Ohhh I missed this! I offer these options, choose which please you! C:
💧Character crying
Fjord, based on a particular scene we talked about👀
👩👩👧👦Character with their family members
Loqua and her daughters, perhaps?
🌼Character with symbolic flower(s) for Zalfe!
💧Character crying
Decades later and you still aren't capable of saving your friends from monsters, Fjord.
👩👩👧👦Character with their family members
(From left to right we have Daelu, Derle, Zalfe, Loqua, Caspia, Tilda, Ilnu, and Lyrova)
Loqua love's all her babies and grandbabies but her older two's gossipy nature drives her mad!
🌼Character with symbolic flower(s) for Zalfe!
While Crysanthemums are tied to friendship, truth, and affection the flower itself is also a symbol in death symbolizing lost love and great grief when mourning.
(Featuring Cironus @tides-that-bind-us and Danmalaak @this-rock-floats)
Once the sun had started to set, bathing the isles in beautiful pink light and purple shadows, Zalfe started to lead the group down the mountainside towards the beach they had first made landfall on. As they walked, she hummed a tune to herself absentmindedly.
The second her foot touched the soft sands, an idea seemed to click in her head as she snapped to a more alert attention, "Oh, right, since this is your first time visiting the Amphitheater, we should mark you guys!" She said with a snap of her fingers before darting into a nearby hut, only to quickly return moments later with several clay pots.
She eyed the two up and down, clearly thinking something over before opening two of the pots. She picked up one with her left hand and walked over to Cironus, where she proceeded to dunk her fingers into the paint inside before drawing a swirled pattern along his head, arms, back, and chest. Repeating the same patterns with a different color on Danmalaak.
"So with these markings, we're signaling to everyone in the Amphitheatre that we are there for friendly socialization and tonight's paint tag game and not looking for romantic advances since you are first timers. Paint tag is a team game where you are put on teams where your paint matches your glow. Usually, the goal of the game is to obscure others' patterns with paint. The team least covered in paint wins the prize! Since you two do not have biolum markings like us, we paint those on to make it a little fairer since the game's played at night! The patterns I drew on your arms and backs are to let everyone know you are first-time guests and to remind them to mind their manners!"
"Now I'll let you guys choose if you wanna paint your hips or legs and mark them as target zones. But if you don't want to participate in the game since it's your first night and you'd rather just chat and watch from the sidelines without someone running up to slap their paint-covered hands on you, just paint a big ol' X on your chest. I'd use a spiral if you wish to play, but wanna make it clear you are only here for the game and no romantic advances."
"Cironus, I chose blue for you because, based on what I've seen so far, you just read more like a Mi glow to me. And Danmalaak, you are yellow because your curiosity makes me see you more like a So glow! I'm on team La, which is those of us with Orange glows." She smiled as she handed them the pots. "There will be massive jugs of your team's paint already set up in the amphitheatre, but best to get painted up beforehand." She said, painting an orange spiral on her chest.
"Honestly, paint tag is one of the best ice breaker games we have. There's no pressure, just friendly competition and play! Plus a tasty treat and bragging rights if your team wins! Tonight's treat is Candied Titan Jellies. They are very chewy and very sweet! Kids usually go nuts for them. Anywho! Race you there!" Zalfe smiled as she sealed her paint pot and tied it to her hip before bolting off into the water, swimming toward Ampetheatre Rock.
As the trio approached the small circling island, one noticeable thing was that this Island of the Isles was entirely a sheer cliff face with no discernible way to climb up. But it seemed the outside wasn't the intended entrance as Zalfe led them to a low archway that was just barely visible above the water, with the rest sunken with the current tide.
The archway served as a doorway to a tunnel filled with glowing murals of Zorphins swimming and playing, and multiple pairs of handprints placed by what must have been couples or friends making hearts and other shapes and swirls on the rock. Clearly, it was constantly redone every generation or so, as some parts of the stone seemed stained from generations of paint being applied and eventually washed away with the tide.
The tunnel opened up into a massive, hollow cavern with deep water below, filled with glowing light, with a large central shaft that opened up to the night sky above, where the moon shone brightly. The walls of this hollow chamber seemed to have been chiseled out over generations to form stairways, seating areas, and flat areas to relax out of the water, and every area of rock had some form of painting or prints left from generations of Zorphins painting in the area.
Despite Zalfe saying that only a fraction of the megapod was here during the summer, the Ampetheater was buzzing with a few hundred Zorphin either chattering, singing, or exploding out of the water in games of chase, all excitedly waiting for the real game of the evening to begin. There were a couple of recognizable faces from members of Zalfe's pod, like Fjord, Vrelu, her siblings and Sahbi.
"The Amphitheater can fit about...hmmm, 2,000 of us comfortably if we're splashing around like hooligans. Come winter, this place is a madhouse, haha." Zalfe chittered as she pulled herself up onto a flat resting platform "So be glad you are getting the smaller summer numbers, a little easier to take it all in."
However, before Zalfe could continue, a woman's voice interrupted her, "Zalfe in the Amphitheatre? Pinch me, I must be dreaming! Does this mean we'll be seeing more of you~?"
"Haha, I wouldn't get your hopes up Tyevi, I am showing our guests around the isles and helping them get a feel for the place." Zalfe smiled, looking up towards the other Zorphin who was lounging on a shelf just above them. "This is Cironus the Zorca and Danmalaak the Goron. And friends this is Tyevi. She and I have been best friends since we were in the Cradle."
"Aww....but we miiisss yooouuuu~" Tyevi said with an exaggerated pout but she stopped her dramatic display to look over the ledge at their guests when Zalfe introduced them.
"Oh wow! A Zorca and a Goron! Where'd you find them Fefe?!" Tyevi chirped rather excitedly, "I've only ever seen paintings and read about them, never thought I'd meet any face to face! Wow Zorca really are tall and oh wow Goron really are made of sto-OUGH!"
Her excitement was interrupted by another Zorphin flopping ontop of her to lean over the edge and eye the new faces.
"Exotic new faces, you say~!" She purred with a smug glint in her magenta eyes.
"Scyllaaaahhhh!!!! You're cruuuussshing meeeee!!!!" Tyevi wheezed, shoving the other woman off of her. Scylla rolled off the shelf gracefully despite the shove, landing next to Zalfe before circling Cironus and Danmalaak like a shark eyeing up something.
"Color me intrigued~," Scylla chittered before twirling around and frowning at the spiral on Zalfes' chest.
"Oh, Zalfe, you're a party pooper! Should have painted hearts like me!" Scylla huffed, smearing part of the still-drying paint on Zalfe with her pinky. "Buuuut if you're not gonna sample the buffet, that just means more for me!" Scylla said with a haughty laugh though Zalfe frowned seeing where Scylla drew said hearts.
"Unfortunately, Scylla you don't get to take a bite out of these two!" Zalfe huffed as she shunted Scylla out of the trios personal spaces.
"Boo her!" Scylla complained to Tyevi as she was shunted off, "Who made you the pooper of parties Zalfe?"
"We're trying to set a good example for our new guests to feel welcome not to be pestered by your insatiable desires" Zalfe said with mock anger clearly trying not to giggle at Scylla antics.
"Don't mind Scylla...she's...flirty! I'm Tyevi I'm a Fa path with the Silver Siren subpod!" Tyevi smiled as her markings lit up with bright green light as reached an arm down to shake the newcomer's hands.
"And I'm scylla~ one of the most delicious of the Lodo path and loveliest of the Pink Prancer subpod~"
"Scylla!" Zalfe huffed.
"Don't worry cuddle fish I'll share!"
"Ok go over there and bother Fjord!" Zalfe barked with a smile.
"Don't tease a girl with false hopes Fefe that's so rude of you! You know Fjord doesn't like pink eyes! Hurumph! But fffiiiinnneee" She said with a dramatized fake sigh. "I promise I won't take a bite....yyyyet."
Zalfe huffed at her last statement and went to give her a playful jab to her side, but when she made the move to jab, Scylla dodged into the water, "Boo her! Boo her for ruining my fun!" Scylla sqwuacked as she splashed water at Zalfe and took off with Zalfe hot on her heels.
"Don't mind them" Tyevi said as she gave a big stretched. "Scylla and Zalfe have always had that sorta spit and spat friendship. Scylla just likes to push Zalfe's buttons. But it is nice to see her in the Amp again! You guys managed to get her to show up after 20 years of her avoiding it like the plague so thanks for that!"
"How long till Vrelu ruins that and chases her out again?" Zalfe's brother Daelu huffed hauling himself up onto the stone.
"Don't speak that evil into the air Daelu! I wanna enjoy the Amp with my friend without having to keep my head on a swivel for Vrelu's antics!" Tyevi whined.
"I can distract him!" Sahbi chimed in from where he was lounging with Zalfe's sister Lyrova draped over his chest. She wore an equally annoyed expression as Tyevi at the mention of Vrelu's antics.
"Oh yeah have you guys met Vrelu? You must have at least casually right swimming with the corals? He's the piebald with the brown and blue eyes. Dude is basically the reason Zalfe rarely comes here anymore... Jerk can't take a hint."
"I wouldn't fully blame him she's been distant since the daunting. Honestly it's only thanks to running into Cironus and Danmalaak that she's really been doing much of anything lately." Lyrova sighed but gave the pair a grateful smile, "I'm grateful regardless to see Zalfe socializing even if it's as a guide."
"Oh yeah, Kiburi told me Zalfe was a storm when she went to the pod leaders. I can only wonder what had her barking like Loqua!"
"I saw it! it was spectacular!" Zalfe's cousin Meridian shouted from the water, "The look on pops face was nothing short of gobsmacked! Damn near pissed myself laughing!"
"No one wants to hear about pissin'! Do I have to holler for all three of your mates to come collect their heathen?" Tyevi joked back, only to earn Meridian blowing a raspberry in taunting jest. Realizing they still had company, she smiled down at Cironus and Danmalaak.
"Anywhoozle- are you two enjoying the tour so far? Anything catching your interest about the Isles? Any of the paths or things like that?" Tyevi trilled tilting her head to the side.
"Or anyone~" Scylla cooed with mischievous intent in her eyes as she swam back up and hauled herself up to sit on the ledge.
"They've been on the isles barely a day, leave the poor guys alone!" Zalfe barked as following in hot pursuit, her face smeared in glowing pink paint.
"I'm not doing anything, Zalfe~! Just chatting~ I Prommy~!" Scylla said, pitching her voice higher and batting her eyelashes oh so innocently. "Oh, you look so nice in pink tho, babes~!"
"That was a cheap shot, Scyl, and you know it! You nearly got it in my eyes!" She puffed while washing her face off, "Anyway, the games are gonna start soon, so better get your game faces on cause I don't plan to go easy on anyone! Newbies or not!"
💬 Moon Mother has a tomb where her body is buried that is hidden somewhere in the mourning river. This great temple has been lost to the Zorphin as no one can find the entrance. Their only clue is a riddle "Mother sleeps beneath a blanket of death where stones rise from the earth like a serpents fang"
🤫 Caspia: She had the biggest fattest crush on fjord when they were kids. He never seemed interested in her much to her disappointment.
💬 Sahbi: collects turtle shells and likes to carve them into trinkets he gifts his children from time to time.
🤫 Sahbi: he thinks that Kohv is a massive buzz kill and always harshing his vibe. But he also knows that Caspia would go nuclear if he dare insult her father.
