Festival of Roses

(With permission from Wolfe to have RP for those hunting )

Mari was still tired from being abruptly woken up that morning, but when she saw how much her father looked like his old self again, well... it was easy to no longer be distracted by the sleepiness, but instead be distracted by seeing him having a genuine good time. The Tremaine dogs seemed to pick up a scent with his guidance.

"... You seem to be in a good mood today, father," she smirked as she kept pace beside him.

Indeed, Marten seemed to be rather carefree that morning. Smiling seemed to take years off of him. Which still made him appear much older than his daughter, of course. But less so.

"Oh?" He said, smiling as he looked at his eldest daughter. By a few minutes, anyway. "I suppose I am. There's been so much to manage, lately. It's good to be out again." He whistled sharply, bringing the dogs back a little closer.

"What of yourself? Not up too early for you, I hope?" He teased gently.

"Ah, maybe a little," she chuckled at the teasing, but was glad to see his good mood.

"Guess I stayed up a bit too late, but it was hard to sleep after the gathering in the Great Hall. So many new faces, and experiences... tonight is going to be even more so?" Mari looked at him, figuring he would know from experience how these things would go.

"Aye, could be." Marten nodded. "A lot of people expect that the first night would be it. But everyone's a bit tired from travel, of course. The second day, everyone's had time to recover." And indeed, Marten himself might seem to be a good example of that, his features appearing fresher than they had in some time.

As they walked and talked, Marten kept looking this way and that, his gaze alert. "So then, everyone's all rested up, and you've got new arrivals. You might expect tonight to be a bit more lively than the first." He turned an experienced fatherly eye on Mari, assessing her reaction to this news.

"Hmmm... sounds like it will be something for Jyn to enjoy," she looked back at him with a supressed chuckle. One of her dogs came back, having lost the trail, and Mari nudged it to rejoin the rest of the pack.

Mari gave it some thought. "I think it can be fun? Now that there are more familiar faces, and less about meeting for the first time." She gave a dramatic sigh. "I suppose I shall have to spend hours and hours to look my best!"

Marten looked down, his eyes on the trail. "I certainly hope so." He said. "Your sister has seemed so focused, lately. The future of the House is important, but that doesn't mean..." He shrugged. "Well, the two of you should have a good time, anyway."

He gave Mari a quick glance. "Hours and hours? Bah, you're beautiful as is!" He said, speaking with fatherly reassurance. "But it sounds as though you've been making friend then, eh?" He gave her an encouraging nod.

"Father..." she sighed softly before chuckling in response to his fatherly praise. She was after all that age when being complimented by dad was a little embarrassing.

"As for friends... maybe? Lady Alicent seems nice. And the two I met who came all the way from the Vale have both been courteous," Mari gave a light smirk, "and rather handsome too."

"Oh, good." Marten nodded his approval. "You met her, then. She seemed like a very pleasant young woman, but perhaps a bit shy." He frowned, just a little. "She's much younger than her brothers. One of them should really be looking out for her, or at least a lady-in-waiting."

It was really the last part which got most of Marten's attention, though. "Oh? Handsome, are they?" He gave her a dry look. "Well, setting that aside for the moment, what are your impressions otherwise? You said they were courteous."

Marten's dry look was rewarded with the satisified smirk of a teenager. Just as he knew how to embarrass his girls, they too usually knew how to trigger his fatherly instincts in return...

"Mhm, Leovall Marten, and his cousin Terrance. Leovall was... rather over-dressed for the weather, poor thing. Who wears an ermine mantle like it was just casual clothing," she chuckled mirthfully, "I thought he was going to melt into a puddle... hopefully he'll have learned his lesson soon enough and picked up some more southern-styled clothes, as I imagine he'd look rather dashing in them. Ah, but you'll probably see him competing in the tournament; I believe he said this was going to be his first tourney as a competitor? Otherwise... he seemed like a very knightly sort. Charming and able to carry a conversation with a lady."

Mari shot her father a brief grin. The Leovall was a competitor he might joust against was probably of interest to him.

"Hrm." Marten gave a non-committal sort of grunt, neither encouraging or discouraging. "Well, perhaps I'll see what sort of person he is. I don't know that charming and dashing really give the best measure of a man." He shrugged. "But he's going to be a competitor, eh? His first..." Marten shook his head, smiling. "I remember my first time. I was sure I was going to win, until I went to the lists the first time, and suddenly I felt sure I was going to be horribly embarrassed." He chuckled. "It turned out neither was the case."

He waved a hand. "What about this other fellow. Terrance, you said?"