Sword and Snow

The day after the decision to throw a party was made, Emery and Avuri made their way into the city the next day to get in contact with the Elders and Vale.

Flowing Dragon City was in a very strange state. The outward appearance was the same as always. Yes, the city had nearly been besieged a few weeks ago, but that seemed a distant memory to the people out and about on the streets, conducting their business.

But the actual inner workings of the city were hard at work on various things after the attack. The Elders wanted to strengthen their forces and hire more regular guards. Defenses were reinforced. A new and improved intelligence network was being put together. Travelling Cultivators were being approached in the interest of hiring them as part of an elite strike team.

The Elders were truly at work behind the scenes trying to not only ensure that they wouldn’t be ‘so clearly outmatched’ again. But more than that, they were trying to prepare for whatever Aysol might decide to send their way. And the multiple unknowns involved made preparations difficult and varied.

When Emery and Avuri arrived, they really weren’t sure where they could reliably find any of the Elders, but hoped that at least either Lyn or Cyril would be in attendance at their own restaurant. And they both whispered silent thanks that Cyril was indeed in the kitchen cooking away.

Once they brought up the idea of the family barbeque, Cyril was quickly on board. He finished the dish he was working on, passed instructions to the many other cooks, and hung up his apron, before making tracks to round up the other Elders.

Emery and Avuri decided to wait at the Pavilion and have lunch while Cyril disseminated the news. It didn’t even take very long for him to return with Vale tagging along behind him.

As it turned out, Emery was right - the Elders could indeed use some time off and were more than happy to attend the family’s party. And Vale would be accompanying them back to the Basin for now, as his work was done for the moment. He would likely be returning to the city after the barbeque, but for now he was free to enjoy some family time.

They mutually decided that the party would be in three days, and then Emery, Avuri, and Vale were off.

And those three days of prep passed by in a blink.

When the day of the party rolled around, the excitement around the Basin was palpable. The kids were all excited, whether it was for the food, activities, or just the party in general varied from one to another, but no one was looking to stay inside.

Breakfast came and went quickly, which left everyone to set up for the party. Most of the large preparations had been made in advance, but they still needed to be set up. Tables were covered with tablecloths, empty food dishes and bowls were set out, ready to be filled later. Smaller scale games were set out and ready to be played; things like a beanbag toss, horseshoes, and even a net and ball for volleyball.

But the older kids were dead set on preparing for the dodgeball game.

It had been the focal point for a lot of the kids since it was decided. They had spent the last several days trying to decide how they wanted to set up the field for the game. The size of the arena was argued over, as was the material for the ground, the material for the ball, and even the number of dodgeballs in play.

The adults had relented and allowed the kids to decide basically all the rules - within reason. Of course, if the kids decided to play a trick on them and make the playfield tiny, they would veto that. But with how intense the conversations had been over the last few days, Emery was almost positive it wouldn’t come to that.

By noon it seemed like everything had been decided upon; and it was the regulation rules used by the Dodgeball Qi League. Or at least it was when it came to the court size: twenty square meters for each team, with a no-man’s land in the middle that was three meters wide. There was also a deadbox around each team’s play zone that allowed out players to stay involved.

To up the stakes, the kids decided on just one ball being in play. It meant that everyone watching could really focus on the plays being made, rather than trying to follow multiple balls flying around at obscene speeds. It wasn’t a bad decision, but it certainly wasn’t normal rules, which used three balls.

The playground had been converted from dirt to stone by Cove at the kids’ request. Evidently, a slightly uneven stone playing field made the ball bounce erratically which could lead to some sudden excitement; that seemed fair.

And the ball itself was a legitimate Qi Dodgeball that Glenn had procured, although Emery wasn’t sure she believed him - she was pretty sure he had it with him already, given how excited he had been for this over the last few days.

Qi Dodgeballs were hand-crafted things that were basically crafted the way spiritual weapons were. They were designed and tempered to channel Qi with high efficiency, allowing players to channel techniques into the ball before throwing it. It also meant that getting it by it would hurt a great deal and it was very heavy and durable. It may not have been actually made of metal, but the heft was roughly equivalent to a cannonball - just with a softer outer shell.

By the time everything for the dodgeball match was set up, the Elders had arrived and the atmosphere around the Basin could only be described as giddy. Emery and Avuri had promised that they would have the dodgeball match before cooking - which meant that as soon as the Elders were all greeted, it was likely to get rolling.

Once the Elders landed, everyone gathered around by the dining pavilion to say hello and mingle a bit. The adults let the kids have their turn, as each of them greeted and bowed to the Elders in turn. They were all well behaved, and some of the older kids even helped the little ones bow. The Elders, as usual, were friendly and doting with the kids - except for Ray who continually picked fights with the older ones. Practice punches and kicks were thrown regularly in jest near him.

Cove was the first one to approach the Elders after the kids, and he led with the question that had been on his mind for days now. He stepped up to Eiry, bowed politely, and immediately said, “We’re setting up for a Qi Dodgeball game. Would the Elders be interested in taking part?”

Emery saw Ray’s smile widen into a wolf-like grin so fast that it almost scared her. But Eiry was faster with her reply before Ray could step up. “I think we’d better sit this one out.” She said, looking around at the field that had been prepared. Cove looked dejected. “Don’t misunderstand me, Cove. I’m not against us playing later. But I’m sorry to say that I think if we got involved no one else would have fun.”

“If any of the kids were planning to play, anyway.” Vyne agreed. “The adults may be able to take some of the heat, but even if we lowered our Qi output to, say, Earth Realm, our physical abilities are still too much.”

Ray sighed and hung his head. “I hate to say it, but they’re right. We should sit out.”

“How about something like an exhibition match later, then?” Mica said, stepping up. She bowed as a polite greeting before continuing. “We can have the family match now - given that I think the kids might explode if we don’t - and then play an exhibition match later with the adults and Elders split into teams.”

Ray seemed to brighten at that. “Yeah, that sounds like fun!”

“It does.” Eiry agreed. “Cyril? Lyn? Are we all agreed?”

They both nodded. “I could use the ability to let off a little steam.” Lyn said. “I haven’t been able to do much other than paperwork the last few weeks, so some physical activity would be great.”

“Vale?” Eiry asked. “We’ll need you for even teams.”

He snorted out a chuckle. “Sure, I’ll play.”

A cheer went up from everyone in response, and quiet mutterings started about how excited the kids were to see the Elders in action - even if it was a controlled game.

Once Emery, Avuri, and the rest of the family had said their greetings, Emery clapped her hands to gather everyone’s attention.

“Alright, everyone form up! It’s time to split us up into teams.”

Again, the excitement bubbled up, and it took Talya, Gray, and Vale to corral the kids into the benches that had been made specifically to watch this game - courtesy of the Earth Cultivators among the family.

Eventually, once everyone was settled, the players were lined up and ready to be split. Glenn, Cove, and Mica stood off to the left while Emery and Avuri were to the right. “Cierra, you’re with us.” Emery said, beckoning her eldest over. Cierra hopped her way over, clearly excited.

“To keep things fair, you three can pick first.” Avuri said, giving Glenn and his team the go ahead. They weren’t about to argue.

They looked over their potential picks. Stena, Kord, Briar, Fia, Enrik, and Karn were standing there, eagerly awaiting a pick. Elise, the only other Earth Realm among the kids, volunteered to sit out for two reasons; one, to keep the teams even - but more because she had trained herself mostly as a healing expert until now, and felt she wouldn’t be able to keep up well in the game. She was, however, standing by to help with any injuries.

“Karn.” Glenn said, and motioned them over. Emery was a little surprised by the pick as Karn was notably the most recent of the kids to reach the Earth Realm, but Karn and Glenn had also spent a fair bit of time together over the last few days as similar wood artists.

“Fia.” Cierra picked, before Emery or Avuri could speak. As Fia strolled over, Emery noticed the teasing smirk that Cierra was leveling at Stena. No doubt, she was hoping to leave her to be picked last. Emery and Avuri rolled their eyes in unison; as if that would work.

“Stena.” Mica said with a big smile, and waved the girl over. Stena jogged over and gave Mica a double high-five. Immediately following that, she looked over at Cierra and stuck out her tongue. “We’re gonna beat you into a pulp!”

Cierra just responded with a beckoning gesture. “Bring it on.”

“We’ll take Enrik.” Avuri said, calling him over. Enrik trotted over, pleased to be picked. He bumped fists with Fia and Cierra as he settled into place.

“Kord, come on down!” Cove called, doing a huge sweeping motion with his arm. Kord made his way to his team and settled into place at the end of the line. He was keeping his game face on, and was determined to do his best.

“Alright, Briar, come join us.” Emery said, but Briar was already headed their way anyway as the last one picked. They looked a little sad that they were last, but Emery ruffled their hair as they approached the team. “Don’t be sad you were picked last, alright? I knew I didn’t need to pick you early because they wouldn’t want three wood Cultivators all on one team.”

Emery grinned as their team gathered around them, and she smirked toward Avuri’s cousins. “And we put together a team that is more than capable of wiping the floor with them.”