He’d come later than intended, but Yanhua decided to make up for lost time by staying a bit later after the festivities had worn down. The festival had proved a roaring success despite the setbacks from the Eclipse, and even his daughter and her paramour had showed up for a bit of fun. Yanhua had sat back and watched it all, even came to find his twin and the other half-siblings meandering about in the games after they’d engaged in some fair competition. “Sad to have missed that.” He thought sarcastically as he left them to their own devices, having been called over to the maypole Leilan had constructed for the closing ceremony.
He did hope that @[Gale] and his mate might stop by to say hello, brief as his own had been toward them, or that the other half-brother (@[Tiercel] was his name? He hoped he pronounced it correctly) would give him the opportunity to unfold a bit more like Yan had when Gale came to visit the redwood forest recently. Either way, he found himself distracted when @[Leilan] pulled out the show-stopper and announced that Yan was not only being metaphorically crowned in flowers, but also literally.
He did his best to smile, feeling awkward at having a moment’s worth of attention focused solely on himself. That realm wasn’t one suited for the gangly chestnut, and as the colorful wreath came down over his horns he tried unsuccessfully to keep from blushing and pulling his ears flat sideways in embarrassment. “So much for keeping a low profile.” He thought, happy when the painful announcement ended as quickly as it had begun.
Afterwards he mingled, accepting congratulations with half-mumbled “thank-you’s” and shy, downcast eyes. More than once he wished to disappear, but nothing like that happened. He guessed any residual luck of his had been dried up. So as the partygoers wound down and his own daughter gave him a farewell, Yanhua tucked his unused wings close beside him and looked out across the vast tundra of ice and snow transformed by the sunlight and Leilan’s magic. Truly, this kingdom had a strange, terrific beauty to it. He sighed happily, only looking away when another horse finally approached.
“Hey.” He smiled at them. “Did you enjoy the festival?”
YANHUA
OOC: Tags are for character mentions <3