Everyone's enjoying themselves. After all, Solyestra is an event of good vibes and celebration. Occasionally, though, things happen that'll leave marks in the form of repercussions, either sooner or later…

Shaniqua's over at the funfair once again. This time, she oversees the cubs utilising the two activities. She's focusing mainly on how the cubs are figuring out the moulding board activity, observing them in how they try to fit four wooden figures into the four matching shaped holes in each board. Some cubs seem really good at it, investigating the shapes and figures first before trying different approaches to solving the problem. Others, however, aren't that clever and try the same approach a few times, only to stall repeatedly before yielding out of frustration. Concerning the latter, Shaniqua's to lend them a paw along with some explanation. This way, she's certain all cubs will succeed in improving on their problem-solving skills, as will their knowledge on the difficulties the Sunbirds have to overcome in order to see both the Jaquins and their home realm safe.

However, Shaniqua is not alone. With her, is Avira. She came here to indulge herself with the sight of playful cubs and hopefully can help, too. "I think it is good of you to come here and help these cubs.' Shaniqua says and gives Avira an amiable smile before continuing, 'I am sure they will appreciate it."

Avira looks back at her. She notices the confidence of Shaniqua. There's a spark of kindness in her eyes. Together with that smile, they make Avira feel good about herself. A warm sensation fills her. It's a feeling she seldom experiences and doesn't really know how to cope with it. Avira turns away her head a little out of shyness. This warm feeling should give her a calm state of mind, yet… it doesn't. The sensation starts to feel like embarrassment, instead. She feels it originating from the inability to grow more certain. This has her start wondering again how Shaniqua, let alone Luna, can have such a high level of confidence about themselves. She looks back at Shaniqua and says: "I – want to help, that is all. To see those cubs blossom. And perhaps… Nah, just help."

"What is it? Why are you always so hesitant? I know you can do so much better for yourself. What makes you are this shy, Avira?"

Avira opens her mouth, ready to speak. Yet, she closes it again as she finds no words that could provide an answer. She realises that this question is one that Avira keeps pondering over, asking this herself many times over, yet to no avail. "I – have no… idea, really."

"Well, never mind that. Go and eat some of that delicious food before it is gone! It is only prepared once a year, after all. I will manage these cubs until you get back."

Avira nods. As always, she acknowledges such proposals immediately. No matter how well they were meant, they refrain from speaking her mind. Yet, somehow, this time feels different. She looks sternly at Shaniqua. "No, I will stay here and help you…' she says calmly yet finds no words yet again to back this decision and she falls back into her shy habit, 'There – are so many different foods. I cannot possibly choose between all of them. I will wait until few are left…"

Shaniqua has taken on a stern look herself. Not to intimidate but out of disapproval over Avira's easy wavering. *How come you give up so easily? You are a bright young Jaquin. I know you have potential somewhere inside of you. Yet, you behave so differently from Skylar and Luna, or even Veje or Tudor for that matter. If something bothers you, then out with it! Oh well, perhaps she must see Dulce. She can possibly shed some light onto this troubling matter.* Shaniqua tells herself hoping to find a way and help Avira somehow.

However, she's disrupted in her thinking when a high-pitched scream of frustration rises from one of the cubs. Apparently he fails in combining the wrong wooden figure with a shape in the moulding board. "Well, that is what I was waiting for. I will show you how this is done. The next one is for you."

"Okay…" Avira replies with a reluctant voice.

Not far from the funfair, many Jaquins have obtained themselves different sorts of food items. Luna's one of them. Still deciding on some of the different items available, she finally makes up her mind: *I will have these, and some of these, and this one as well. Oh, now I just hope I can carry them all with me.*

From a distance, Cruz is observing Luna. He watches her collect food, most of it being 'patatas recubiertos'. It happens he craves these as well. Unfortunately, there aren't many left, especially now that Luna's had her go. This makes him wonder if he'll get there in time to acquire the remaining few. But, he doesn't want to go there… yet, for he has a plan. One that will grant him what he desires.

Once Cruz sees Luna take her leave, he approaches the food. As he does, he budges two Jaquins aside who are collecting food still. Disliking this behaviour, especially on a day like this, they eye him with discontent. However, when directly laying eyes upon him they gasp in awe. With wide-open eyes, they look at Cruz now standing beside them. This doesn't go unnoticed, though. "Here I am!' Cruz says proudly with his head held high while smirking and budges aside one more Jaquin, 'Now, I am sure you do not mind if the Navegera goes first. After all, my job is difficult and requires much effort. Therefore, I should grab the best food."

"Yes, of – of course." one of the three budged Jaquins stammers uneasily and steps aside some more without any further protest.

Cruz looks around the food items. There remains little variety in dishes by this time. Yet, he's particularly interested in 'patatas recubiertos'. He only finds two left. He grabs them quickly. *I bet Luna has some more. Surely, she will paw some to me.* he thinks perkily on himself.

Not far from that spot lies Tudor. He managed to gather lots of food. He always does, and always succeeds in eating all of it. His little brother Kamil is jealous of his big brother. He's just finished playing with a moulding board. He looks at his big brother, who's eating away quickly out of relishing habits, and tries to count the many food items he sees lying about. "You eat a lot! Where does it all go?" Kamil asks as he slowly closes in on Tudor.

Tudor looks at Kamil. He answers with his mouth filled with food: "I… um traynin – my lowwer abdommen."

"Hey, you cannot talk with food in your mouth!" Kamil says curtly.

"Then shtop ashing queshtioons.' Tudor replies slowly and swallows the food to clear his mouth, 'By the way, I am allowed to do so because it is for training purposes… of my belly, hehe. Important lesson, Kamil!"

Kamil gives his big brother a questioning look and skews his head. He starts wondering: *How can he train his belly? I cannot do that. I can only train my wings and paws! My big brother is so cool!*

Somewhere in the open savannah woodland still, Veje and Sienté decided to lie down on their backs, side by side, after sky-dancing. It wore them out. Now they rest on the soft grass, which is part of the open field other Jaquins utilise for sky-dancing still. Veje feels he wants to remain close to Sienté, not just mentally, but physically also. He wants to be sure that when done resting he will undertake something else, together with her. "You know, my feelings tell me that I want to spend every waking hour with you today. Today is about Solyestra, and you…"

"Aww, that is a cute thing to say, Veje.' Sienté replies softly and giggles before continuing lovingly, 'You might want to know that more boys tried to spend time with me today. That means you have competition, Veje. You want to remain sharp and be at your best with me, hihi."

"That, I can certainly do." is all Veje replies calmly.

He feels she's trying to stir him, pushing him to say something awkward. This feeling is strengthened by the fact that Soothsayers have this quirk, in which they put little psychological pressure on others by acting teasingly at times, apparently as some form of harmless fun. Veje knows Sienté isn't any different. This makes he's wary for this trick of hers, and won't let her corner him. He stays silent so the initiative remains with her. She turns her head to look at Veje and asks: "Do you ever wonder?"

"About what?"

"Well, the Sunbirds... I mean, we devoted an entire festival to them, out of awe and in their honour. They must have been special."

"Yeah. I can only imagine... Do you remember what the rumours sa…?"

"Of course I do! Everyone knows them. What I mean to say is, what were they really like? How much did they know of us, and what do we really know of them?' Sienté says filled with both curiosity and doubt but suddenly changes to a vivid tone filled with amazement, 'Would they have made concoctions, like those I brew?"

"Ah, I can lie here all day long with you, and listen to every word you say."

"I am serious, Veje. This is not meant to be funny."

"No, it is meant to be sweet!' he says passionately and gently starts clinging onto her bringing his head close to hers, 'Let me tell you something, Sienté. I want to share more of my time with you… After all, moments are worth nothing if not spend with a loved one."

Sienté: "Aw… That is beautifully said, Veje."

"Dió told me this once. I have never forgotten these words since. Somehow I knew that one day, I would get to use them at the right moment…"

"You are such a fine Jaquin, Veje. You always keep surprising me. Just like you did yesterday when you were going to explain to me how you became a Royal Guard…' Sienté says lovingly and calmly as they watch the clouds move past until she notices two shadows in the sky, 'Hey, look at that! Are those… Yeah, there go Migs and Dulce. They must be heading for the woodland to get themselves some food. Speaking of which, I am getting hungry as well. Come, let us follow them."

Meanwhile, Luna lands in the open field that's packed with Jaquins who are eating already. She takes her time to lay herself down next to her food items. She looks at the floor to her left. *Kush-kush yam and a masa tortilla. And, in front of me, some delicious 'rocoto releno' bell peppers and some more 'patatas recubiertos'… Just need to lie down like this… I will not have my beautiful feathers get all dirty now! There, perfect! Mmm-hm, this will be sweet. All ready to start that feast in my mouth!*

Finally managing to lie down comfortably in between the food she'd collected, Luna's determined to enjoy all of the food and is making sure none of it is touching her. If anything, she doesn't want to get her fur and feathers dirty during this relishing moment. Just as she's about to indulge herself on her first bite she hears a familiar and flirtatious voice. "Hola, preciosa!"

She looks up. Cruz stands beside her with a wide grin on his face, seemingly displaying a smug. "Cruz! You came back!" Luna replies thrilled and starts blushing mildly.

"Huh? Back?" he asks of confusion.

"Yeah. You know, we were talking in the Palace this morning, when you left all of a sudden."

"Ah, right…" Cruz replies reluctantly while staring at her blankly.

He looks up toward the sky and starts thinking back intensely about today but cannot recall that moment at all. All he remembers from his time in the Palace are the two altercations he had with Zephyr and Tornado. He looks back at Luna and instead starts smiling vigorously, knowing that his flamboyant appearance will surely save him once again. He influenced her this way before. Now he tries again to such an extent that he can manipulate her to his will. Luna hasn't the slightest clue about his intentions. Instead, she giggles briefly to his remark, still enamoured with him. She wanted some alone time with Cruz since yesterday at Mooncliff, and now the opportunity finally rises. "I am glad you came. How is the Navegera doing?" she asks flirtatiously and makes for a coy expression by cocking her head slightly to one side.

"I am doing great, as always! Chief Zephyr is happy with me.' he replies with a lie in a flippant manner that makes him grin yet continues in a loving way, 'Well, enough talk. How about you share some of that food with me?"

"I am impressed with your confidence, Cruz. Not being afraid of anything, speaking up whatever comes to mind.' Luna slowly says lovingly and starts blushing even more, 'You are such a likable Jaquin! Tell you what. I trade some of my food for some of your company."

Cruz seems inattentive for her when addressed. He rather focuses more on collecting one of her favourite foods and a masa tortilla. He starts with the tortilla and devours it with such dedication that he doesn't even realise some of the tortilla juice is dripping onto his fur. He carelessly consumes the portion of Luna's food she easily relinquished to become even more favoured with him.

Suddenly, something catches Luna's eye. With a frightful look, she watches something unfold before her. Something she condemns, as does king Verago whenever he would see it. Something that most try to avoid from happening, yet is instigated because someone thinks its funny. "Food fight!" Nico yells gleefully while standing on his hind feet.

Luna sighs as she observes him hurdling a piece of food, probably a left-over, through the air. Seemingly thrown without a true target in mind, it hits Vestia who shrieks in anger. Luna can hear Cruz snicker faintly, followed by the words 'Poor sis.'. As the food fight unfolds in front of her, Luna keeps hoping that she won't become part of this foul play. Of every outcome possible, she'll always hope it be the one in which she doesn't get targeted. Afraid of her plumage getting dirty, she keeps watching the hurdled food closely and prepares to dodge any of those that might come her way.

A few yards away from her, lies Tudor. His belly is full and expanded from all the food he's consumed so far. But knowing him, he never will skip another bite for each one of them is tasty to a delightful extent. Therefore, he always eats a wee bit more, or even loads more, than others. He's looking at some left-overs lying in front of him. He gladly joins the mischievous game. He starts gazing at Skylar from the corner of his eyes, watching him closely. A sly grin appears on his face as he looks back at his left-overs. He picks up a piece. *This will work… Just need to do it just right.* he thinks whilst estimating the distance between him and his target.

He readies himself to hurdle the piece of food at Skylar. He raises his paw and starts aiming. Quickly, he glances around to see if no one notices him, and throws… With a thump, the small piece of food lands on top of some fruit lying in front of Skylar. "Hey!" Skylar exclaims in utter surprise.

He picks it up and looks in the direction from where he believes the hurdled food came. His eyes immediately find Tudor, who's busy nibbling on a red-branched cassava root and has his lavish-looking eyes fixated on it, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. Skylar does, however, notice a faint sly grin on Tudor's face. *I bet… Yet you seem to enjoy yourself eating so much. You always do… Nah, it must not have been you. Not this time.* Skylar ponders.

By now, Migs and Dulce arrive in the open woodland. The moment they land, Migs slams both paws against his cheeks. His face displays horror as he witnesses, in his eyes, the disturbing sight of the food fight: some Jaquins look dirty from stains and bits of food covering their fur. "Oh no! What happened here?" he exclaims in sheer terror.

Meanwhile, Skylar still looks for the one responsible for startling him. His gaze finds a Jaquin looking back at him. It's Veje. He just landed near the flock together with Sienté. He had been paying attention to the food fight from above. *Ha, Skylar does not know who threw that piece of food at him.* Veje thinks amusing himself with this thought.

*Ah, haha… It was you, Veje! The culprit always remains watching…* Skylar thinks in sheer pride of having found his "besieger".

Skylar quickly hurdles the piece of left-over food at Veje, who watches it come at him. However, Veje feels it's going to miss him. He turns to Sienté, who's smiling intensely at him. He nods slowly. At that point, the piece of left-over bell pepper hits his shoulder. "Ow! What for, Skylar?" Veje exclaims in surprise.

At the same time and not far from this mischievous scene, Dióntan's finishing up on a 'masa tortilla'. He completely indulges himself in the act of feeding. So much even, that he doesn't notice a Spinkey carefully drawing near. The cracking of a branch startles him. He looks up but only hears some footsteps at first. He then looks behind him, only to see the back of the Spinkey as it runs away, shouting: "Thank you. Hahaha!"

To his displeasure, Dióntan notices the creature has stolen his squash, holding it under its arm as the Spinkey runs off laughing still. "Hey, come back you!" Dióntan yells angry.

Dióntan starts chasing after the Spinkey, keeping low to the ground as he flies to close the distance between him and the little thief. He urges himself to catch the creature quickly. After all, he doesn't want to become known as the lazy Jaquin, a title he'll say belongs to his brother. While chasing the Spinkey, two other Spinkeys steal the rest of his food he left behind. This will undoubtedly leave Dióntan with an unpleasant surprise whenever he returns to his feeding spot…