That night, after his exhausting day of uncooperative bondbirds, panicked dyheli, and various other trials, he sank gratefully into his favorite pool. He was grateful it was empty, because he didn't feel like being very social right now. Of course, with the way his day was going so far, the pool didn't remain empty for long.
Amberfeather had already eaten his supper, provided by one of the Vale's ever-helpful hertasi, and was thinking of asking for something warm to drink when a veritable herd of people approached his pool. Seeing him in there alone, they stopped and looked at him, likely judging whether or not they would be welcome.
Winddancer had no such qualms.
"Come on, everyone, it's just Amberfeather," she called out, cheerfully. "He won't mind us joining him." She quickly stripped and entered the pool, choosing a seat along the side after putting her hair carefully on top of her head.
The others glanced at him as if to judge the truth of this statement, then seemed to give mental shrugs, and joined them in the pool.
Amberfeather looked around the pool at who had joined him. There were five others in total, three scouts and two mages in training. They were all of a similar age to Amberfeather, who was 17 himself.
"So, how was the rest of your day, Amberfeather?" asked Winddancer. "When I last saw you, you weren't very happy." She grinned at him impishly.
"Why weren't you happy?" asked Rainbird, one of the scouts. She rarely had much to say, but was a very kind person. She seemed genuinely concerned about Amberfeather's happiness.
"It was nothing," Amberfeather said, embarrassed. "Today was just a really… bad day."
"We've all had bad days, silly," Winddancer put in. "You don't need to be embarrassed." She looked at the others and said, "I caught him just as he fell over a very large tree root. He wasn't very happy that I caught him."
"Don't tease, Winddancer," rebuked Winterflower, one of the two mages, and the oldest in this group. "Amberfeather… I think we should listen to your tale of your bad day, then we should all share our stories about our bad days. It will pass the time, and I'm sure it'll make you feel better." She laughed, and added, "Plus, most of the stories are sure to make us all laugh."
Amberfeather glanced around the group.
"Yes, tell us your story, Amberfeather," Starsong said, "so we can tell you ours. I'm sure my bad day was worse than yours!" Starsong was a cheerful fellow, and his eyes sparkled with the delight about the coming stories.
Amberfeather sighed, and said, "Okay… here is the tale of my bad day."