Today is Day 30 of NaNoWriMo! My total for day 29 of NaNoWriMo was 995 words.
Today is the last day of NaNo and I'm still blown away that I actually got this far. We will see how many words I get done today and then tomorrow, I'll have a recap/review of this month and post my final story installment.
All passages were in order from yesterday's post, so here's what I wrote:
Fallon appeared pleased with our answers, though I couldn’t understand why. Rinneth said her father was overprotective and didn’t like her being around so many unmated males. But my species is Dragon, just like him. Maybe… His hatred for me did seem a bit strong for something as small as attempted thievery. It’s what Dragons did after all. Maybe he didn’t like any unmated male Dragons near Rinneth, especially if they weren’t from the clan. It made sense, in a way, and it wasn’t like his suspicions about me were too far off either. I had a feeling, the biggest challenge to winning Rinneth over in time, was skirting around her father.
Nazre appeared while Fallon was trying to get overeager reporter to hold off on his questions about the big reveal, and Fallon used Nazre as the perfect excuse to move us away.
“Everything is ready,” Nazre said.
Fallon smiled. “Right on time too. Thank you. Rinneth--”
“I know, I know. You two will handle this. I’ve done this before, Father.”
Fallon chuckled. “Yes, but you’re known for jumping in when it’s never needed.”
“I beg to differ,” she said before turning on her heels.
The others and I turned to follow her, but we all stopped when a balding, older Human gentleman approached with several young in tow, one we knew quite well. Fallon shook hands with the Human man while I stared at toned, blonde haired young man with piercings standing in front of me.
“Tyden,” I said.
He smirked. “Vesser.” He glanced at Rinneth. “I see you were desperate if you replaced me with her.”
Rinneth shot off a remark before I could. “Not as desperate as your team if they’re willing to take on a three-year-old who throws temper tantrums on a single loss. And seeing as you’ve joined The Dominators, a team that has barely ranked high enough for the tournament as of this week, I’d say they weren’t the only desperate ones.”
She then walked away. Tyden made eye contact with me and I smirked. “Good luck in the coming weeks, with you better team.”
I then followed Rinneth, making sure to roughly bump shoulders with Tyden as I passed him. Rinneth sat down at a circular table where Ramos and Sirath were already seated, and the team, Zalrish, and I joined them.
“Why are we sitting over here?” Rial whispered to Rinneth as her father and Nazre started to reveal the big invention.
“To stay out of the way for one,” Rinneth said. “You don’t want to get caught up in the crowd that’s going to form once they start getting excited. And two, my feet hurt.”
Vamir chuckled. “Maybe you’ll think twice about wearing those death traps.”
“With her legs?” Zalrish almost sounded offended. “No, she needs these shoes.”
“I wish I could have sexy shoes that were also comfortable,” Rinneth complained.
“I wish you’d dress more modestly,” Ramos grumbled. “Seeing these Human drool like mongrel dogs is disgusting.”
Rinneth flipped him her middle finger and Sirath chuckled as he leaned closer to her. “Don’t listen to him. You’re not responsible for how others act. You look good.”
Rinneth patted his cheek. “Thank you.”
“We also think you look great,” I added. The team nodded with agreement and Ramos snorted.
Fallon revealed the new simulator pods and all party guests rushed over to get a closer look at the four machines that had been set up. Both he and Nazre explained the technical differences with the new machines and, for the press, over glorified how these machines would revolutionize the simulation industry. People clapped when the two were done with their big speech and started answering questions that were thrown at them. Most questions were positive, but a few were negative, and the two males took them all in stride like the professionals they were. The crowd then grew excited when Fallon announced every qualifying team for the tournament would receive a new machine.
He made sure they understood these machine would be used during the tournament so it was necessary players familiarized themselves with the new tech, and also pointed out, qualification for the tournament ended in three weeks.
Rinneth stood up when her father’s speech was over and he offered party goers the chance to try out the machines for the rest of the night, exciting everyone. The rest of us followed since it was best to keep close with Hallion around. She grabbed a glass of liquor from a waitstaff and handed it to her father when he managed to slip away.
“You did great,” Rinneth said.
Fallon sipped on his drink. “Thank you. That went better than I could have hoped. I was expecting a more negative reaction.”
Rinneth shook her head. “You always expect that. You need to have more faith in the people you have working for you.”
“It’s not them I lack faith for. The consumer can be very fickle. One day they want something, the next they think it’s the worst idea in the world.”
Rinneth giggled. “Then you need to pick the right inventions that don’t fall under that category. Like this one.”
Fallon smiled at her. “You’re right.”
Rinneth looked back at us and her brow furrowed with concern. “Where’s Zalrish?”
“He was just here a minute ago,” Rial said as we all looked around for him.
“The gods help him he had been not have left this room without telling me.” Rinneth left her father’s side and headed for the door that lead to the main hall to the elevator. “Sirath, come with me. Ramos, keep an eye on Hallion.”
“Sure thing,” Ramos agreed.
“Should someone else go with them?” Vamir asked when Rinneth was out of the room.
“I would, but then she’ll try to kill me for thinking she can’t handle the situation,” Fallon admitted.
My brow rose. “You’re afraid of your own daughter?”
Fallon chuckled. “Trust me, you should be too.”