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@joelle-stone

Well, for the riddle, sunscreen works. XD It’s white, changes size, is usually smeared all over (including on the undersides of your arms and stuff), but if you toss the bottle it flies. People wear it in the sun, obviously, but I don’t think I’ve seen anyone wear it in rain. The rain would wash it off, anyway. Plus it doesn’t do harm (unless you’re allergic, of course) and doesn’t feel pain.

And that’s really funny about your brother, Rose! It does work, ha!

LOL, I think we broke the riddle XD We’re far more original than whoever invented it XD

@jasmine

She isn’t the smart one in her story, so she won’t be the one actually solving the riddles, (unless I can figure out how to make her accidentally stumble onto the answer).

Okay! That’s cool! I actually think of Gwen as pretty sharp, though it probably isn’t her main characteristic. I’d say most of my characters are smart in really different ways.

Liorah is good at coming up with solutions on the fly. They won’t be flawless, they won’t be pretty, or safe, for that matter, but they’ll work, more or less. She can solve a problem quickly and under stress, but the solution will usually be rough and rushed.

Acyn is the conventionally ‘smart’ one of the group. He adores books and likes to study, so he has more and broader academic knowledge than most of the others. But he does not do well under stress. He needs peace, quiet, and a few hours to work something out, but when he does, it’ll be logical, reasonable, and waterproof. Thinking quickly isn’t his strongest point, mostly since he has a tendency to overanalyze things.

Sahar is sharp, but her solutions are more focused on ‘how can I make everyone feel better about the problem’ rather than ‘how do I solve the problem’. She can think quickly when needed, but her solutions will usually be predictable. (Liorah is always unpredictable, XD)

Ferran… hmm, I don’t actually know. I’ll hopefully find out soon XD

Like Sahar, Gavril focuses more on the people involved than the actual problem, and he’ll compromise if it seems like the best solution.

Wait, what were we talking about again? XD

Liorah

“Let’s try and figure this out,” Gwen said, tiredly.

I nodded, she was right. It probably wouldn’t have gone off well.

Gwen picked up a small silver whistle. I cocked my head, curious.

She blew it and after a short delay, a soft rustling came from the ceiling. A large black bird swept in, wings quivering and alighted on Gwen’s shoulder. I dodged, instinctively, then relaxed. It was a hawk and a stunning one at that. It was an unusual color, not the drab browns that would allow it to blend in, but a deep black flecked with white and red.

“Brin! What– how did you?” Gwen dug a piece of dried meat out of a pouch and fed it to the bird.

Gwen peered around, trying to find where the bird had gotten in.

She was at the wrong angle, so she couldn’t see what I did. A small gap, about the size of my outstretched hand. It was a panel that had opened in the ceiling. I gave it a cursory glance, then decided I could barely get my hand in there, let alone crawl through.

“What in First Place? How did you get in?” Gwen said.

Even though she was addressing the bird, I answered.

“There’s a panel in the ceiling. It’s too small for us,” I said, stretching out as I got up. My muscles were stiff from the fall, and from everything that had happened. I was exhausted.

I stepped closer but stayed out of the bird’s reach. I wasn’t afraid of birds of prey, hawking was a common practice in the tribe, and I’d petted, held, and handled the birds often.

“She’s lovely. May I touch her?” I asked Gwen, just in case. An aggressive hawk was not a creature to be trifled with.

Gwen nodded and I carefully stroked the bird’s silky feathers.

The lights in the room had brightened and I squinted against them. The angle at which the single light was set cast long, sharp shadows behind us. The shape of the hawk perching on Gwen’s shoulder made an odd shadow, and something clicked.

“Always one color, never one size, stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies. Present in sun… or any light actually, but never in rain. Doing no harm and feeling no pain,” I recited, under my breath. I fitted my answer to each, and it interlocked. A perfect match.

“Shadow. The answer is a shadow,” I said, my voice clear and strong.

The brief silence confirmed my suspicions. If I’d been wrong, the castle would have mocked me by now.

“Right…” Lord Castle said, sulkily. “Here’s the next riddle:”

I waited for the next, only hoping I could solve this one too.

__________

@jasmine

All yours! Can’t wait to see what riddle you come up with!