The feast hall had been cleaned from the previous night, and the little windows of open grillwork visible along the roof allowed the morning breeze to circulate through the rafters; the banners now swayed gently in the slight breeze. The room now seemed cavernous, empty of the previous day�s crowds. Now visible were wrought-iron candle holders writhed like vines up the columns. Little green-enameled leaves and translucent glass roses decorated the metal vines, casting red-hued highlights on the stone as the sunlight flickered through the glass flowers. Along the west wall, there was a trio of fireplaces with a long, plush carpet set with couches and cushions on a slightly-raised platform in front of them, the couches arranged comfortably around the hearths. Calley was at the edge of the step, sitting on the carpet and removing her shoes before running over to join some of the other children at one of the clusters of couches. The hearths were covered with artful, clear glass panels to protect the carpet from sparks.
A buffet of breakfast pastries and sausages was laid out on one table nearby; another table looked to have been commandeered by the kids as a place to lay their backpacks and cloaks, in spite of the cloak pegs lining the wall near the door.
A small crowd had been gathering over the morning to partake in the small breakfast, seating themselves amongst the tables and chatting happily. Many of the town�s rangers and knights were present, as well as most of Laurel�s older squires and Jr. rangers, all of whom ranged in age anywhere from eleven years to great-grandparenthood.
From a table near the stage, a heavy-set man was waving to them; Mia waved back, and the two walked over to join the group seated at the table. The man was Mikael Evanfyrr, Silvi�s father and an inactive Knight; Mia embraced him with a friendly hug. �Mika, good morning��
�Good morning, Lady Mia�� Mika replied with a grin, turning to shake Donovan�s hand. Mika appeared to be in his late twenties, but there was a heavy weight in his eyes; while he really wasn�t but 35, his experiences as a knight had lead him through some rough times. It was only the virtue of his sylvan heritage�for he was Katt�s son�that he appeared to be so young, physically. The weight in his tired eyes betrayed age and experience beyond even his real years.
He clapped Donovan on the shoulder in a familiar, friendly manner as they shook hands. �Donovan,� he greeted with a smiling nod.
Donovan nodded, smirking. He glanced with a nod towards the group of children. �Can you believe this?�
�No, not one bit,� Mika replied sadly, looking longingly over at his daughter. �Are you sure it�s ten that they�re allowed to run off on us like this?�
Mia laughed, sitting down, �At least you still have Jade, Mika� I don�t know what I�m going to do with myself with both kids tromping off through the wilderness this summer��
�Jade�s only got a few more years, herself, and you know how it is: sister see, sister do� she�ll be running off on me, too, in a few years.�
They settled into a long, nostalgic conversation, helping themselves to the small buffet as they gossiped with the other adults and maow at their table. Across the hall, Calley and the others of her class were practically jumping with excitement and apprehension, talking about the travels they had ahead. Nips, settling back into the cushions of a couch with a jelly-filled donut, was simply trying to enjoy the comforts of the plush fireside seating before Calley swept him off with her into the primitive wildlands. Peiro was next to him; Nips seemed to have somewhat accepted Peiro after the drakling had offered him the very first chocolate-chip biscuit to come out of the oven the previous night.
Katt, her woodcat by her side, appeared through the door beyond the stage and walked over towards the parents' table; in her hands, she carried a small packet of folded green fabric. Coming up to them, she bowed her head in greeting and respect. �Plezi raress, yeia,� she greeted musically with a friendly smile, folding her hands behind her back, holding the packet. The bobcat-size maow that was her companion just gazed dreamily out over the hall.
�Good morning, Katt,� Mia smiled back, nodding her head to the sylvan woman; Katt often used her native language, and most in the Highlander town knew enough sylvan to understand. In such towns as Laurel, the two languages were often integrated, though the �common� highland speech was more prevalent.
Mika, sitting on the bench a little to Katt�s left, grinned and offered his mother a roll. �Raress, Lady Ma,� he replied.
Katt declined the bread with a graceful wave, placing a hand on her son�s shoulder. �No, thank you�� she responded, her green eyes wandering across the hall in search of her students. �The weather seems fair, today� it will be a solid start for them.�
Mika�s wife, a slim woman with hair the color of the sky, sighed deeply, leaning against her husband�s shoulder as she watched her daughters by the fireplace. �I hope the weather stays nice� I�ll be sick with worry if it rains��
�It�s nearly solstice,� Mika replied, hugging his wife with a smile. �The warmth of summer is upon us. She�ll be fine� she�s been taught how to take care of herself.�
Mia inhaled deeply, nodding with a faint smile. �They have been taught well, and I have faith that they will be able to apply what they�ve learned.�
�It is time to find out�� Donovan responded, his blue eyes on the door.
Dr. Lake was walking into the feast hall, engrossed in a rather serious-looking conversation with Zane, Makzin, and Lena. The boys were wearing the same ceremonial garb as the previous night; even Gideon had donned a small tabard, and red and yellow streamers of cloth fluttered from his scythe among the usual green-and-blue feathers. Lena, as Zane�s Knight Champion, was dressed in much heavier armor than the rangers; the polished silver reflected the morning�s light to give the armor golden-hued highlights. The Hall�s crest was embossed on the top of her breastplate, and the cloth underneath the chainmail peaked out with a brilliant red through the small links. Her arm, covered under her armoring, gave no hint of the icy magic that had touched it the previous day.
Timber had been helped into his own ceremonial armor that was fitted to him like the armor of a warhorse. Calla followed along behind, looking out of place in her simple leather armor, but she was not yet a Jr. Ranger, let alone a Ranger, so in ceremony she wasn't required to wear the Hall�s emblem. She was ignoring the rangers� talk, and as she came in, the young monax scanned the hall and went running off to join Calley and Nips.
The group paused when they came in, finishing what seemed to be a grave conversation with nods and agreement.
Katt looked over towards them, and Dr. Lake gave the teacher a half-smile. Katt�s woodcat was watching them in mild interest.
�Well, are we ready?� Zane asked the doctor, coming to the task at hand.
Dr. Lake nodded, looking over to the Jr. Ranger class. Their chatter echoed across the feast hall�s stone and their excitement seemed to permeate the air. �I think so. Time for the final exam��
Katt nodded across the way, acknowledging them. �Very well�� and she looked down to her maow. The woodcat stretched a bit and, without command, wandered off towards the students. The cat may always seem to appear unattentive and bored, but he was the most alert creature in Laurel. Katt smiled again to the group at the table, patting Mika�s shoulder again. Behind her, Zane and his group quietly dissapeared through the doors again.
�Mika, could you guide everyone to the garden?� Katt asked. Her eyes had brightened; the teacher, while more composed, was just as excited about the final test as her students were.
Her son nodded, coming to his feet. �Sure thing, Lady Ma�� he replied, smiling.
* * * * *
