pun_king | The Kingdom of Daventry; Wednesday [05/08] - Day THREE of the Tournament of Knights!

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The Kingdom of Daventry; Wednesday [05/08] - Day THREE of the Tournament of Knights!

Although the weather around Daventry continued to be bright and sunny, there was a certain dark cloud that seemed to have been cast over the competition. On the third and final day of the Tournament of Knights, the last remaining Knight Hopefuls will be paired up in a series of randomly drawn matches to test their Speed, their Strength, and their Wits. Which of the illustrious candidates will rise to the top to secure their spot as a member of the Daventry Guard? Only one way to find out!

Come one, come all, to enjoy the spectacle and the show as Daventry finds itself its next worthy knight!

[[ and, of course, for those amongst the Daventry-bound and still NFB for distance! ]]

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Rise and shine, it's the last day of the Tournament! There's plenty of events to go see and witness today, but also plenty of time to do more exploring about the kingdom (as much as the bridges allow, anyway!). Have some breakfast, visit the shops, explore the woods. Daventry is yours to enjoy while the rest of the kingdom is in a flurry of activity and excitement for the Duels.

For all anyone could probably tell at a passing glance, Acorn had set up in a far, quiet corner of the courtyard that morning to warm up for the day's duels. Squats. Stretches. Jumping jacks (albeit entitely without the jumping).

But a keener eye (or maybe anyone with a bone to pick) might notice that whenever he was sure no one else was noticing, he was fiddling a bit with something bright and colorful in his hands and seemingly murmuring to himself about something, activities he would swiftly mask with more supposed warm-ups if anyone got too near.

"Hey!" A voice snapped at him, happy to interrupt either warmups or fiddling. Arden, significantly shorter than him but currently carrying herself like she was 8 feet even, glared up at him, finger pointing up at what little she could make out of his features through his helm. "Sit your tall ass down, I've got a bone to pick with you." She held up the remains of something equally bright and colorful, made of yarn and shook it at him. "You wanna explain this?"

After quickly tucking that ball of colorful yarn back out of sight and under his armor, Acorn straightened up to his full, imposing, massive height, preparing to meet this tiny little thing's bluster with a good deal of his own.

Until he saw what was in her hands.

The little round eyes behind his helm went wide for a moment.

"Give me that!" he said, moving to snatch the tangled mess of yarn from her. "What are you doing with one of my wetzel traps?"

"Don't you snatch!" Arden said, dodging out of his way and reaching out to smack the top of his hand. Which, due to the gauntlet, did nothing more than hurt her fingers. "Ahh!" she hissed, waggling her hand to soothe the sting. "As for what I'm doing with it, it's what I had to cut outta a tree to get my friend's steed down. Why are you so irresponsible with your damn wetzel traps?"

When the girl pulled back hee hand with that little hiss of pain, Acorn couldn't help a small chuckle, exactly tge sort of chuckle you'd expect from someone with a belly armor like that, and then he shook his head.

"Lemme guess," he said, lifting a finger at her. "You're probably friends with that skinny little feather boy, aren't you? Well, missy, I got a question for you, too! Why's his mount the one getting all up in my wetzel traps in the first place? Those things are for wetzel wolves only! Sounds like someone needs to keep a better eye on their own trusty steeds."

Arden heard that laugh and narrowed her eyes, wondering if whacking him with a brick of air would count as unfair interference by the judges and, if so, if they could trace is back to her. "Oh, are they now?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "Did you just decide that they were for wetzels and figured that was that? Because that's not how the world works. You know that right? Please tell me that you know that."

"Mmmm." Acorn seemed to give a thoughtful hum, narrowing his tiny little eyes like pinpricks of light in the shadow of his helm right back at her, then waved a hand dismissively. "Not my problem!"

"And that's why we're having this conversation!" Arden snapped. "Because you're an asshole that doesn't worry about what other wildlife could be hurt by your stupid wetzel traps! You didn't think about all the other creatures that could get caught in them and get hurt or even killed by then. And killed bad. You think starving to death is quick? Or getting strangled is painless? Or getting yarn tangled up in your intestines? What a terrible outlook for a so-called Knight Hopeful to have. Only concerned about himself."

There a long pause.

Followed by a very long sigh, and Acorn shook his head again.

"Listen, kid," he said, his voice lowered to a whisper (not that one!) after looking from one side to the other to make sure everyone else was put of earshot as he leaned forward, "I agree with you! Animals are our friends! Why else do you think I brought a whole wolf last night instead of just it's eye? I couldn't bring myself to harm that creature, any more than I had to! And, alright, you're right, I may have gone a little overboard with the traps, and I could have done a better job of keeping an eye on them, but I'm just trying to do what I can! You got a problem with animal cruelty, why don't you take this up with the guys who want us hunting down hideous beast eyes in the first place? This here's a systemic issue! And we're just stuck in it!"

Arden's jaw dropped. "I was thinking that," she hissed back, also in a (not-that-one) whisper. "I've got a whole list of systemic issues I'd like to take up with them. Wait, then, if you know all that stuff, why are you competing?! Are you planning to fix things from the inside...?"

Again, there was a pause practically the same size as Acorn himself.

He looked around again and then looked at Arden very, very cautiously.

"If I tell you," he ventured, "do you promise not to breath a word of it to anyone? Especially not to that skinny-and-bones little feather-boy friend of yours?"

Edited 2024-05-08 19:50 (UTC)

Arden narrowed her eyes. "Is it going to put people in danger, especially Graham?" she asked. "Because if your plan is to come in and--what's the phrase? Put everybody to the sword or whatever so the animals can be free, then absolutely not. But if you're not planning something that will unduly harm the lives and livelihoods of innocent people, I'm willing to swear."

She could accept that sometimes shaking up an entrenched power system could have some short term negative consequences for people. That was just what happened.

"Unduly harm the lives and livelihoods of innocent peop--!" Acorn blustered ashe repeated it with indignation before huffing out a sound, with his hands cutting in the air in front of him in protest. "What are you--no. No, ma'am! I'm only here--"

His next pause was hesitant; his hefty shoulders slumped forward and he crossed one arm over his to sheepishly rub his arm as his head ducked almost shyly.

"--to please my parents..."

Another hesitation before he looked at Arden and ventured, "What I really want to do....is open my own crafts store."

...Oh no. That was the most perfect and precious answer in the history of the world.

"Oh," Arden said quietly as what he said went HUGELY contrary to her expectations. But listen, you ask an Othersider for open-ended promise, you had to expect boundaries to be added. That was just smart. "Oh, no wonder you--" She didn't finish her statement out of deference to other people being around. Instead, she pulled out the trap and really examined it. "The stitching here is nice and even, and--is that a pattern in here? Oh, it's super-subtle and pretty!"

She didn't ask why he was trying to please his parents instead of doing what he wanted, instead just asked casually, "But if you don't get that single spot, would you be free to open your shop then?"

Sure, you couldn't really see Acorn's face, but it probably didn't take a great leap of faith to know that it was currently glowing. "No one's ever complimented me on my work before," he said. "Well....except the squirrels. That....means a lot, little lady...err...what was your name again?"

"Arden," she said, offer her hand to shake. "Arden Finch. And you're...Acorn?"

Once the pleasantries were concluded, Arden looked thoughtful, then suddenly excited. "Stay right there," she said. "Please? And don't worry, I'm keeping my promise!"

And then she dashed off, looking for Graham, where she was absolutely going to hit him up for however much a new sweater would cost in Daventry money.

Down by the mill, a course has been mapped out for an epic race between the competitors, and the lots have been drawn that Manny and Acorn would be matched against each other, as would Graham and Whisper. There is a small stand of bleachers by the finish line for the gathering spectators to watch and cheer on their favorite Knight Hopeful as they and their mighty steeds are put to the test in a battle of speed!

Was Belle cheering for Triumph just a bit more than for Graham here? Perhaps but who could blame her. Triumph was the best.

"Aren't they awesome?" Charlie said cheerfully.

"They're wonderful," Belle said. "And everyone gets to see that now!"

Assuming the day went well, of course.

Travel to Daventry's very own Fantastical Floating Island (which was, admittedly, not all that fantastical or not even actually floating) for the Duel of Strength! It will be Manny versus Whisper and Graham versus Acorn in this mighty battle to see who can strongarm the other into the water from the island arena! It's sure to be no-holds-barred, edge-of-your-seat excitement!

Graham had told Belle of the floating island once and they'd both been excited to see it someday. She wondered now if he was as let down by the real thing as she was or if he was far too busy focusing on the tournament.

The last of the Duels will conclude with the Duel of Wits, back at the Tournament Theater, where the competitors will compete against each other in a classic game of Knight's Duel. Whisper will face off with Acorn, and Graham will face off with Manny. It's a classic game of wits and wonder, but who will come out on top?

And after all was said and done (and maybe even played out, but unlikely!), and with the competition whittled down to just three Knight Hopefuls after Achaka's death and Manny's dramatic departure, the scores were tallied and the winner was obvious. After a great deal of legalize and reading off of technical rules, addendums, and Very Important Documents, King Edward himself emerged onto the stage, old and feeble as he was, with a warm and kindhearted smile, to welcome the newest member of the Daventry Guard.

No longer would young Graham Cracker have to worry about his name being so rudely interrupted, because he was, officially, no longer Graham Cracker at all, but instead Sir Graham of Daventry.

And you know what? It was kind of a big deal!

Charlie was on her feet roaring her happiness! (~~Just as she had at least handwavily in the other threads!~~)

"WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Arden said, up on her feet and cheering.

While also taking pictures so that Graham could check them all out later.

Vi whistled and stomped her feet, because she could make a lot of noise when she wanted to.

And with another successful Tournament of Knight come to its conclusion, the sun was beginning to set on Daventry. There had, of course, been many knights welcomed into the Royal Guard over the years, the decades, the centuries, even, and though no one could really quite put their finger on it, there seemed to be something different in the air with this one. Or maybe that was just how Graham....Sir Graham....felt, as he closed one chapter of his life and opened up the book to a whole new one. And just as he felt when he first step foot on a strange little island off the coast of Maryland in a realm far, far away from this one, he knew, going forward, he was never going to be the same ever again.

There are portals available for anyone who'd like to return to Fandom that evening, but there are also rooms still in the inn for anyone who'd like to stay on another night and depart again in the morning. Things could probably be arranged for a longer stay, too, if you felt so inclined, but Graham was, regrettably, going to be a bit busy with his orientation. For tonight, however, there was just a warm glow of celebration, a deep knot of sadness, and a hopeful look toward a bright, new future, and the opportunity to be the knight he'd always wanted to be.

"Sir Graham!" Charlie was just beaming with happiness for him. "I knew you could do it!"

There were all sorts of mixed feelings running rampant through Graham that evening, but at least some things he knew he could feel simply and without complication, and that was just the sheer amount of pride and happiness that came along with Charlie's beaming expression and just how glad he was to have her here.

He smiled at her, taking a moment to lift his hat and duck his head in a little bit of a bow. "My lady," he said, all nice and formal and proper because he was a knight now, and then he chuckled a little at himself, shaking his head, still mystified by that fact, and dropped into just his usual old Graham self. "Thanks, Charlie. I really couldn't have done it without you. Or any of you, really. I just..."

Okay, maybe the feelings were a little more complicated after all.

"Thanks," he said again. "Just....thanks."

Charlie looked at him and just held out her arms. "Come on, bring it in here!"

You wouldn't find Charlie dwelling much on negative feelings, but she was certainly happy to add a bit of cheerfulness to any situation. Hopefully that would help a little.

And you wouldn't find Graham passing up a hug. Not from anyone, but especially not from Charlie.

Although when he hugged back, it might have been a little tighter, a little more clingy, than it might have been, and he was absolutely going to hold onto that hug as long as he possibly can.

"Promise you'll come visit!" he said. "You've been here now, so you can always find your way here, right? And we can go on even more adventures throughout this land, too, just like we did back on Earth. We can go to Serenia, and Llewdor, and Kolyma and Tanalore and maybe even Modesto!"

Charlie would hang on as long as he wanted. She might not be the best at talking about feelings, but she was always there for her friends - especially Graham.

"You just try and keep me away," she said. "I checked it out and I can travel the Wood between here and back home. And I can follow your song anywhere, so You never know where I might turn up!"

"Sir Knight!"

Belle was smiling brightly at Graham as she dropped into a curtsy.

And Graham didn't even need to correct her or anything this time!

"My good fair lady," he responded, beaming right back for a moment before lifting his hat and bowing politely, courtly, and then going right back to beaming.

"Can you believe it? I really did it! I'm a Knight of the Realm now!"

It almost didn't feel real. He might need someone to pinch him!

Edited 2024-05-08 19:24 (UTC)

"I never had any doubt you would," Belle told him. "You and Triumph were wonderful. Are wonderful."

She was going in for a hug, Graham. There was no stopping this.

Why would Graham ever want to stop a hug? Especially from his friends. Especially from Belle.

Hopefully, she didn't mind that it was a little extra clingy, a little extra tight, and that he was going to hold onto it for as long as he possibly could.

"Thanks, Belle," he said. "For everything."

The possibility existed that this might be their last hug, at least for a long time, so Belle was more than happy to let it go on as long as Graham wanted or needed.

"Thank you for inviting me along," she said. "And for being you."

Thank you, everyone, for coming and sharing this part of Graham's story with me! I didn't have nearly as much time to dedicated to it as I wanted to, but there was no lack of emotion and appreciation for everything it managed to be! I'll probably be very scattered today, so please know that Graham totally crushes it in all the Duels (of course!).

This is far from the end of his story; it's really just the beginning, and I'm really looking forward to how to continue to weave this amazing tale into Fandom more moving on.

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The Kingdom of Daventry; Wednesday [05/08] - Day THREE of the Tournament of Knights!

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OOC - ToK Day 3 - 05/08.