're down there we can double-check our reservation for tonight. *sighs* What the hell? Er, I mean, I shall gladly assist

Carla: Well, Kifaji?

Cheka, Shriek, and Hali: Pleeeeeease? 🙏🙏🙏

Kifaji: *thinking for a moment before letting out a sigh of his own* Very well.

Cheka, Shriek, and Hali: YEAAAAH!! 😆😆😆 *leaping onto Carla* Thank you Thank you THANK YOUUUU!!

Carla: Choking... not breathing!! 😭

Kifaji: I expect you girls to have him back to the palace by sunset.

Carla: You have our word. 😊

Leona: Hey, you know what you don't have? My permission! 😠 I ain't havin' the squeakbox running around getting in the way and buggin' my group.

Carla: Oh, but he wouldn't be, Prince Leona. 😏 You all are going to be making use of the hot springs, yeah?

Vil: Naturally.

Carla: Thought so. You might have trouble fully enjoying yourself if you have to mind three little ones at the same time.

Hali: *hoisting up Cheka, Shriek, and Grim on her biceps, making the former two laugh and Grim yowl in shock* Yeah, we can keep an eye on the kids! 😁 We'll have an awesome time!

Leona: Lilia's already on babysitting duty.

Lilia: Well I certainly wouldn't mind the extra set of hands. 😊 Er, paws.

Vil: It would be nice not having to worry about the littlest potato raising hell in such an esteemed resort.

Kalim: And when we're done, we can all hang out together and have even more fun! 😄

Charles: I don't see the harm in it.

Shriek: Yeah c'mon, let 'em! These guys are awesome!!! 😄

Grim: *still clinging to Hali's arm* Let's just do whatever gets me down the quickest! 😖

Jahi: *smirking at Leona* Seems you're overruled, oh wise leader. 😏

Leona: Grrrr... fine! 😠 But those fuzzballs are your problem the whole time we're there.

Cheka: I get to go with Unca and Shriek and Unca and Shriek's fiends!! 😄

Shriek: *lifting Cheka up to carry him* HELL YEAH, IVORY SPRINGS TIME!!

Grim: Can't go nowhere without a set of wheels.

Leona: Which is why we're here to fix that. *glancing over at Mahi who now looks considerably more nervous* Gonna play statue the whole time, or can we get a move on? 😒

Mahi: Huh? Oh, yeah... coming...

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Jahi and Hali are able to hang out with the other boys on the Night Raven team the morning of Cloudcalling in ways that tie into the letter's vignettes. I originally wanted to have these as part of the main story, but we're already a hair's breadth away from the tournament and it's not much different from all the sightseeing and souvenir shopping we've already seen a lot of.

Hali dances and plays instruments with Kalim and Lilia at Raintree Market, sharing with them how the more you party at a rainmaking festival the more of a downpour you'll eventually get.

Meanwhile Jahi and Vil run into each other at a cosmetics shop. and because she's quite the beauty queen herself she's the one who hooks him up with soap made from banana peels, palm oil, and cacao pods, along with some of the stuff she uses like rooibos lotion and baobab showergel. All while still claiming to have no knowledge of his supermodel status.

Kalim, Lilia, and Hali are currently partying so hard that they’ve basically become their own separate party from the rest of the partiers. Nobody’s doing it like them and they all really want to, so the rainfall will be exquisite this year.

Ivorian model Awa Sanoko wears a creation by the New York-based Senegalese designer label Versaiilles at a fitting before a show in the Hôtel des Almadies during the Dakar Fashion Week, Senegal, 2014.

Inside Africa’s Booming Fashion Scene

 © Per-Anders Pettersson

A model poses for photos at a test shoot with the Ivorian designer Barros Coulibaly in the Hôtel des Almadies during the Dakar Fashion Week, Senegal, 2014.

Models fit dresses for the Paris-based Cameroonian designer label Martial Tapolo Couture before a show in the Hôtel des Almadies during the Dakar Fashion Week, Senegal, 2014.

Shriek: That's you, Mahi! 😃 Tear 'em a new hole and knock out all their teeth so they have no choice but to eat from it!

Mahina: *sighing as she stands up and stretches* Just because I eat dead meat, doesn't mean I'll do it to everyone whose ass I kick.😒

Charles: Good luck out there.

Mahina: Don't need it. But thanks, I guess.

Lilia: I brought a foam finger to cheer you on! ☝️😁

Mahina: You wasted your money is what you did. Stuff it. 😒

Lilia: Oh, you're no fun. 🙄

Mahina: *heads out into the ring and thinks back to yesterday*

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[[Sunset Savannah Arena- Yesterday]]

Leona: Buzzard Kill, I don't imagine you'll struggle with much. The only things I worry about is somebody doin' somethin' to piss ya off and make ya go overkill...

Mahina: *looking over to where Shriek is beating one training dummy with another* Yeah, I think you should be addressing that in somebody else's direction. Wait, things

Leona: Or you losin' it at somebody's top slipping off their shoulder a little.

Mahina: *already starting to blush* I TOLD YOU these outfits were too skimpy! 😠

Leona: Well then watch where you're swingin' those claws or else you're gonna find yourself getting flashed faster than you can say-

Mahina: STOP BEING SUCH A PERV!!! 😖😖

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Spectator E: That bird beastman girl... her wings are magnificent!

Mahina: *immediately startled out of her thoughts* Wha...?😕

Spectator F: Holy shit, she's as tall as a baobab tree!

Spectator G: I heard condor beastmen were terrifying scavengers, but she's so pretty!

Spectator H: Yeeees! That dark hair and snowy white ruff combo? You can't get more perfect than that.

Mahina: *breaking out into a sweat as she tries to maintain her scowl* What... What the hell are they talking about?? Do these people have nothing better to do than spread ludicrous gossip?!

Spectator H: Looks like Modo's gonna be in this round. Seems he's taken a shine to her too.

Spectator I: Woof. 😬 Tough break for her.

Mahina: Modo? *glancing over to the Outlander's team where a hippo beastman wiggles his eyebrows at her* Oh don't fucking tell me...

Hippo Referee: Anchor of the Outskirts Youth Team, please come forward!

Modo: *grinning broadly as he strides forward, pushing aside rocks, a small tree, and trampling some gazelle beastmen who scream out, until he finally enters the ring with Mahina*

Mahina: You're Modo?

Modo: The name so nice, some say it twice. *low whistle* Goodness girl, you huge. 😏

Mahina: Yes, I'm tall. I'm aware.

Carla: D-did he seriously just...? 😕

Hali: What?

Modo: Mm-mm, you're as zesty as you are hefty.

Jahi: He did. He really did. 🤦‍♀️

Hali: Who? 🤨

Mahina: *somewhat confused* Yeah, I do have fire magic, but what does that matter? Magic's banned in Bead Brawl.

Modo: Then how come you got me all flushed, girl?

Mahina: I don't know, we are in the savannah.

Amne: *half-laughs in exasperation* Holy shit, how is she not picking up on this? 😭

Hali: Oh... still don't get it. 🫤

Mahina: *still confused* Awfully chummy with your opponents, aren't you?

Modo: Mmm, you could be more than that, baby.

Mahina: *emotionless yet piercing stare* What?

Modo: What do you say after this we split a couple glasses of juice by the lagoon? Maybe... passion frut? 😏 *bites his lips and waggles his eyebrows again* Til then... go ahead and put them hands on me, girl.

Hippo Referee: Match begin!

In the same second the referee blows the whistle, Mahi instantly snatches Modo's beads and backhands him so hard and so far, the hippo beastman goes flying across the savannah, skipping over the dirt multiple times before skidding into the dirt to the point where he makes a deep ravine, then crashing into a rock that's almost tombstone-like

The Crowd: *jaws dropped at what just happened*

Mahina: THAT'S AS CLOSE TO TOUCHING A WOMAN AS YOU'RE EVER GOING TO GET, YOU COQUETTISH, PERVERSE WATER PIG!!!! 😡😡😡

Modo: *miles away* This is the best day of my life....

Hippo Referee: Victory goes to Mahina Manu of Night Raven!

Shriek: *flying in a happy loop-the-loop* THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!! 😄

Charlie: Di-did we all just see that?? 😰

Grim: The part where Mahi smacked that guy into next week or the part where she called him a croquette? 🙀

Shriek: Mahi, go check if he's bleeding!! Hippos sweat blood!

Lilia: It looks like blood, dear, but it's actually an oily secretion with a crimson pigment.

Jack and Vil: As if that's the thing to focus on right now!?

Shriek: I WANNA DO THAT TOO!

Kifaji: Hevi kabisa... that woman is on an entirely different level. 🫢

Leona: She's a hot-headed idiot! 😠That was way too much force!

Cheka: Miss Mahi's amazing! 😄

Kifaji: Indeed. If she was among the Sunset Warriors, I dare say we might never need to take up arms again.

Leona: Somebody go check if that flirty asshole's still got a pulse so we- they don't get disqualified!

Outskirts Youths A and B: AW NOOOOO!!

Hippo Referee: Night Raven College Team Anchor Two, please make your way to the ring!

Outskirts Youth C: Oh, hell no! 😠The only reason I came to this stupid tournament is so I could get rough and rowdy! When am I gonna get a better chance to beat up some weaklings?! We're ending this right no-

Shriek: AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! *flapping forward and punching the guy in the face so hard he goes flying just like Modo, even landing in a similar ravine and rock combo*

Shriek: *raising her little paws in the air* VICTORY!! 👊😃👊

Leona: *burying his face in his hands* Oh my gOD!!!

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Jahi: 'Course it is. We ain't gonna wreck a perfectly good jeep just because it's owner's an a- ow! *elbowed by Carla who gestures to the kids* A cantankerous pea-brained donkey with a warthog's backside.

Leona: You wound me. 😒

Jahi: Gods willing.

Vil: So this is what the royal family drives? It's a far sight more practical than I'd imagined.

Kalim: It's so cozy!

Lilia: Now that's what I call an off-roader! Should handle the savanna no problem.

Carla: The girls and I can take this one.

Charles: Wait, but who's gonna drive ours?

Leona: None of you can, right? So it'll have to be me.

The Group: You can drive?!

Shriek: Yeah, me and Grim go with him to town all the time! I keep tellin' him to make Initial D curves on the cliff down the mountain, but he never listens!

Leona: Because it's completely pointless. 🙄

Grim: And also we'd DIE!

Shriek: Debatable.

Leona: *half-sarcastically* Oh good, this one's already fitted with a carseat. We got room for one brat and four other guys.

Hali: Same here!

Cheka: I wanna sit in the car with Unca!

Carla: It's okay with me.

Leona: Didn't I just say you'd be the ones looking after him? 😠

Carla: Yes indeed, the whole time we're there. Which I don't believe we are. 😏

Leona: *grumbling as he picks the giggling Cheka up by the scruff and buckles him into the car seat* There. Happy? 😒

Cheka: *kissing Leona's cheek* Uh-huh! 😊

Leona: *rubbing his cheek* Tch... Pup, you're gonna go with the Babysitter brigade.

Shriek: Grim can have my seat! *taking to the air* I can keep up on the wing! 😁

Mahina: I'll fly with you.

Carla: Oh, you don't have to. You can always hop in with u-

Mahina: I can F L Y. 😠

Carla: Uh, okay. You can fly. Charlie, what about you? Would you like to ride with us?

Charles: Oh, um, I wouldn't want to make things too cramped.

Jahi: You take up as much space as a foldable umbrella. I think we'll be good.

Hali: Yeah, come on in! 😁

Charles: W-well... ACK!!

Leona: *tossing Charles into the backseat of Carla's jeep* Hey, you're right. He does fold like an umbrella

Mahina: *internal scream-squawks of consternation*

Grim: Mrah, you ladies better make room for the Great Grim!

Leona: Just like that we're all full-up. Terribly sorry, Kifaji. But I'll have to ask you to hang back.

Kifaji: I see now. You took us to the royal palace in order to rid yourself of me. 😑 I must say, that was rather clever. I do wish you'd put those wits of yours to use for the sake of your country's future.

Leona: Nonsense. This country already has a fine leader. What use do you have for a fangless weakling like me?

Shriek and Carla: ...

Kifaji: There you go again with your thoughtless outbursts... If you were truly a weakling, how would you have ever been victorious in so many Bead Brawl matches? A team winning the tournament on their first attempt? Highly improbable. But not impossible... and if it's you training them, they might just do it. Much as that vexes me to admit.

Shriek: You're really that good at Bead Brawl, Leona? 😲

Leona: Considering the secondborn royal's supposed to be the leader of the pride of tournament winners, I had Bead Brawl lessons forced upon me pretty much as soon as I hit the double digits. By this meddling grand chamberlain here.

Kifaji: It's only natural the leader of the Sunset Warriors should learn the fundamentals.

Leona: Tsk, pretty brazen of you to still be hangin' around. 😒 Go on and get lost, would ya?

Kifaji: As grand chamberlain of the royal family, I must do as you say, Prince Leona. I shall take my leave. I wish you all the best of luck in the competition.

Kalim: Bye, Kifaji! Thanks for everything! 👋😊

Shriek: Come on, let's go! I wanna fly over the animals!

Kalim: Oh yeah, there's gonna be a bunch of wildlife! 😃 I'm getting all excited!

Leona: And talkative. You'll be too much of a distraction. Sit in the back.

Lilia: Then I'll sit up front. 🙂I know a thing or two about cars. I could even drive for you if you get tired, Leona.

Leona: Ya got a license?

Lilia: I don't really remember! But I'm sure it'll be fine! 😊

Leona: Okay, you're definitely not sitting up front with me, or I see chaos in my future. Assuming any of us would even HAVE one.

Vil: I wouldn't sit up front if you paid me. 😒 I just want to enjoy the savanna scenery out the window. Having you next to me would spoil the view.

Kalim: *blasting his Aqua playlist* Perfect driving ambiance, yeah? 😁

Vil:

Vil: I think I can get by in the front.

Leona: Wise choice.

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Cheka: *giggling as the jeep goes over the rough terrain* Faster, Unca! Faster! 😆

Leona: What do I look like, your chauffeur? 😒

Vil: I must say, you're quite the steady hand at the wheel. Guess you're good for something after all.

Leona: Your praise means everything to me. 🙄

Mahina: *flying overhead, lost in thought before she's yanked upwards* Gah!

Shriek: Mahi, look! 😃 *pointing at the flock of flamingoes flying nearby*

Mahina: Oh, damn, that's a lot of pink.

Charles: Wow! 😲 They're so different from the ones in Heartslabyul!

Halisi: You guys have flamingoes at your school? 😃

Charles: Really only in Heartslabyul.

Mahina: They look the same to me.

Charles: No, something about their feathers seems different.

Halisi: Maybe because the ones in the Queendom of Roses have rose pink feathers while the ones here all have flamingo pink since there's greater numbers of carotenoid pigments found in the algae and brine shrimp that make up their diet. Oh, and the legs of Queendom flamingoes are stockier with stronger ankle bones because of how often they're used in croquet matches.

Everyone except the girls: *blinking in disbelief*

Charles: Gee, you sure do know a lot about flamingoes. 😯

Carla: Hali loooves ornithology. 🤭

Jahi: Yeah, she's a real bird brain.

Halisi: *laughing* Common knowledge, really. 😄

Mahina: Oh, and I suppose you know a TON about condors too, yeah? 😒

Halisi: Yeah! 😃 They're a little on the big side so they can't fly for long periods of time but they make up for it through conserving energy by gliding effortlessly on rising thermals reaching altitudes up to 15,000 feet. That fleshy crest you always see male condors with is called a caruncle, which-

Mahina: *groaning at the info dump*

Shriek: *laughing as she flies amongst the flamingoes, many of which panic at the sight of her* Hiiii! 😁 *flying in synch with them for a while before folding in her wings and diving in and out of the savannah grass below along with the prancing springbok, making Cheka laugh as she pulls silly faces each time she pops out*

Kalim: *beaming at the storks wading through the stream they drive by* There's so many animals here, I can hardly believe it! Whoa!! 😲

[[Both jeeps screech to a stop as they wait for a herd of elephants to lumber by, Shriek sliding joyfully down their trunks and snapping at the guinea fowl running amongst their feet]]

Lilia: *chuckling* The sheer variety of wildlife never ceases to amaze.

Vil: With the veritable menagerie you have at home, Kalim, I'd have thought you'd be less impressed.

Grim: Yeah, don't you have like a hundred elephants? 🤨

Kalim: Actually only five dozen. But an animal in a zoo is completely different from an animal you see in the wild.

Vil: *glimpsing a cheetah following after some wart hogs* I suppose it is quite rare to get to see them on the prowl like this.

Leona: That's the ol' "circle of life, for ya.

Kalim: What's that? 🤨

Leona: It's an old saying here in Sunset Savanna. The creatures of the savanna live their lives in constant danger. The strong eat the weak, and when the strong die, they become-

Cheka: Grass! 😀 And the antelope and the water buffalos and the other hoofie animals eat the grass! Which makes us all connected!

Leona: Well how 'bout that. Looks like a couple of smarts made their way into your head through those fluffy little ears after all.

Cheka: Baba taught me! 😊

Leona: He also teach you lions don't violently die with someone's bicuspids lodged into their jugulars like the herbivores usually do?

Jahi: Did you really have to go there? 😠

Leona: *gesturing over to where Shriek is wrestling a water buffalo* Might as well, she is.

Shriek: *returning the challenging bellow of the water buffalo and leaping out of the way of its charges until she grabs it by the horns and pins it to the ground*

Hali: Whoa!! 😲

Carla: Did she seriously just body a water buffalo?? 😲

Mahina: Shriek, you can't just-

Carla: *smiling* She's something else.

Jahi: Not bad, kid.

Shriek: *grinning as she strikes a triumphant pose and screeches in triumph*

Mahina: *in disbelief as the girls applaud Shriek*

Leona: Told ya my team ain't a bunch of pushovers. 😏

Cheka: I wanna play with the water buffalo like Shriek!

Kalim: *trying to block Cheka's line of sight* Uhh, I don't think she's playing. 😥

Shriek: *lets the water buffalo up after it grows too exhausted to struggle and gently bonks its head with hers* You're pretty tough. Remember that charge next time and the leopards won't get ya, kay?

Water Buffalo: *snorting and licking Shriek across the cheek before shuffling off into the savannah*

Leona: Huh. Guess she really was just playin'.

Shriek: *smiling as she watches the water buffalo leave before noticing a bird nearby and lunges upon it with a feral cry of hunger*

Kalim: *covers Cheka's eyes* GAAAH!!! 😨😨

Leona: Never mind, there it is.

Lilia: Lovely pouncing form, dear! 👏😊

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Mahina: And that's a goal. We're one a piece.

Carla: *chuckling* We are.

[[The girls go back and forth over the diner counter for a little while until Mahi flicks the napkin through the goal]]

Mahina: Ha! I won! 😈

Carla: You did. 🤭 Good game. 🫱

Mahina: *looks at Mahina's hand somewhat uncertainly and is just about to take it when the doors to the diner burst open*

Halisi: SIIIS!! *ignoring the couple of hungover patrons groaning at the noise and rushes over to Carla for a hug*

Carla: Oh, hey, Hal- OOMPH!

Halisi: I kept knocking on your door but you weren't answering, so I thought you were sick or trapped on the toilet like that time we had Taco Bell but you weren't there either. 😟 Also, unrelated but you need new hinges for your bathroom door.

Jahi: Figured you'd swing by here. Leave a note next time, would ya?

Carla: *hugging Hali back* I did?

Halisi: Uh... 😬

Amne: *sighs* Hali, hun. Pro tip. Next time do a full sweep before sounding the alarm.

Halisi: Sorry... 😖

Amne: *glancing over at Carla's now more reserved companion* Oh, hey. You must be Mahina. Name's Amme, nice to meet you.

Mahina: Mm... sure.

Carla: Soo, why did you guys need me at 3 in the morning?

Jahi: 3? Try 5.

Mahina and Carla: It's been that long?? 😧😧

Carla: Holy crap, guys, I'm so sorry!

Amne: Hey, I'm gonna be up at this hour all the time soon anyway.

Jahi: You're already up before the sun peeks over the hill.

Amne: Yeah, well third trimester's rough on everyone.

Mahina: ...Third trimester? *skeptically looking Amne up and down* But you don't...

Amne: Oh, not me! My wife, Tahiya. *pulls up her phone and shows some pictures of her and another aardwolf beastwoman who's heavily pregnant* We were finally able to get on IVF this past year. Little buggers are due at the end of the month.

Jahi: Which is why you're an idiot for not getting your forty winks in now. 🙄

Amne: I told you, double-time's nothin' if it means Tahi can relax.

Mahina: Is... that why you weren't at the palace earlier?

Amne: Yeah, sorry about that. I was really looking forward to meeting your group. Would have been cool to see your little drill finisher up close. 😏

Carla: It's was real! 😤

Amne: No, you wanna know what's really unreal? That Prince Leona's actually back.

Jahi: *hissing* And he's not squirming his way out this time. That lazy bastard can't keep turning his back on us!

Mahina: *noticing the tension from the rest of the girls and hesitating before speaking up* His absence made a real mess of things last year? Right?

Jahi: *taking a moment to regard Mahina before glancing at the nodding Carla before finally letting out a sigh* I've been training day in and day out with the royal guard since I was a kid, but they didn't just offer up the position to me just cuz I had family there. That came two years back when I won the Bead Brawl. Same with Hali the year after that. And Carla before any of us.

Mahina: Okay? You obviously won, right? You're Sunset Warriors.

Halisi: Teachnically yeah, but...

Carla: You're not considered a legitimate Sunset Warrior until you receive guardian lessons from the leader.

Amne: Kinda hard when he's a total no-show.

Jahi: Every time we pressed for answers... every call, every letter, saying "just one day of your time, that's all we ask" that jackass blew us off, stood us up, and ignored us! The ONE THING he has to do around here while Prince Falena takes everything else, and he can't even do that!

Carla: *rubbing Jahi's shoulder* Hey, it's okay.

Jahi: Bullshit! How is it okay that all our work gets brushed to the side like rotten fruit by somebody who doesn't even know his own subordinates? That you have to pick up so much because he's not here?!

Carla: It's not! *ears drooping as her brow furrows* I don't know why Prince Leona's deemed us unworthy... but if he's actually here this time around, it'll be harder for him to look the other way.

Halisi: *smiling* He'll come around once he sees out skills for himself!

Amne: I don't have skin in the game like you guys, but I'll help out any way I can.

Mahina:...

Mahina: I gotta go...

Halisi: Oh, you sure you don't wanna stay for breakfast?

Carla: *looking at Mahina's empty party platter plate* Yeah, I think we're good there. See you at the tournament, Mahi.

Mahina: Yeah. *to Jahi* Hey...

Jahi: ...

Mahina: I'll make sure he's watching.

Jahi: *scoffing without any malice* Now that might be harder to bring than the rain...

Mahina: Yeah, but it happens. *leaving the diner and flying back towards the hotel*

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