After making a game out of carrying the various does (and Tasha) to the site, the blanket is spread and food and wine are set out. Tyche's daughters Laia and Lia stay close to Aisha, the better to share in Layth's attentions, since he promised to feed them fruit. Roland plays the role of host, handing out food and telling exaggerated stories of his and Aaron's youth, which Aaron often interrupts with corrections. Chloe and Coeus, the two slaves, eat mostly in silence, while Lucia seems to hang on Roland's every word.

Tasha lounges on her side now, head propped in a hand, and wings draped over her shoulder and behind her. She listens to Roland too; ears swiveled his way. All in all, she's feeling as relaxed as she has felt since she arrived in Amazonia.

Layth looks between the three does and then shrugs as he gathers up a plate of food for them. He then proceeds to offer bits of fruit to each in turn and not really eating anything himself. "You should get Roland to feed you, Tasha," Layth notes with a small grin. "Afterall, if he wants to beat out Zig-Zig, you should make him work for it… "

"Hmmm, Roland act like a servant?" Aaron muses. "I'd like to see that myself!"

"Tha's a good idea, it is, Tasha agrees. She wags her tail and leans up to grin at Roland. "'Ow 'bout it?"

"It is true that a warrior should have an attendant," Roland notes. "And since Xavier apparently belongs to Calligenia, I shall take up the duty while Aldara Tasha is our guest," he intones, with his ears laid back and his voice hinting that this is some great sacrifice on his part.

"Well, 'op to it then. The fruit's not gettin' to me mouth on its own," Tasha insists, grinning all the more.

Layth motions to Chloe. "You are welcome to come over and I'll willingly feed you fruit as well, if you wish, Chloe," he notes as he's getting another plate of food. And then with a glance to Aaron, he notes with another small grin, "And perhaps Master Lightfoot could brush your hair for you, Tasha."

Tasha's ears perk. "Another grand idea – If Calli don't mind, that is," she replies.

Chloe blushes brightly at the offer, then looks down and says, "I should really help Coeus set up the volleyball net."

Aaron blinks, his mouth too full to reply. After swallowing, he asks, "I don't suppose anyone brought a brush?" Lucia laughs, and produces one from her tunic, explaining, "Ever since Anysia visited, I have carried one with me."

"You don't have to be so embarrassed, Chloe. I'm sure there is plenty of time to get the net up," Layth notes as he returns to the three does and resumes placing bits of fruit into each of their mouths. "But, if you would prefer to do the net, I most certainly understand."

The two cousins surround Tasha: Roland kneeling down in front of her with a plate of food, and Aaron behind her, trying to avoid getting smacked by a fluffy tail or a wing.

Chloe and Coeus whisper for a bit, and then the doe comes over to join the group with Layth, still looking a bit embarrassed.

Tasha lifts her upper wing, so that Aaron can walk around her and get near her hair. "See, now, ain't this the life? I could be off on me airs- … I mean, doin' wha' it is me clan does, or I could be 'ere." Tasha's tail dances along Aaron's leg, once the cousins are in place, and she opens her mouth invitingly for a piece of fruit.

Layth reaches under Chloe's chin lightly to nudge her chin upward, then lightly places a bit of fruit on her tongue when she finally opens her mouth. "See? Nothing to be so worried about. No one is going to bite," he notes.

Not wanting to be left out, Lucia sits behind Roland, and rubs his back while the buck raises up a slice of apple, pausing briefly at the sight of so many sharp teeth. "Be sure to count your fingers afterwards, cousin," Aaron quips, and slips a hand under Tasha's long blonde hair to raise it slightly for brushing.

"I bite," Tasha insists. She makes a show of chomping the apple slice with those many sharp teeth. Shortly after, she suddenly snaps at Aaron when he's not looking and she thinks she can startle him.

Aaron squeaks and nearly falls over backwards, almost taking a hank of Tasha's hair with him.

With the typical impatience and energy of youth, Coeus soon grows bored of watching. He gets up and pulls a long net from a sack, and then sits down to unfold it without causing tangles.

Laughing, Roland says, "You were always too timid around women, Xavier!" He then offers up another bit of fruit – probably from a peach – to Tasha.

"OW, ye' – wot'cher!" Tasha falls back in to Aaron's lap when he yanks on her hair, then she grabs at HIS hair and tries to pinch his nose!

Roland slips the peach over his shoulder to Lucia, and watches the wrestling match. "Ow! Hey!" Aaron complains as he's tugged and pinched.

"I'm very glad none of you act like that," Layth tells the does.

"Afraid we'd hurt you?" Aisha asks Layth, smirking.

After wrestling with Aaron a bit, Tasha picks him up, carries him back over where she was sitting, and then settles back down again. "An' this time do i' right, or I'm pinchin' somethin' else," she warns, before snorting a laugh.

"Do you think you could, Lady Aisha?" Layth asks Aisha.

The golden doe suddenly blushes, and shakes her head. "If I could, I wouldn't need you for a bodyguard."

Layth motions to Calli's sisters and notes, "Now, they probably could, of course."

"We wouldn't hurt you, Layth," Laia promises, while Lia giggles.

"No? Then what?" Layth asks the two as he offers Aisha, then Chloe, more fruit.

Aaron grumbles. "Do it right? You have too much hair." He tries brushing more lightly.

"We'd just hold you down for Aisha," Lia says, then leans against Aisha and giggles. "And maybe have Chloe tickle your toes."

"You are most cruel," Layth admonishes.

"I thought you liked brushin'? You like brushin' Calli," complains the Vartan. Then, to Roland, Tasha asks, "I don't 'ave too much 'air, do I? I like my 'air. 'Ow'd you get a cousin like 'im, anyway?"

"It is all my father's fault for having his mother as a sister," Roland explains, and offers up some sort of honey-dipped, flaky pastry next.

As he brushes, Aaron tries to sort out the long hair, and ends up making a thick braid.

"So, are you two trained as warriors like your sister, Calligenia?" Layth asks Lia and Laia.

"'Ow odd, does that 'appen often Roland? My father some sort o' noble, wanderin' aroun', doin' noble things. Makes me some kind o' lady," the Vartan explains. She momentarily glances back at Aaron and, approving of his job, pats him on the head before nibbling the pastry.

"We've had some training," Laia says. "Not as much as Calli or Celosia though. And Lia here is just too lazy." "Am not!" Lia argues, grabbing for her sister's ears.

Layth shakes his head at the two's antics. He finally looks back to Chloe. "Are you doing okay?" he asks her.

"Amazonian warriors usually give birth to fraternal twins," Roland explains. "Sometimes even triplets."

The servant doe nods her head vigorously, and then tries to gently pry apart the sparring Hydron siblings.

Tasha considers that a moment, then asks, "Is tha' why Calli looks like 'er mum?"

"I've fought with my sisters," Aisha admits.

"Yes, well, you fight with most of your family, don't you?" Layth asks Aisha and goes to help Chloe. He's trying to pin the two does to the blanket without hurting them.

Roland pauses to think about this question, looking over at the chocolate-and-cream colors of Lia and Laia. "It is commonly held that Tyche's traits are superior, and thus pass down to her daughters. I suspect that the Priestesses of Ashtoreth may act to help this happen."

"Vanity, thy name is Tyche," Aaron whispers, not wanting the other does to overhear.

"I've 'eard about the priestesses. I've a mind to see 'em, but Calli told me tha' might not work out well. 'Course, if you ask me father – an' I mean the man 'o raised me, jus' abou' – 'e'd tell you I don' listen anyway, so I may as well 'ave at it." Tasha grins, then squints over her shoulder at Aaron. "Don' 'spose you 'ad anythin' to do with all 'er daughters?"

"I want my children to have the traits of their father," Lucia comments.

"Any particular reason you want your children to have the traits of his father?" Layth inquires of Lucia while he's still dealing with the two Hydron does.

"To break away from my past," Lucia says. "I am a stranger here still, an outcast from a harsher land. My children should be big and healthy and long-lived."

"Ah, a fair reason," Layth says with a nod.

"I 'ear you, Lucia. We're on a similar boat, we are," tells the doe after grinning at her.

Aaron finishes Tasha's heavy braid, glad now that he learned how to make rope. "There, now you can wear a helmet."

"Then we can hit her repeatedly on the head … " Layth notes quietly.

"Are you going to try and have children with Zig-Zig then?" Lucia asks the Vartan.

"What about you, Lady Aisha?" Layth asks the golden doe.

"My children should be smart and refined," Aisha says. "Like me. When I decide to have them."

Tasha tilts her head, thinking, then says, "I don' think so. I'm no' but an' outsider 'ere either, Lucia, an' s'not my place. Sooner or later I'm goin' to 'ave to leave, an' I want to be aroun' me children – all 'o 'em, I think."

"Intelligence and refinement are taught, not bred, though," Layth points out, then shrugs quietly and sits back down once the two Hydron's still.

"Ah, so you will mate within your clan," Lucia says, nodding.

Tasha blinks at that. "My clan? S'pose I will, at that. Whoever they ar- … I mean, that's right by me."

"Hmmph, there are certain qualities to a proper bloodline, that… " Aisha starts to lecture, only to be interrupted by a Vykarin howl from the direction of the front gates. Three barks, and then a series of echoing clicks follow the howl.

Roland leaps to his feet, spilling the plate of food he'd had in his lap, and dashes off, vanishing in just a moment.

Layth's head jerks up and the buck gets to his feet, adapting a defensive posture. "What is going on?" he asks.

Tasha is slower to rise, but her ears are perked and her hackles raised. "I might be a foreigner, bu' I know the sound o' trouble when I 'ere it. Wha's goin' on," she asks as she pushes up to her feet.

"Three Cyclon warriors are approaching the main gate," Lucia translates, sounding unconcerned. Chloe, Lia, Laia and Coeus likewise calm down upon hearing the news.

"Who are Cyclon?" Layth inquires and drops the defensive stance, then pushes his lop ears back over his shoulder.

"Well get me in a bother for nothin'," Tasha complains. She returns to lounging – this time laying half a wing across Aaron and most of his face – and stretches. "I thought we were bein' invaded."

"A neighboring Clan," Lucia notes. "They control some of the coastline," Aaron adds, pushing Tasha's wing out of his face. "And only three, coming down the main road… no, not an invasion in itself. The Guardians will be posted on all of the walls though, in case it is a diversion, or a declaration of a formal attack."

"If it's an attack, shall Tasha and I assist?" Layth inquires, "Or is that normally not asked of guests."

"Since I'm bein' lazy an' what-not, I figure I'd offer: if y'need me to fly aroun' and look, I can do tha'. Jus' don' expect me to fight a real warrior. I'm thinkin' I'd be run through and split under 'fore I could bat a lash," the Vartan offers. She winks at Layth, too.

Aaron is quick to shake his head, "Gods no! If you fight, then you're fair game. Unless you're willing to kill or be killed, don't even think about it."

"Can we go see what's happening though?" Laia asks, sounding a little nervous.

"I'm a bodyguard, Master Lightfoot. That is, if need be, my purpose," Layth notes with a shrug and starts sitting, then stops when Laia asks her question.

"Ummm," Aaron replies, then looks to Lucia. The warrior thinks about it, then nods. "Xavier is the son of the Clan's lead warrior, and Agalaia and Basilia are likewise the daughters of a Clan leader. No one would question their right to be there."

Layth stands back up straight and offers his hands to Aisha and Laia. "Well, then I will go with you," he says.

"An' I'm some red doe, an' 'o'd question me." Tasha rolls over, grabs Aaron, and then stands him up as she stands herself up. She pats his head, then dusts her rear off.

"Okay then," Aaron says cautiously, and starts leading the way to the edge of the garden. Coeus and Chloe follow as well, since they're there to attend to their mistresses.

"Are the clans on good terms, currently?" Layth inquires as they go.

"Neighbors usually have plenty of things to compete over," Lucia notes. "Cyclon has little space to expand, and covets some of Kerebos' holdings."

Tasha follows along, explaining, "Better walk, case they see me flyin' an' shoot first." Then, a moment later she adds, "Got an' keep a watch on Layth and Aaron."

At the edge of the garden, near the main wing of the villa, the group can see what's going on. A lone warrior dressed in unfamiliar armor stands in the center of the courtyard, holding up a trident. Beyond the gate, three Vykarin and two mounted warriors wait, while at least a dozen armored bucks form a circle around the visitor. Roland and his father face the warrior, both clad in armor.

"This doesn't look all that good," Layth notes quietly.

"It must be some sort of parley or challenge," Aaron suggests, straining his ears forward. "They're speaking too low for me to overhear."

Tasha stands on her toes – in her case, hooftips – to get a better look. "Reminds me o' when the port authority 'as a search warrant from the Guard, an' they mean business," she whispers to Aaron.

"Perhaps they have heard you returned, Master Lightfoot, and seek to obtain you. You were not promised to be wed to one of them, were you? Many in the lands of Abu Dhabi flee arranged marriages and you fled from here… " Layth suggests and eyes the buck.

A Kerebos warrior emerges from the villa, and the ring of Guardians parts to let her pass. The two warriors face each other.

"No way!" Aaron blurts to Layth. "I'd never let mother do that to me!"

"Think they're goin' to 'ave a fight," Tasha asks no one in particular.

"That is Alcyone," Lucia says of the Kerebos warrior. When the woman removes her helmet, Tasha recognizes her from the bathhouse.

The Cyclon warrior likewise unstraps and lifts off her helmet… and also appears to be Alcyone!

"I remember her. Do you know what may be going on, Lady Lucia?" Layth inquires and watches the two intently.

"It may be a formal challenge," Lucia says, looking confused at the identical face of the Cyclon.

"It's … Aye, her. An' … also 'er. Is this another o' them strong lines o' breedin'," the Vartan asks, ears askew in confusion.

"Or a relative," Layth notes, leaning forward and wishing he could hear.

The two warriors nod to each other, then turn away. The Cyclon marches for the gate, and Alcyone returns to the villa. The visitor remounts her Vykarin, and the trio begins galloping back along the road.

Tasha shakes her head. "I'm never goin' to un'erstand any o' this, am?"

"I have no idea what that was," Layth admits with a shrug. "This land is alien to me now. I've lived away for too long."

"You've gotten by so far understanding as little as you do," Aaron jibes, though his heart doesn't seem to be in it. The Guardians in the courtyard begin to disband, although the ones on the walls stay at their posts. Roland and his father Xerxes talk briefly and then the older buck returns to the villa. Roland spies his friends and heads over towards them, removing his helmet in the process.

"I'm goin' to 'ave a newfoun' respect for me ship when I return," Tasha tells Layth. When Roland approaches, she waves to him, and then asks, "So wha' was that all abou'?"

Lucia takes Roland's helmet, and the buck says, "A formal challenge from Merope of Cyclon to Alcyone of Kerebos, to be fought at the Coliseum tomorrow. They are my half-sisters, and identical twins."

"I presume to the death? What is the purpose?" Layth inquires.

"To prove who is the stronger," Roland says. "My father was once Priapus. A Cyclon warrior contracted him, and bore twin girls. By tradition, my father was allowed to keep one, Alcyone."

Layth just shakes his head. "What is the point of proving who is stronger? There is always someone stronger," he says and then lets out a breath.

"I guess it's like bein' two o' the same person. You got some other you aroun', an' until they're gone, no one's goin' to be sure 'o it is tha's the real you, is it? 'Course, I still think it's right nonsense to kill o'er it. Can't just punch 'er in the ear?" Tasha shrugs her wings, then reaches over and hugs Aaron to her with one arm, frowning.

"It's to do with breeding," Aaron notes. "Usually, twins like that will fight before they come of age to decide which one gets to have children. But Alcyone already has a girl, I think. Unless she can defeat Alcyone, Merope won't be allowed to have children of her own."

"Defeat, or kill?" Layth asks.

"Not much difference," Aaron says.

"Considerable difference, but I won't argue the point," Layth says and then turns away.

"A defeated warrior is no longer a warrior," Lucia explains.

"An' why can't they jus' both 'ave children? An', … I'm jus' no goin' to say anythin', 'cause I jus' don' know," says the Vartan. She hugs on Aaron a little more, as if he were an oversized stuffed animal.

"My own mother went through that," Aaron says. "When she came back to Amazonia, she had to defeat the head of the Clan in order to have her status returned."

"All the more reason not to return," Layth notes.

"I'm even more glad I turned Zig-Zig down," Tasha adds.

"Had she not, the Athenaes would not be the dominant family," Roland says. "My father would not have his high position, nor would I."

"An' we wouldn't have no bunnies," Coeus adds.

"Position is not everything. Or at least, it is not in the wider world," Layth says with a shrug. "Lady Aisha, I presume you will not want to watch the combat tomorrow?"

"Do we have a choice not to?" Aisha whispers back to Layth.

"I will be there to support my squadmate and mentor," Lucia announces. "She will not be defeated."

"I presume it would be our choice, yes. Though, I could be wrong," Layth says.

"I'm thinkin' I'll pass on the combat, too. Makes me think o' wha' could o' been, an' it's a sad wha' could o' been, at tha'." Tasha leans back and looks skyward, then reaches up and rubs at her eyes a bit.

"You're Calli's guests, not mine," Aaron tells Layth and Aisha. "You don't have any obligations towards this."

"Only as friends. If you wished us there, I would attend," Layth says. "I've seen enough death on the roads. Death doesn't bother me. Pointless death does."

"I will go speak to Eidothea, Alcyone's daughter," Lucia says, and turns to walk back towards the bathhouse, with Coeus on her heels.

Tasha sniffs loudly, rubs her eyes a bit more, and then grabs Aaron's ear to wipe the bridge of her muzzle. "Go' somethin' in me eye," she explains quietly.

"You're better off not going," Aaron advises, while wincing at the abuse to his ear… "If Alcyone should fall, it will be… bad."

"Wish her the best for me, please," Layth says as Lucia is leaving. He then glances to Tasha and says, "No need to grieve for what has not come to pass yet. The future is that of water and wind. Always changing. Better off, yes. But, as your friends, would it be better for you if we were there?"

"I'M NOT GREIVIN'," Tasha growls before standing straight and letting go of Aaron's ear quickly. "It's me eye! EYE."

Aaron brushes out his ear, and says, "I'm not sure it would help me any to have more people feel uncomfortable. I'll be fine."

"And, question for you, Aaron. Would her clan want her to win so badly that they may try to interfere in her favor?" Layth asks and glances towards the other buck.

"Interfere with a duel? Don't even suggest that," Aaron says, pulling his ears down. "We want her to win because if she doesn't, then her daughter's life is forfeit as well."

"I am not suggesting we interfere. My concern is the other clan may interfere," Layth notes.

"Wha' if her daughter wasn' aroun'? I mean, if she up an' vanished, an' wha' not," Tasha inquires, ears forward.

Roland says, "Cyclon would not take the risk for a single warrior. And Alcyone will not fail, because she knows that she does not need to survive the battle in order to win."

"True. She has something to fight for. That is … an incredible motivator," Layth agrees, then tilts his head. "Question, why is the challenge now? Have they ever been used as a diversion to mount an attack?"

Tasha looks back and forth between speakers, occasionally flicking an ear.

"It's quite likely that Merope did not know she had a twin, until she decided to start a family and was told," Roland says. "Or simply hoped that Alcyone would fall in battle before it became an issue. If Alcyone had known, which is likely, she would not have made the challenge herself. It isn't something we generally do in our Clan."

"Is there anythin' else tha' can be done abou' it? Anythin' at all," Tasha asks Roland.

"Even if Merope was to win, though, she could adopt Eidothea as her own," Aaron says, looking for the silver lining.

Roland shrugs. "It may be that Alcyone stipulated such when she agreed to the challenge."

"Possible as anything. Just, I would recommend not letting your guard down tomorrow. Where I grew up stories of distractions used to launch an assault to take a city are not uncommon," Layth says.

Roland frowns at that thought, and so do Lia and Laia. "A clan that tried a trick like that would lose all trust," Laia says. "The others would fall on them. I don't think Cyclon could be so desperate. We are not barbarians."

Tasha nods slowly, despite being a 'barbarian' herself. "We might an' want to jus' leave it to 'em, Layth. S'not our battle an' not our country. I'm thinkin' you've got the right o' it, though, it bein' a sad bit an' all," the Vartan says.

Aisha finds herself nodding in agreement. "Once a merchant is caught cheating, the others run them out of the marketplace."

Layth almost says something, then waves it away with his hand. "Tasha is right. It is not our concern," he says.

"The best outcome will be that Alcyone defeats Merope without killing her," Roland notes. "Once Merope is no longer a warrior, she will be free to have her family without oversight."

"Let's 'ope for tha' then. Or a miracle – might stop by the priestesses jus' to tell 'em tha'," Tasha remarks.

"An offering to Abaddon may help," Roland agrees. "It is a shame we have no more rabbits, though."

"Please do not look at me," Layth comments.

"'Ow abou' we go find one? I can fly, an Layth's some kind o' traveler. We could go an' do tha' some time," offers the Vartan.

"True, we could," Layth agrees.

Aaron blinks at the idea. "You'd have to fly all the way to Sylvania… and even I don't know where my father actually gets the rabbits there. You'd never make it back in time."

Tasha blinks, tilting her head. "You goo all tha' way? I thought you'd 'ave 'em here, wha' with … " She gestures at all the Lapi around her.

"They only come from Sylvania," Aaron notes. "Won't breed anywhere else."

"'Ow odd," Tasha says. "Well, I don' know wha' we can do for 'em then. I'm no priestess, an' I barely know wha's goin' on. So. Wha' are we goin' to be doin' next? All this duel talk 'as me down. I ought an' bring ale next time, I ought."

"What I think Lady Tasha wishes, is to feel useful. Right now she doesn't," Layth points out. "So, if you can you … what she said."

"Actually, a simple request from Aldara Tasha may carry more weight than a sacrifice," Roland suggests.

"You think? Well I'm all for it, those two 'ave me sentimentality," the Vartan says.

Aisha asks, "Why would Tasha's request be so significant?"

"Well, even if it really doesn't help in the end, it's something she could try. It's better than doing nothing," Layth notes and looks towards Tasha. "I'm not much help, though."

"You can give me a back rub," Tasha offers Layth, winking. "An' strawberries."

"Because she has the aspect of one of Abaddon's harbingers," Roland says, grinning. "They appear in the mosaics on the inside of the temple dome."

"She's as destructive, too," Layth points out.

"I 'ave to see this. Might be I could hoot an' holler until somethin' happens," says the Vartan. She then reaches over and tries to goose Layth for calling her destructive.

Aaron pats Tasha on the shoulder, and tells her, "Too bad you're not a man. They'd probably let you deflower the temple virgins then."

"Ow," Layth deadpans and just stares at Tasha after she gooses him.

Tasha accidentally lets loose a smile, revealing her many sharp teeth. "I declare your bum undestroyed, an' will 'ave to work 'arder, she tells Layth.