NationStates Jolt Archive

José Viñoz and his wife, Marisol, stepped out of the cab and onto the sidewalk just outside the Consulate of the Resurgent Dream in Cáceres, Libertas province. José was a tall, thin pole of a man, but his shaggy hairstyle and clean shaven face showed that he was still in his youth. He was fond of close-fitting jeans and muscle t-shirts, despite his generally lanky physique. Over one shoulder he draped a black leather jacket.

Marisol was considerably shorter than her husband - while he reached 6' 5" she was nearly dwarfed by him at 4' 10". But her short, straight blonde hair and big round brown eyes turned heads of any distance from the ground. Though she had nearly a month on her 27-year-old husband, she looked slightly younger than him. Though she was short, she was also quite thin, and was fond of spaghetti-strap shirts and jeans, as she was wearing some today, though over them she wore a bright yellow windbreaker.

José paid the cabbie and sent him on his way, then gazed up at the flying flag of the Resurgent Dream, looking at the golden ship sailing on the wavy blue seas. Marisol came up beside him and took his arm. He looked down at her, smiled, and kissed her on the head.

"A pretty flag for a pretty nation," he said. "Let's go plan our vacation."

The two entered the consulate and approached the front desk. "Excuse me," said José. "Who do we speak to about taking a vacation in the Resurgent Dream? This is the first time we'll be visiting another country, and we want to know if there's anything special we have to do."

The young human male behind the desk simply smiled and shook his head a little. "Nothing that special. You'll have to apply for visas, of course, and get passports and documentation from your home government, follow local laws, but...overall a very simple matter."

José nodded. "Okay, we've got the passports and the papers," he said. "Do we apply for a visa here?"

The man nodded. "You certainly can. Let me get you the paperwork." He stepped away from the desk, digging around in a file cabinet. After a few moments, he presented the papers to the two prospective tourists. "Just fill out these forms and let me see your papers from your government."

José smiled. "Great. Honey, could you get the papers?"

"Sure," said Marisol.

As José filled out the papers with Marisol, he glanced up at the clerk. "Hey, man, could I ask you which places you'd recommend visiting? We're heading to Wintermore because we've heard that's the most exotic kingdom there."

The man blinked. "Wintermore?" He then laughed a little and put on a patently false small. "Yes, yes, Wintermore is quite lovely country. Mostly wetlands, you know? You're quite likely to see alligators if you know where to look. I'd stay near the coast though. The beaches are quite lovely and the fishing is simply divine."

"Wow, thanks," said Marisol, laughing lightly. "This is sounding better and better."

José finished the last paper and handed it to the man. "There you go."

The man took the papers and filed them away. "These'll take about a day to process. Come back tomorrow and, barring an unforseen difficulty, we'll have visas for you both at that time."

José smiled. "Thanks," he said, as did Marisol. The two of them departed the office and hailed a cab.

((OOC: I'm out for tonight - be back in the morn.))

((OOC: Alright. I don't really have anything to post between now and when your people come back for visas ic.))

All the rest of that day, José and Marisol made final arrangements to leave the country, withdrew a good amount of money and went to the currency exchange, and made sure to pack their cellular phone. The next day they returned to the consulate in the morning, eager and excited to be on their way.

José let Marisol in before him, the two wearing bright smiles and fresh faces. Both of them approached the clerk's desk. "Hello," said José. "We're here to pick up our visas."

The man smiled, sliding them over the desk. "You can leave at your own leisure. There's a number of flights going out soon."

"Great, thanks," said José, taking them. The two of them left.

After retrieving their bags from home, getting to the airport and buying tickets, they were on the next available flight to Shadowhedge in Wintermore.

((OOC: Are there any airlines native to the Resurgent Dream? Maybe we could have some fun with the flight attendants or the in-flight meal/movie.))

Bumblebee Airlines Flight 1121 took off from the Latin Union, heading towards the Resurgent Dream. The cabin was spacious and rather typical. The flight attendants were all human. In truth, the entire experience was shockingly ordinary and unexotic. The flight was rather long, going on for about eight hours. Local television and music was offered as well as two movies. One was a a spy thriller about a fictional conflict with Hogsweat. The other was a local variant of the star-crossed lovers theme featuring lovers from Houses Gwydion and Ailil.

José and Marisol watched the movies intently, trying to pick up on some of the culture they were about to visit. They were friendly to the flight attendants and asked for native drinks while in-flight. After the spy movie, José tried to grab some sleep while Marisol stayed up and watched the romantic flick.

The plane landed at a large airport. As they got out, the airport itself seemed fairly typical. However, it was full of races likely to seem exotic to the Latins. Plump Boggans with bushy brows mixed with nine foot tall blue Trolls. Pale, thin Sluagh hid from the light even as the corridors were illuminated by the shining beauty of Sidhe. Satyrs, Redcaps, Nockers, Eshu...the list of beings went on and on.

José and Marisol stood blankly in the gate for a long time, unable to do anything but watch the different types of creatures move to and fro about their various businesses. After a minute, Marisol "snapped out of it" and reached up to wave a hand before her husban'ds face. He shook a little and looked down at her.

"Maybe we should go get our bags," she said to him. José nodded and started looking around for signs he could read, pulling his English phrasebook out of his jacket pocket and looking for some recognizable words.

((OOC: The two of them speak Spanish, Latin, and Portuguese, with their fluency descending in that order.))

Fortunately, while most signs for the baggage claim are large and English, there are one or two multi-lingual signs for the international guests, pointing guests towards the baggage claim in English, Gaelic, Welsh, French, Latin, Greek, Quenya, Italian, Arabic, Japanese, Hindi, Spanish, Cherokee, German, Russian, and Swahili. While there must have been a reason these particular languages and not others were choosen, such reasoning is known only to the planners of the signs. There seemed to be no logical reason for presuming those sixteen languages would serve best. In fact, Cherokee and Swahili were languages that were scarecely spoken and whose speakers were all likely to understand English and Arabic respectively. Still, it was a diverse enough list that ALMOST everyone who came through the airport would read at least one of those tongues.

Finding the correct baggage claim was easy enough, and soon José and Marisol were waiting by the baggage claim alongside most of their fellow tourists. They had noted with some amusement the immense collection of languages on the signs, and they were grateful they could read a few of them. As they awaited their luggage, Marisol nudged José and whispered in Spanish, "This is going to be the best vacation ever." She cast an indicating eye at the exotic people surrounding them.

José nodded and smiled. "I'm excited," he said.

People of all sorts were crowded by the baggage claim, jostling and shoving. A couple Redcaps growled at other passengers, sending the poor souls scurrying backwards in fear. The luggage, for its part, ran along a conveyer like in most modern airports.

José eyed the Redcaps warily, doing his best to seem inconspicuous. Marisol pleasantly awaited the arrival of their luggage.

Within moments, the luggage arrived on the conveyor belt, trundling towards them slowly. José stepped up to the edge of the belt and waited to pick it up.

No one really bothered Jose as he picked up the luggage. A small booth for car rentals could be seen in one corner and taxis were regularly cruising just outside the airport.

As the Viñoz couple took their luggage away and approached the exit, they hesitated a moment, looking outside to gauge the time of day.

José said, "We just got off an 8-hour flight. Think we should find a hotel and rest before starting on our adventure?"

"Good idea," said Marisol. She went over to the car rental booth to peruse its pamphlets for hotel names and locations. José stayed back and watched the bags.

The Skull and Bow advertised the vast amounts of food it provided. The Bee Hive advertised good service and tidy rooms. The Red Rose advertized luxury and style. The Gear Shaft advetised the most in modern convenience.

Marisol selected a pamphlet about the Bee Hive and walked back to José.

"This looks like a good place," she said. José took the pamphlet and looked it over.

"Cool, seems nice," he said. "Let's get a cab."

The two stepped out to the curb and hailed a taxi.

A cab pulled over for them. It was driven by a pale man with knobboy digits and a strange black swirl around his eye. "Alright, you two. Get your furking asses in. I don't have all furbin day to wait around." He pulled a lever and the backdoor swung suddenly open.

José blinked a moment, but said, "Uh, thanks," in broken English. He let Marisol in first, but asked the cabbie "Uh, could you, uh..." he gestured with his hands, "open the..." he pointed to the back of the cab, "uh, trunk?" He pointed to the luggage with him.

The Nocker pulled another lever three times with a loud string of incomprehensible curses. The trunk finally popped open with a loud grinding noise.

José quickly loaded the luggage and shut the trunk. He climbed into the back seat with Marisol, who asked the driver, "Please take us to the..." she referred to the pamphlet, "Bee Hive."

The Nocker nodded and floored it. He drove the car rapidly out of the airport and through the dense city streets, dodging and weaving between cars at dangerous speeds. Five or six times, he came near to crashing. Finally, he screeched to a halt in front of a homie looking bed and breakfast.

It was all Marisol could do to keep from screaming. She had a grip like a vice on José's left knee, her knuckles whiter than a frightened ghost. Her other arm was hooked firmly through the door handle.

José braced himself against the car seat and tried not to yell. Maybe this was just how they drove here. One thing he had to say was that it was certainly a fast way to get places. The minute the taxi stopped in front of the bed and breakfast he was out of the car, waiting for the trunk to pop open. Marisol shakily lowered her feet from the open door, grateful to feel solid ground.

The trunk flew open with the same unpleasant noise as it had before. The cabbie looked to them with a smirk. "That'll be twenty dross, momzer!"

José wasn't about to argue. He quickly unloaded the trunk and handed the driver his cash through the window. "Thank you," he managed.

The two of them started inside the bed and breakfast.

Inside, the room was quaintly decorated with flowers on the mantle and pictures of rolling countryside. The chairs were cozy and a fire roared in the fireplace. The smell of fresh apple pie came from the kitchen. A short, plump man with huge bushy eyebrows, a Boggan, came out, grinning. "How may I help you two today?" he asked in English.

José smiled at the man and put down his luggage, fumbling for his phrasebook. "Hello, we..." here he started flipping through the book very quickly, "we...." he found the right page "ah! We would like a room for the night, please," he finally said, looking up at the pleasant little man hopefully. Marisol nodded exuberantly.

The man smiled and clapped his hands together. "Certainly! Certainly! Right this way!" He hurried up a little set of stairs and showed them to a quaint room with one double bed, cozy reading chairs, a finely carved dresser, and its own golden chamberpot. "We change that every six hours!" the man bragged.

Marisol's smile was excellently covering her mixture of surprise and disgust. A chamberpot. How very... retro.

José didn't even see it. His attention was on the cozy-looking bed and the chairs. This seemed like a very pleasant room to stay their first night in Wintermore. He turned to the man. "Thank you," he said, hastily finding a dogeared page in his phrasebook. It took him a moment to find the right translation. "Ah... when is breakfast served?" he asked, looking up at the man.

"Eight in the morning." the Boggan answered.

"Thank you," said José. He tossed the luggage onto the bed.

Marisol looked around the room for a bathroom door. Not finding one, she turned to the man. "Uh, where do we..." she gestured with her hands, "take shower?"

He grinned. "Not to worry, ma'am. I'll bring warm water up as soon as you're ready."

Marisol smiled extra hard to conceal her frown. "Thank you," she said.

The man nodded. "Anything else I can do for you?"

Marisol looked over at José, who shook his head and smiled at the man. "No, thank you," said Marisol.

The Boggan headed back downstairs, leaving them to get settled. They could hear him humming as he walked down the stairs at an easy-groing, pleasant pace.

José went back to unpacking as the man headed downstairs. "He's seems like a nice guy," he remarked in Spanish. Marisol said nothing but gently took her husband's head and pointed it in the direction of the gleaming chamber pot. It took a moment to sink in, but finally José started laughing. "That's just great," he chuckled.

"No it isn't!" said Marisol. "They empty that every six hours, José."

"Hey, it's better than the next day."

Marisol gave up. José could be slow, oftentimes deliberately. This was one of those times. "Now I have to give myself a sponge bath before bed and use a bucket for a toilet."

José took his wife around the shoulders and squeezed her. "Oh, mi amor," he said soothingly, "we're only going to be here one night. We've got a whole vacation ahead of us."

"Full of chamberpots and sponge baths?"

"Maybe," said José, "but that's why we came here, right? The exotic, otherworldly nature of this place. Mi amor, just relax." He squeezed her a little tighter. "If you want, you won't even have to wash yourself," he whispered.

"You!" Marisol squealed, turning around and playfully shoving her husband. He laughed and went back to unpacking.

Their time in their room was quiet. No one disturbed the peace and tranquility of the room. Around dusk, a small bell rang downstairs, summoning all guests to dinner.

"Dinner bell!" said José, dropping everything and rushing over to Marisol, sweeping her up into his arms. She gave a brief cry of surprise as he carried her over to the door. She opened it for him, and after a brief moment of trying to figure out how to get through the doorway, they were on their way down the stairs together.

The dining room was set with a large, succulent roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry pudding, mashed potatoes, corn bread, and green beans, all in very generous helpings. The Boggan filled everyone's mug with ale as the guests filed in one by one.

José put down his wife and got in the line, looking gleefully at the lavishly laid-out table. Marisol was more interested in looking around at the other guests, trying to see if there were any other tourists here she could relate with.

Further down the table from Jose and Marisol sat three tourists who had arrived only a few hours ago from the Empire of Jamaica. Their stay so far had been just as strange as their Latin counterparts, whom they were now akwardly smiling at. They weren't sure if anyone else at the table spoke English so they decided to remain silent until someone else piped up.

The Jamaicans had been planning this trip out for months, and decided to still carry on with it even though things were heating up at home with a couple different nations. There were two men and one woman, each man sat on either side of the woman, who appeared to be in her early 20's. The man sitting closest to the Latin couple appeared to be of medium height, maybe around 5'8 or 5'9 but it was hard to judge while he was seated. He wore an opened baby blue dress shirt which underneath there was a plain white t-shirt. The man also sported faded loose-fitting jeans and a pair of crisp white sneakers. His hair was low cut and wavy, and he had a small diamond ear ring in his left ear. He was in good physical condition, and even though he wore layered clothing, you could tell he was cut. He was an overall attractive man and he was most definately considered a pretty boy by Jamaican standards. He had a medium brown complexion, he wasn't light skinned but he definately wasn't "dark"

His name was Jermaine Timptons and he was here with his wife, Alicia Timptons, and his first cousin, Adrian Timptons.

Jermaine's wife was simply beautiful, she had wide brown eyes, full lips, a wonderful smile and high cheek bones. She had long, wavy, black hair, which came around her shoulders, and small silver ear rings in each one of her ears. She wore a matching silver necklace with a heart pendant and a casual blue halter top, with form fitting, white pants and open toed, white sandals to match. She had a very womanly figure, to say the least, and had a look of intelligence about her. She met eyes with Marisol and smiled again, for what seemed like the millionth time as her cup was filled.

Adrian, who sat to the on the other side of Alicia looked bored with the whole ordeal, as he slouched slightly in his chair and nonchalantly looked everyone up and down at the table. He had only asked to come along to hook up with some females if possible, he had heard many things about this country, but so far, none of those things appeared to be true. That was...until he layed his eyes on Marisol, now that's what he came here for! He wondered to himself if she spoke english, "Probably, better if she didn't", he thought to himself.

Adrian wore a long white t-shirt, baggy blue jeans, and basketball branded black and white shoes to match. He was around 6'1, and wore his long hair in neatly braided cornrows. He was the type of fellow that made old ladies clench their purses as he passed them back in Jamaica. Although he was a good guy at heart, his appearance made those who didn't know him think otherwise.

The three of them were fluent in Spanish as well, although they doubted anyone at the table spoke such a "normal" language in such an odd but, fascinating place.

José and Marisol sat side by side at the table, taking in the smells and sights hungrily. José noticed the Jamaicans' smiles and returned them with his own smile and a nod. He wasn't sure where they could be from, but his English was very shaky and he didn't want to try to start a conversation in a language he couldn't speak well. Marisol waved from where she sat as her mug was filled and she took her seat next to her husband.

After a moment of perusing the table, José asked his wife to pass him a napkin in Spanish, as he couldn't find his.

Adrian looked up as he heard the Spanish phrase spoken by the tourists, and saw his opportunity.

"Excuse me", Adrian said in Spanish with a heavy, Jamaican accent until he had gained Marisol's attention,"is Spanish your native tongue, beautiful woman?", Adrian smiled at the girl and awaited a reply.

Jermaine rolled his eyes, and was about to apologize for his cousin, but decided to let her answer first before he stepped in. It was mandatory in Jamaica that students become fluent in a second language, most chose Spanish while French and Italian were not too far behind.

José looked at the man before Marisol did. He wasn't jealous, he just wasn't expecting anyone else at the table to know Spanish.

Marisol was equally surprised. "Well, yes, yes it is, mister," she replied, smiling. "And thank you for the compliment."

José decided to chime in politely. "She is quite the lady," he said, squeezing Marisol briefly around her shoulders. "Is Spanish your native language, sir?"

Adrian looked at Jose and smiled, "Yes, she is quite a beautiful woman. You're a very lucky man."

"To answer your question, no, Spanish is not our native language, but we all speak it well.", Alicia butted in with a smile, "This is my husband Jermaine", Alicia gestured towards her husband who greeted the couple.

"And his cousin Jermaine", Alicia gestured to Adrian and he looked at Marisol giving her a wink.

"And I'm Alicia, what are your names and where are you all from?", Alicia asked happily, relieved to finally be able to carry on a fluent conversation with someone.

José smiled and squeezed Marisol again at Adrian's compliment.


Marisol nodded at Alicia, and waved at the other two. "Pleased to meet you all," she said.

"Yeah, pleasure to meet you," confirmed José.


"My name is Marisol, and this is my husband José," Marisol said in response to Alicia's question. "We're from the Latin Union. Where are you from?"

Alicia's friendly smile dropped briefly,"Oh...", she uttered after an uncomfortably long pause. Alicia looked to either side of her, first at her husband and then at his cousin as though looking for help. Jermaine, who now had a very serious look about him spoke up, "We're from The Empire of Jamaica.", he said in a low tone. He said his country's long form name as if to let it sink into the two Latin's brains for a while.

Alicia tried not to bear a grudge against these two tourists who most likely had nothing to do with their country's actions, and tried to put on a smile again, but it came off as insincere.

Adrian on the other hand, seemed completely unphased by the origin of the beautiful young woman across the table, he continued to size her up, looking her up and down. "Hmmm.", he thought, "...sleeping with the enemy, she'd probably like that..."

Marisol lost her smile. All at once Adrian's roving eyes seemed a lot more threatening. José didn't quite know how to react, but it was apparent from the way Jermaine said the name of his nation that they probably wouldn't be able to carry on a conversation now without feeling immensely awkward. As he felt he needed to reply, though, he simply said, "Oh."

After a long moment where Marisol and José couldn't think of what to say, Marisol finally managed to ask, "So, what do you all do for a living?" She turned her eyes to her plate and concentrated on the food, avoiding Adrian's stares.

There was once again an uneasy silence as Marisol's question lingered in the air before someone spoke up.

"Well...uh..", said Alicia as she shifted nervously in her seat, glancing at her husband who was staring at Jose with increasing suspicion, "I myself own my own clothing store in New Kingston, my husband here, he...", she trailed off for a moment as she glanced at her husband yet again, who was still staring intensily at Jose, "...my husband is a Civil Engineer, and his cousin is unemployed-"

Adrian cleared his throat loudly, "Excuse me, I'm actually a musical artist, I'm well known in New Kingston as A-Train. Oh and might I add, I'm also a pacifist.", Adrian said smoothly, smiling at Marisol.

"Yes, well, anyways, what is it that uh...you two do?", Alicia asked as nicely as she could. She nudged her husband and whispered, "Why don't you eat your food honey, it's going to get cold..."

He looked at her, then at his plate, and back at Jose.

"Yes Jose, tell us what it is you do in The Latin Union.", he said coldly.

Marisol glanced briefly up at Adrian's smile, but returned to her plate quickly.

José stuttered a moment at Jermaine's comment. He wasn't feeling at all good about this. Clearly these people disliked he and Marisol because of where they were from, because of the tension between their two nations. Last he'd heard of that when he and Marisol left the country, the Jamaicans had issued an ultimatum. He hadn't thought about it much more since they arrived in Wintermore - this was their vacation, and he wasn't going to let anything ruin it.

And now here he was, facing three Jamaicans. The woman seemed to be trying to keep the peace, but her husband was clearly automatically viewing José and Marisol as enemies, and the other fellow was eyeing Marisol a little too much now. He knew not to let any of this bother him - they'd be out of the hotel by morning, and on to other places. So he decided to be pleasant and avoid trouble.

"Well, I'm a plumber," he said frankly. "I'm employed by a plumbing company in Cáceres. It can be dirty work sometimes, but definitely well-paying," he smiled at Alicia, avoiding Jermaine's eyes for the moment. "Marisol is a secretary at a law firm," he added, gesturing to his wife. "She's also taking a correspondence course to get her MBA. We've been saving up our money for years since we got married, so this is really our first vacation outside of the Union." José looked at Adrian, who was apparently unaware of how rudely he was staring. "You're a musician, huh?" José said to him, hoping to distract him. "What kind of music do you play?"

Adrian turned his head to Jose, still smiling, "Well, Jose, it's a mix of of reggae and American rap, it's called Jamaican Jams and it's very popular in New Kingston. It's really nice, relaxing type music....it's a beautiful form of art. As a matter of fact, I actually brought some of my work along with me, you can come give it a listen, Marisol, if you'd like. I've got my hotel key here with me-"

Adrian was cut off by his cousin Jermaine, who had one hand to his forehead and was leaning back in his seat as though he were tired. He shook his head and brought the hand down, "Will you stop acting like such a god damn fool!", Jermaine snapped at Adrian in Potois, a Jamaican dialect of English.

"What the hell are you talking about?", Adrian asked defensively, responding in Potois.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! This girl that you're chasing after is from a nation we're at war with for oppressing our people! You've got two brothers in the navy and one in the army, they could be fighting the Latins this very moment, does that mean nothing to you?", Jermaine asked heatidly, moving closer to the edge of his seat.

"I wished them all the best of luck before they went off to fight, now let me do my thing and you do yours.", Adrian responded calmly.

Jermaine shook his head and leaned over Alicia torwards Adrian, "I swear sometimes you're one ignorant son of a-"

Alicia interrupted the two, putting her hand on Jermaine's chest and lightly pushing him back, "Why don't you both calm down, you're making a scene, and a very bad one at that. We're all representing Jamaica while we're here, so how about you two save your petty arguments and insults for each other until we get back home. Agreed?", Alicia said in Potois, clearly agitated by the entire situation.

"Agreed.", said Adrian with a nod, while Jermaine remained quiet and began to eat his food.

"Anyways,", Adrian continued in Spanish while looking at Marisol, "as I said before you're more than welcome to come check out some of my music with me.", Adrian said, still wearing the same broad smile.

José and Marisol sat back in their chairs during the Jamaicans' argument, trying not to seem put off or conspicuously listening in. The Potois was almost impossible for them to understand with what little English they each knew, so each of them - after trying in vain to gain some meaning - simply gave up and continued to eat.

When Adrian returned to speaking in Spanish, Marisol looked up at him, seeing the broad smile and trying to conceal her frown. "Thanks," she said between bites, cautiously distancing herself from him mentally. "I might not have time to listen to it while I'm here, but if you've got a CD or something I'd be glad to buy one."

"Yeah," José offered. "We could listen to it on the plane ride back." His smile was a little too polite, he felt. This really wasn't going well. Inwardly he sighed.

"Oh,", said Adrian slightly put off, "well I've got a few demos in my hotel room, for you of course they'll be free. Unlike my cousin here, I bear no ill will towards you two or your nation, as I said before, I'm an active pacifist.", Adrian said nodding at Jose and winking at Marisol again.

Jermaine looked up from his food towards his cousin and put on a fake smile, "Now Adrian, don't be silly, how could I possibly bear any ill will towards two citizens of such a wonderful nation. Although I have heard that its somewhat hard for a person such as myself to live comfortably there.", Jermaine cut his smile short after the first sentence.

Alicia cut her eyes at Jermaine, "Well this hotel sure is something else, wouldn't you say?", she said interjectingly.

José didn't let much time pass after Adrian's statement. "Great, I'll swing by your room sometime tonight and grab a couple copies. Thanks!" He conspicuously ignored the pacifist comment, really wishing these people could shy away from the war. He and Marisol had their own reservations on the subject, but the last thing he wanted was to get into a debate with these people over something that clearly neither of them had any control over now. This was a vacation from those troubles, not an extension to them. He didn't pay attention to Jermaine. Clearly he was trying to bait the both of them, not knowing anything about their nation at all, only what he had been told by his government and the people who influenced it. The man who owned the plumbing company José worked for was black - this Jermaine fellow needed to visit the Union on his own one day and learn how things really were.

Marisol inwardly thanked her husband for his words. The last thing she wanted was to visit this predator's room. She responded to Alicia. "Yeah, it's very cozy. And the food here is delicious. I really should find the chef and give him a tip or something." She looked around for the man who'd shown them to their room earlier so she could repeat her words to him.

"Yes, it's all very good. I think I'll give him my compliments as well.", Alicia said as she looked at the variety of food on the table. Alicia looked at her husband who was done eating and was now leaning back in his chair, "Well, I see my husband enjoyed it", Alicia said jokingly, "you look like a stuffed pig Jermaine!"

Alicia said the phrase as best she could in Spanish, playfully hitting Jermaine on his shoulder. He looked at her and smiled briefly, she was always the one to lighten him up, which was partially the reason he married her.

"Yea...", he said without emotion, "I guess all this traveling has made me hungry"

He looked down at the three plates he had eaten almost subconsciously, anything to take his mind away from the war. He wanted to relax, but all the worries of home had been thrown onto his shoulders again. He would be overseas with his cousins and brothers too if he could, but had been relieved of all military duty after fighting muslim rebels in New Kingston and surviving a nearly fatal bullet wound to the stomach. He was a cold individual, and the things he had seen during the brief, but bloody muslim rebellion had only made him colder. Alicia seemed to be the only woman who could bring out the human in him, she was always positive, finding a bright light in even the darkest of situations.

Alicia smiled at him, her brown eyes gleaming, she looked back at the Latins, "So how long have you guys been here?", she asked.

Adrian remained quiet, he had nodded at Jose's comment, taking the hint.

"Oh, we've only just got here a few hours ago," Marisol said. "We're just passing the night here briefly until morning, then we'll head out and do some sightseeing. How long have you been here?"

José finished his plate, mentally smirking at having got the point across to Adrian. Jermaine also seemed pacified for the moment. He unconsciously thanked Alicia for being so positive - she was clearly the mediating force in their group of three.

"About the same", answered Alicia, "We're still trying to plan what we're going to do for the next week, there are so many options."

"I'd really like to check out the dance clubs", said Adrian with a mischevious grin, "I hear they're really erotic around here and the women are quite free."

Alicia rolled her eyes, "Is that all you think about?"

"I'm only a man", answered Adrian, "and men do think about these things. Unlike Jermaine here I don't have a woman to hold me down so you could call me a free spirit."

"Yea, you definately need something to hold you down...",Alicia said jokingly. Adrian laughed to himself and shook his head.

"So what are you guys planning on doing while you're here?", asked Alicia.

Jermaine was still quiet, he just realized that he hadn't called home since they had arrived. He abruptly got up from the table and went up to his room without excusing himself. Alicia called after him and he told her he'd be right back, he had to check on some things.

The Boggan proprietor returned in short order, removing empty plates from the table. "Would anyone like anything else to eat or drink?" He asked eagerly. "We have lots more still in the kitchen."

He frowned faintly at the social dynamics of the table. No, he had not been eavesdropping. It was simply that Boggans have a knack for these things and he was not a moment into the dining room when he realized there was quite a bit of hostility. "I hope you're all enjoying our Danaan hospitality. I have heard there's going to be a lady playing down at Unsatiated. A real Nanehi from up in Shieldcrest. They say she's an old one, a real Elder, still remembers when the Nanehi lived in what's now Georgia and the Carolinas, way back before they were part of the Danaan High Kingdom. I don't know about all of that. But I do know you haven't lived until you've heard a Nanehi sing."

Marisol and José smirked politely during the exchange between Adrian and Alicia, happy for the change of pace. When Jermaine suddenly left the table, José frowned and looked after him, wondering what it might be about, but not letting his mind go too far.

"Well, we really hadn't had any plans..." Marisol trailed off in response to Alicia, looking at her husband to see if he had any ideas. At that moment, though, the Boggan stepped up and took away their dishes. After he asked them if they wanted more, Marisol and José both politely said no, but Marisol made sure to put in a compliment to the chef and his staff in her best English.

The couple listened intently the Boggan's description of the singer, gleaning what they could from his words. A thought occurred to José, and he turned to Alicia and asked in Spanish, "What did he say?" Even though he got the gist of the Boggan's words, he didn't want to muddle the specifics.

In the Jermaine's Hotel Room

"Slow down, mama!", Jermaine yelled through his high tech cellphone as she spat out news of an attack on the Jamaican fleet by the Latins.

"We've been worried sick about you Jermaine, it's all over the news, the war has started! My God it's started!", Jermaine's mother said almost hysterically. She had called his phone 12 times since he had been at the table, Jermaine felt guilty for not remembering to take it downstairs with him.

"I'll be damned if they take my sons from me! I'll go down there myself before they take my sons from me!", his mother yelled, obviously in tears behind the phone.

"I don't think either of my brothers were with that fleet, mama. Just calm down, everything's fine here.", Jermaine attempted to calm his mother down but she cut him off.

"Well it's not fine here! You need to come back home Jermaine, it isn't safe out there, I'll be damned if they take my babies!", his mother cried through the phone.

"Mama, we'll be back by next week ok? Ok, mama? I'll be back home soon. This nation we're in is so strange I doubt they even know about, let alone have any opinions on the war, it's fine here, completely neutral.", Jermaine said convincingly.

"What about Alicia, how is she doing? She's such a good girl Jermaine, if they give her any trouble down there you let me know! And Adrian, is he staying out of trouble?", his mother inquired, seemingly calmed for the moment.

"Everyone's fine mama, we're getting along great. But I've got to go ok? I love you.", Jermaine said hurriedly, pushing his mother off the phone.

"I love you too Jermaine, now you stay safe....because I'll be damned if they harm my sons.", Jermaine's mother said again.

"Ok mama. Bye.", Jermaine hung the phone up.

"Damn it!", he muttered to himself, why in the hell did all this come crashing back down on him? I try to get away and this is what happens, all this mess from home comes right back to slap me in the face!

"Damn it!", he muttered again, God damn Latins...if they hadn't been at the dinner table I'd be relaxing right now I suppose....well, right until mother would call me, but it'd be different then...

Jermaine looked down at his fancy cellphone phone, I'll keep it to myself, I don't want to screw up Alicia and Adrian's vacations just because mine's already been wrecked., Jermaine reasoned.

How could he rest now? Now he was worried about his mother, worried about his brothers possibly being injured or killed, and worried about suppressing himself when around those Latins. He'd just have to keep his distance, maybe they'd be gone by tommorow.

At the Dinner Table

"Yes, your hotel and service are really quite nice. Thank you for your suggestion. I think we'll check her out.", Alicia said politely to the Boggan in English.

She looked over to Marisol and converted to Spanish again, "He said that there's going to be a woman singing at a place called the Unsatiated. She's a...Nanehi...I think he said", Alicia said, unsure if she'd gotten that right, she looked over to Adrian as if to get 'yes or no' but he just lazily shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyways, I think we're gonna check that out. The man said there's nothing like hearing her sing.", Alicia said with a smile.

Hmmm...Jermaine's been gone for a while, I wonder what's up., Alicia pondered to herself.

"Hey, that sounds interesting," José said to Marisol.

"Yeah," she replied. "How about we join you?" She turned to the Boggan and said in halting English, "Where is... ah... 'Unsatiated?'"

He grinned broadly. "It's just five miles or so out of town. Just go out the North Road. You can hardly miss it. All the people who live in the surrounding swamp are likely to be there anyway. You should be able to see the parked cars and trucks from some ways away."

He finished clearing the table before bustling into the kitchen and getting to work washing the dishes. As he worked, he whistled merrily, all the cares of the world vanishing from his mind, just like that.

Jermaine returned to the table shortly after the Boggan left, he wore a grim expression on his face as he took his seat.

Alicia looked over at him with concern, "What's wrong, baby?" she asked him in Potois

Jermaine rubbed his face, "Nothing, nothing at all, just a little tired, that's all." he replied in a tired voice.

"Well, Adrian and I, along with Marisol and Jose here were just talking about going to see a concert of sorts, not too far from here. One of the natives is singing tonight and the server said she has a voice unlike anyone else. Sounds nice doesn't it?", she asked smiling.

He nodded, "Yea, it sounds nice, I think I'll skip out though, I'm uh, I'm really tired."

"Aw c'mon Jermaine,", she said rubbing his arm, "it'll be fun, don't waste your trip laying around in bed."

Jermaine looked at her, unable to resist those gleaming brown eyes and that gorgeous smile.

"Ok, I'll go then.", he said almost reluctantly.

She kissed him on the cheek and he smiled briefly.

"Oh, please.", Adrian said exaggeratingly in Spanish, "Get a room!."

Alicia turned to him and rolled her eyes, then looked back at Jose and Marisol, "So you guys will be joining us then?"

Jermaine was having a hard time being civil towards two citizens of a nation that could be responsible for the possible deaths of either one of his brothers or both. But he managed to remain calm and avoided eye contact with the two Latins.

Marisol laughed lightly and José smiled at Adrian's remark. Things were starting to brighten, it seemed.

"Oh, of course!" Marisol said in response to Alicia. "We've been looking for something to do."

"Yeah, it should be pretty cool," José added. He noted Jermaine's demeanor with some concern, but couldn't guess what had made him so depressed. He chalked it up to jet-lag and eagerly awaited dessert.

As the meal drew to a close, Marisol and José exchanged little remarks in Spanish with their Jamaican acquaintances across the table. They kept everything very superficial, just biding the time. Each of them felt a sort of inner sense of foreboding, though - how were things playing out at home?

No matter how much they told themselves this was their vacation and they weren't to worry themselves, they nonetheless hoped things would be quiet when they got back, that the issues had been resolved and the hawks had flown home.

For now, they hoped the singer they were going to see would help calm them.

Alicia and Adrian were going along with the Latin's chit chat, laughing every now in then as they tried to warm up to them. Jermaine, however, remained removed from the conversation, worried for the well-being of his brothers at war. He felt guilty that almost that his his two younger brothers were fighting for there country and he was not, he was on a vacation living it up. He continued to remind himself that he had recieved the Jamaican Medal of Honor for fighting against muslim rebels 3 years ago in their failed uprising. But that still didn't supress the feeling of guilt that was slowly growing over him.

Alicia looked at Jose and Marisol, folding her hands and resting them on her lap, "So are you guys ready to go?", she asked.

Marisol and José looked at each other briefly, then started rising, folding their napkins and setting them on the table. "Yeah, I think we're good to go," José said. "Seeing this singer should be fun."

"Yeah, I can't wait!" Marisol remarked. Then she remembered something. "Oh, I'd better go get the camera. Be right back." She headed up the stairs to their room to retrieve it.

Alicia and Adrian laughed slightly as Marisol ran upstairs to retrieve her camera. They were now both standing, while Jermaine remained seated, still removed from his surroundings. Alicia tapped him on his shoulder, sending him back to earth abruptly. She motioned for him to get up, and he slowly complied, rising to his feet. Alicia smiled at Jose who was now alone on the other side of the table, "Well she seems pretty excited!", said Alicia, talking about Marisol.

"Yea", Adrian chimed in, "She ran up those stairs in a flash."

Jermaine looked at his wife and his cousin, and then across the table at Jose, and all he could think of were his brothers, and his worried mother. He wondered how things were for Jose in the Latin Union, he wondered if Jose was aware of his government's wrong doings, or maybe he just refused to acknowledge them. Maybe he didn't even consider blacks people? Does this man see me as some kind of animal?, Jermaine pondered, boring a hole into Jose's face with a lingering stare.

"Oh, she's been excited about this trip since we came up with it," José replied to Adrian and Alicia. "She spent so much money on film, we'll have to stay extra long just to use it all up!"

He looked back across the table at Jermaine, wondering what was going on behind his eyes. The Jamaican's icy stare was unsettling, and José began to have his doubts that his sullen demeanor had anything to do with exhaustion.

Up in their room, Marisol quickly rummaged through their suitcases and retrieved their camera, checking that it was loaded with film. She packed it in its case and draped the case around her neck, then went to leave before stopping and turning to look back at the chamberpot in the corner.

Down in the lobby, José waited for his wife to reappear, but she was taking a little longer than usual. Finally, after a few unexpected moments, Marisol came down the stairs, looking a little out-of-sorts. "Ready to go?" called José to his wife.

She looked at him and smiled, nodding. "Yes, I'm ready." She kept an eye out for the proprietor; she had to ask him something.

The Boggan was not hard to find. He was at the front desk, right in the next room.

Marisol discreetly left her husband a moment and approached the Boggan. She whispered in English, "Er... excuse me..." She stammered a moment as she tried to figure out how best to put this, in the end just pointing delicately in the direction of their room. "Er... every six hours?"

The Boggan nodded with a bright smile. "Yes, every six hours."

Marisol smiled, relieved. "Thank you," she said to the man, then returned to José . "Well, let's go!" she said brightly, looking at her husband and the Jamaicans.

"All right!" José answered and held out his arm for her to take, which she did. They looked expectantly at the Jamaicans. "Which way did he say it was?"

"I believe that he said we take the North Road for about five miles and we'll come about it sooner or later.", said Adrian, answering Jose's question.

"Yea, there's supposed to be a large crowd around where she'll be singing, from what the Boggan said, she sounds pretty popular. It should be a good show.", added Alicia with enthusiasm.

"So should we take a taxi, or have you two rented a vehicle?", asked Adrian.

"Oh, we didn't think of that," said José. "I guess we'll take a cab." He wondered if he could hail one or if he'd have to call in. Marisol looked out the window, wondering the same thing.

Jose could spot any number of cabs driving past. It didn't look like it would be hard to hail one.

Gathering a bit of courage (given his last, still-fresh experience with taxis in this country), José steps outside the building, Marisol in tow, and raises a hand to hail the next available cab, taking a good look at it and its driver in the process.

This time the cab was driven by a young human man of African descend. "Where to?"

José leant down to the window and said in English, "Could you please take us to the place where the woman will be singing tonight? Err... Unsatiated, on the North Road?"

"Sure thing. Hop in." he said.

Marisol checked the back seat of the taxi. It seemed roomy, but not enough for both she, her husband, and the Jamaican family. She turned to them and said, "Looks like we'll meet you there."

José opened the back door and let her get in before following her, cheerfully waving at the Jamaicans before he shut the door.

((*Waiting for Jamaica Reborn*))

OOC: Man, I'm so sorry for the wait, but I hope you understand that my circumstances are totally out of my hands. I should be able to post now at best once a night, but I'll try to work things out for the better. Again, sorry for holding things up.

IC:

Alicia and Adrian nodded at the Latins and waved, while Jermaine looked away with a look of disdain.

"See you guys there!", said Alicia as the Latins drove off, she turned to Jermaine and rubbed his arm, "They seem nice Jermaine, why don't you give them a chance?"

Alicia looked into his eyes, and Jermaine forced a crooked smile.

Adrian stepped towards the road and began to flag down a taxi, rolling his eyes at the love struck couple.

"Hey! Hey! Taxi! Taxi please!", Adrian yelled loudly at the passing cabs, while waving his right arm wildly.

Bopth families soon found themselves driven out to a bar several miles from town. Humans and fairies of all races and nationalities were milling about outside. A few of them waved and grinned at the newcomers.

José guided Marisol absently out of the cab, paying the driver while hardly looking at him as more culture shock gripped his mind. So many different people here too! He was gratified by the diversity, but also unsure of how to act in it. Though humans seemed just as prevalent as any other race here, he didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb. He was stuck in that weird "newcomer's paralysis" mode, unsure of how to act, but fascinated and intrigued by his surroundings, and wanting to become part of them as soon as possible.

Marisol was quicker to warm up, grinning and waving at those people who did so to her. She kept an eye out for any who seemed interested in talking - there was so much she wanted to soak up while she was here.

José thought it best to ease his tension by having a drink. He sallied up to the bar and waited for the bartender to come by, watching for the arrival of the Jamaicans so he could wave them over.

Jermaine, Adrian and Alicia piled out of the taxi and into the strange and diverse crowd. Jermaine paid the driver and slid out of his seat joining Adrian and Alicia in the hustle and bustle of strange people. Adrian gawked some what rudely at the most bizarre looking people, earning himself a nudge in the ribs from Alicia.

Jermaine kept a stern look on his face, wary of the flambouyant strangers all around him.

Alicia stood on the tips of her toes and looked above the heads of the crowd, spotting the tall and slim Jose at a nearby bar.

"Come on, over here!", she said to Jermaine as she grabbed his arm and half-dragged, half-led him to the Latin. Adrian clumbsily followed the two, tripping over a few akwardly placed feet as he nudged his way through the crowd.

Alicia popped through the crowd with a beaming smile greeting Jose with a wave a joining him at the bar, she motioned for Jermaine to join her, and reluctantly he came, placing his elbow on the bar and hardly paying Jose any mind.

Adrian nodded at Jose and then brought his attention back to the crowd, just now noticing the wide array of females that were all around him.

"This is quite an interesting group of people, wouldn't you say?", Alicia said to Jose in her deep Jamaican accent.

José, on catching sight of Alicia, waved her over with a grin, pointing her out to Marisol. When the Jamaicans arrived, José replied to Alicia, "Very interesting people, yes. I get the feeling that I could spend the rest of my life learning about all these different people and still not even scratch the surface, you know?"

Marisol piped up, "We're waiting for the barkeep - do any of you want something to drink? Not like we know what to order here, but still..."

Corrina Lucien, the buxom Pooka bar wench, approached the table where the Jamaicans and the Latins were sitting. Her golden, muscled tail swung behind her, causing her to lean forward slightly. Tufted ears poked out from under her raven hair. Other than that, she looked like a very attractive teenage girl with light olive complexion. She smiled at the table as she handed them menus with the list of drinks, a fairly normal one, as well as the foods served there. "What can I get for y'all today?" she asked with a beautiful, chipper smile.

There were, of course, females galore for Adrian to notice. Some were beautiful beyond human possibility. Some were nine feet tall and blue. Some had animal features. Some were pale with black swirls and knocky digits. Some looked like Arab or African humans only with pointed ears. Some were plump with bizarrely bushy eyebrows. Some were tiny. Some were green and only three feet tall. Some were equally green but normal height, wearing clothing made of leaves. Of course, there were also human women of every race and kind, many rather scantily clad. Of course, a bar is no great concentration of beauty and, excepting the Sidhe, Oba, and Ghille Dhu, the crowd here was about an average spread as far as beauty was concerned.

Marisol perused the menu a moment before asking in English, "What wine would you... um... suggest?"

José searched the menu for his favorite Latin beer, Flavens Mons (Yellow Mountain).

Adrian's head whizzed left and right as he took in the wide variety of female specimens before him. Finally, not being able to take it any more, he politely excused himself from the table and went on the hunt.

Alicia rolled her eyes at his lack of self control, as Jermaine remained indifferent to his cousin's sudden leap from the table. Alicia scanned through the menu and waited for what the waitress might suggest, as Jermaine looked for Jamaican rum.

Adrian had wandered deep into the crowd, where he was now testing his luck with a green, leaf clad woman. He tapped the woman on the shoulder to get her attention, and began speaking as soon as she turned.

"Excuse me, if I seem rude, but I simply had to speak with you. You see, I'm not from this area, and I don't think I've ever, and I mean ever, seen someone who looks quite as beautiful and exotic as you."

Adrian was cooly smiling and clasped his hands together in front of his chest, awaiting the green woman's reaction.