[Nuranar]

Slipping in unobtrusively some time before, Nuranar had contented herself with watching the show from a solitary seat in the balcony. Solitary, because her close friends - very close, you see - Tarondo and Luinien, seemed to have lost themselves early in the merriment of the pre-Awards party.

See if I use them again anytime soon! she reflected a trifle vindictively. It appeared that the Monday Mathematics Mayhem had conveniently concealed the calculated character of her hero and heroine's happenstances. (In other words, she's only got herself [and Calculus] to blame.) Her ruminations were not improved by the unpleasant discovery that both feet had gone to sleep. Of course, if people will persist in tucking their feet beneath them while in formal wear at an award show, there is nothing more to be said.

Nuranar was suddenly torn from her malicious meditations by the melodious - er, melody? - of the Mistress' voice.

"...The winners of the ‘The No One Can See All Ends Award’ – for their captivating, tortuous, and downright aggravatingly obscure use of language and verse in the Quiz Room - Words in Words/Riddle Me This section are...The Saucepan Man and Nuranar!"

In rapid succession, shock, incomprehension, incredulity, suspicion, and finally pleased realization followed each other across her expressive face. (Suspicion and Incredulity paired up on the way across, as so often happens.) Nuranar found herself staggering down the balcony stairway (which was inside the auditorium, thank you very much), stumbling slightly on her still-asleep feet.

The long trek through the enormous auditorium soon got the blood moving, though, as it would be expected to. And she thought she didn't look too bad as she ascended the steps to the stage. Her brown-gold hair glowed in the spotlights, and from experience she knew her sky blue gown was bringing out the blueness of her eyes.

Bowing gracefully to the ever-gracious Sophia (who, while no quiz [see J. Austen's definition], is no mean quizzer herself) and accepted a golden Tombstone. The Saucepan Man's tumultuous on-stage appearance threw off her train of thought, and she was mentally unprepared for the metallic ordeal of his enthusiastic embrace. Released, Nuranar found herself staggering once more, only to bring up sharply - face-to-face with a microphone.

Get over it, part of her brain said to her in detached amusement. You knew that was part of the deal - accept the award, make a speech! it sniggered. Fine, I'll show you! she argued back to herself, quickly stepping forward and smiling graciously to cover both hesitation and blank mind. Er...

"I must avow my astonishment at being chosen as the recipient of a Downie, but the honor therein is not a whit diminished." Nuranar grinned at the slight glazed look appearing in the eyes of some of the more inebriated attendees. Ever merciful, she [tried to] moderate her vocal expressions. "Although I am no newcomer to the Downs" - coughs significantly and points not-so-subtly at her "Registered" date - "I have rarely been a frequent visitor of the Quiz Room. Recently, I think I have been escaping there to avoid the harsh realities of Engineering Calculus the Second and Data Structures in Computing. Trust me, there's nothing like a computer science lecture to stimulate the brain into devising fiendishly contorted riddles!

"But although my time in the Quiz Room has been short thus far, Sophia herself has been a wonderful foil, often posting right before I realize the answer, dang you," grinning, "and The Saucepan Man has been a worthy opponent. A certain Word still lies between us, in fact," she hinted, turning to the oh-so-innocent-looking Pan Man with what a friend terms "the Spock look."

"And I wish to thank the Barrow-Wight himself and all of the moderators and administrators who work so hard to make the Downs such a pleasant, if deadly, place to be. Thank you all!"

The crowd erupting in cheers, Nuranar bowed and returned to Sophia's side. As He-Of-The-Shiny-Cooking-Implements strode majestically and near-deafeningly to the microphone, she restrained giggles at the chants of "NU-RU! SAU-CY! NU-RU! SAU-CY!" emanating in no uncertain terms from a certain quarter.

I'll need no introduction to that set of hobbits, she thought. They and my brothers would get along so well, it'd be a really scary sight. Nuranar smothered another chuckle as something more occurred to her. "Nu-ru", eh? I wonder what Nurumaiel thinks of that.

[ May 06, 2003: Message edited by: Nuranar ]