[PRP] Project Playdate [Bright Gallery + Paladin + Mercy]

[Gl!tch~]

Bright Gallery didn't know what to think when Fair Pace told her that he was taking her to spend time around other foals. When she asked what she was supposed to do, if there was anything she should bring, her guardian waved her off with a hoof and said to just do what she did at recess. But make sure to include other foals! He said something further about a good first impression.

The filly herself was too busy considering what would be a good recess-based shared activity. Probably not art supplies...those were messy, and those were for when she wanted to spend recess inside, away from the other foals.

Maybe...these? She looked at a bag, and poked at the contents inside.

Yes, those would do.

Not much later, Fair Pace left her in the company of other phonies around her age while he fluttered away with a bottle in tow.

Bright Gallery clutched her bag in her hooves and swallowed. "Um...hi? Do you want to play...marbles...maybe...?"

[Nym]

Paladin wasn't really a foal kind of foal -- not out of choice, mind you, but out of habit. Foals didn't tend to stick around him long, often either bored or off-put by his less-than-childlike mannerisms and interests. If he had been given more of a chance, he might explain that he didn't exactly know what foals typically got themselves into, but he neither enjoyed making excuses nor had the opportunity to do so. And, truthfully, he wasn't sure how to comment much about his lack of friends his own age. It wasn't as if Paladin was bullied, or lacked a hospitable environment, or anything else that could account for why he struggled so much socially. Sure, his dad and one of his siblings had vanished not just once, but twice, and if he really wanted to he could use that as his defense, yet... well, Paladin wasn't quite sure how he felt about the twice loss of his father and sibling. It was surely a lot to take in, true, but he had also grown used to the absence of Just Lance and Sanctuary. It still hurt when he lingered on the thought, as he suspected it always would, but it wasn't the reason for his lack of a social life.

Maybe he was just a weird guy. He could get behind that -- he had heard it enough, he supposed.

Well, none of that mattered right that moment, either. Blind Love had done what she did best and planned a playdate for both he and Mercy, and now they had little time until the guest would arrive. He had stationed himself in the kitchen, eyes narrowed and brows scrunched as he tried to consider a snack for the three of them to share. His mother had always insisted on providing a treat when guests arrived, and while his mother had been more than happy to be the one to provide, Paladin had insisted on taking over the duty himself. How else would he learn? By the time Bright Gallery had made her way into their living room, there was an assortment of small fruits, ants on a log, and raisins placed delicately on a pale pink plate, floating inches above his head as he entered and deposited the offering.

"Evening, Bright Gallery," he greeted cordially, glancing back to wherever Mercy was and nodding gently towards his sibling. "We have snacks you can help yourself to."

Marbles? He'd never played before, but he had seen other foals and fillies play with them during recess. "Yes, I would be interested. What are the rules?"

[Chrys]

Mercy, for his part, couldn't have cared less about the idea of interacting with babbens his age.  Or could he have?  It was hard to tell, sometimes.  But the plain simple fact of the matter was, the overachieving pegasus kept himself plenty busy with volunteer work - whether it was wanted or not - enough so that the idea of 'playing' and 'games' earned little more than a slow blink from the pink foal when his mother had more or less suggested it.  (More or less...it's mom, so it's less a suggestion and more of a commentary on what his future held.)

It wasn't all bad, though.  Paladin was there, and he was quite grateful to have his stoic brother there.  He wouldn't feel so out of place that way, knowing that his bluntness could be received poorly and often spoke more loudly than his good intentions.  Where his brother brought snacks, Mercy brought some refreshments of water and lemonade, though he had to be more careful bringing it on a tray between his teeth than his magically inclined sibling.

Flicking his tail and sitting nearby, Mercy looks between the two, vaguely amused that it seemed the three of them were out of their depth in more ways than one.  Maybe it wouldn't be a total bust.  "Hello," he looks over to the flutter with a polite nod.  "I'm afraid my knowledge of marbles is - not fit for most polite conversation."  He idly rubs a hoof against his jaw.  Truly, he only knew how to pop them out of nostrils.  Instead, he echoes his brother's sentiment, waiting for the ruels.

[Gl!tch~]

"Oh, um...thank you for the snacks!" Should she have brought snacks, too? Fair Pace brought a drink, but it was for 'the host'. Maybe she should have done the same...?

Too late now, she had to tell herself. Maybe it wouldn't matter! Hopefully.

And she didn't really know which of the two colts was supposed which. It might be rude to ask... But the blue-maned one seemed nice, though a bit...reserved. The yellow-haired one she wasn't as sure how to respond to. "Um... Hi..." was really all she could come up with.

They were waiting and she would have to take the lead eventually. None of her family was here to swoop in if she needed a nudge.

So she took a breath.

"So we make a little zone here..." Hovering, she traced an invisible circle on the floor. "And then we put the marbles in the zone. I have some shooters...enough for the three of us, I think... They're the bigger ones. You knock your shooter into the rest of the marbles, and any that leave the zone, you keep! Whoever has the most after the zone is empty wins."

She mostly played the game on her own at recess and at home when it wouldn't get in anyone's way (and usually after she would tire of trying and failing to do art next to Fair Pace and Off Copic), so it would be interesting to see how the game played with others.