EVENT LOG: FOR EVERYTHING A REASON

[inthenightmods]

EVENT LOG:
FOR EVERYTHING A REASON

characters: everyone.
location: the harbor.
date/time: september 6-7.
content: characters and forest spirits send off paper lantern boats in honor of those who have died..
warnings: character death

a somber kind of serenity.

When you arrive at the harbor, there are already boats in the water, and the lighthouse's red beam flares in slow pulses over the lake. The moon's a bright first quarter and the stars are out in force today, all reflected on the glassy surface of the water. It's uncharacteristically calm, this weather, so take advantage.

Rastus is down at the water's edge, tending to a large mound of pebbles that looks not unlike a miniature bonfire from a distance. The stones are all ordinary, having been collected from the beach, except Rastus has enchanted them to glow with a soft, yellow light. The enchantment will only last a week, but that's ample time for this little ceremony to send off those lost over the past two months. Or to send off something less literal, perhaps.

Next to the pile of stones is an array of craft materials—just the basic supplies like paper, markers, glue, and scissors, but more than enough to accommodate everyone in attendance. A handful of forest spirits (some you may recognize from the party!) are standing nearby to assist in paper-folding or boat-crafting if you're out of your depth there. They, along with Rastus, urge you to join in. This memorial is as much about you as it is anyone we've lost, after all. The boats can look like or represent anything you like.

Releasing boats lit with pebbles out onto the water will fill you will a sense of peace. It's a somber kind of serenity, but it's a relief nonetheless, whether you're mourning the loss of a friend or letting go of some other part of yourself. You're welcome to release as many boats as you like, too. It's not like there's a shortage of rocks around here, and even if the craft materials run low, there's plenty of other stuff around town that could be used in a pinch.

The forest spirits are in attendance, as well. Some are helping with the crafting, yes, but most are taking part themselves, building their own little boats to send out over the water. Their crafting involves more of a hands-on approach: Chomping and tearing and crinkling into unique shapes and textures. They stand out from the townsfolks' designs on the beach, but once the boats drift far enough into the surf, it's impossible to tell which vessels belong to which group. Feel free to NPC your own forest spirits for this event and refer to the OOC info post if you have questions about how they might behave.

On the final night of the event, a sound starts up along the treeline, one you haven't heard in some time, perhaps. Crickets. Cicadas. Katydids and beetles and the shrill hum of a mosquito in your ear. It seems insects have returned to Beacon from... wherever they were hiding, and the night air is now vibrant with their music. No more eerie silence back in town, where the sounds of the lake are snuffed out by the trees. It sounds almost like a real forest now.

And it will stay that way after this event ends, too. Maybe you were enjoying the time away from bugs or maybe you were longing for some sign that, yes, this world was alive once, but either way, the insects are here to stay. Well, until winter, at least.

QUICKNAV
comms	|	network • logs • memes • ooc
pages	|	rules • faq • taken • mod contact • player contact • calendar • setting • exploration • item requests • full nav

Comments

[itselbitch]

[ it's not as easy for him to imagine, maybe other than from watching movies and rooting for the good guy to take out evil vampires or something. there are definitely more than a few movies that fit the bill. still, that she seems to enjoy it in her own way does feel gratifying in its own way. not that it means they're married now or something, but coming from someone who's as distant as she prefers to carry herself, eliot at least knows it's a sign that if she does end up shanking him, it'll probably be in the quickest most painless way possible. ]

I'd say that's more a law of reality than just this place, though. Entropy and all that.

You're right though. A blade has many more uses than most realize it affords.

[ he'd carry one himself, if it didn't ruin his profile. ]

[darkeyed]

_{[Which one? Implying there are more like Vanitas to choose from? He makes a faintly disbelieving sound. Wow.]}

Dark hair. Gold eyes. He controlled the darkness in a way I haven't seen before.

<sub>[Calling the Unversed "shadow puppets" is a bit on the factitious side; in truth, after his surprise crash course in Vanitas' abilities, he'd be the first to admit the creatures are extraordinary. Not unlike the creatures that now crowd around Riku like children seeking attention from a favored school teacher.

And Riku--Riku sits. Everyone from Vanitas' end of the pond seems a cut above the norm in some way, don't they. He's seen firsthand what some of the spirits can do with their teeth, and as much as he understands their contrition, not even M.K., with his readiness to fight and his scimitars ready to be drawn, is sure he'd trust his reaction time enough to put himself in the vulnerable position of squatting at their level. It strikes him as both humbling and a tad stupidly brave.]</sub>

That doesn't answer my question.

[unpredict]

[ first it's hannibal the elephant, now it's ships and quests and origami—jason just keeps getting more interesting and interesting. ]

And is that what those symbol there say? [ he points toward where the greek scribble is. he should know greek, but when the language was hot off the press, he was most likely daggered and lying in a box. ] Argo II?

[equinoctials]

Vanitas. [ Riku peers up at M.K. through the silver veil of his hair and says flatly: ] We're not friends.

[ Even if he looks like something a little more than a bizarre palette swap of his best friend - bulkier, harder, as if he spent his years in battle against everyone and everything for the sake of it instead of in the warmth and light of childhood friendships and footraces on the beach.

They're not friends. Not enemies, either.

He hasn't tried to define what it is, that makes him want to butt heads with Vanitas and yet concerns himself with the fact that he seems to be actively grieving in his own way. Riku doesn't try to. Not everything needs a name, not everything has a slot suited perfectly for every piece.

Riku sits because if these guys were going to rip him to pieces they would have, and he takes calculated risks trusting anyone already. ]

They're not shadows and they're not puppets either. I've met both.

[ He controlled the darkness in a way I haven't seen before. ]

You have a lot of experience seeing people control the darkness?

[tribridfreakshow]

[Her gaze follows his, eyes falling on those spirits that are being too nosy for her liking, before giving him a nod.]

If you say so.

[She doesn't really want to talk about it at all because she can feel her grief welling up inside the pit of her stomach just even thinking about it.]

But a walk sounds good. Or just...anywhere away from here.

[callada]

[He grins wider at her correction. Yes, yes they are. Cute masterpieces, not at all mutually exclusive.]

More friends, and more people we can learn from. Maybe they know more about this place. And hey, speaking of this place, you hear the insects, right? Have you found any yet?

[She's always so eager to run after things like rats. At least the bugs are probably harmless.]

[unpredict]

[ as much as kol wants to stay on the beach and watch those spirits chipper away in their good mood, he has later and he has tomorrow. now, he has something different to do and someone new to occupy his time. he cocks his head to the left and starts walking. ]

So how old are you now?

[ an icebreaker isn't necessarily needed for family… but their situation is a little peculiar. besides, it'd at least allow him to put a timestamp on her information. kol is anything but careless when it comes to its dissemination. ]

[darkeyed]

_{[Again, Riku manages to dodge, throwing crumbs of information as he answers only the parts he cares to. He could ask--about how he and Vanitas are acquainted, about the shadows and the puppets and everything in between--but that would be jumping at more bait and leaving Riku open to tug the string out of reach again. Annoying.]}

I'd be surprised if you were.

<sub>[Friends, that is. If Riku nettles and dances around conversations with Vanitas to the same degree he does with M.K., he can only imagine the golden-eyed boy's exasperation.

Well, two can play at that game.]</sub>

Someone once said to me... _{[A thoughtful hum.]} How did he put it? "Wouldn't you like to know"?

_{[He's speaking to Riku--or trying to. The spirit perched on his thigh like some oversized cat is distracting to talk over.]}

[notthatjason]

Well, to the best of my ability it says: Argo-ragami.

[Since it's origami of the Argo II. It's a terrible joke really but Jason doesn't seemed too ashamed of it if he is admitting to it. Jason looks down at his boat, frowning. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he's not so sure. After all, he was the only one of the crew that was dead. But...maybe the waters of the Underworld connected. Maybe it would find its way to Nico or Hazel or someone else in the Hades he had expected to find.

He doesn't know why he keeps holding out for something like that to happen...]

[unpredict]

It's a nice boat.

[ it's genuinely said and appraised. he can sense that it's important to jason—why else would he go to the lengths of writing it in greek? it's rather brave of him to even go as far as to engage with it, given that kol... hasn't just yet.

this activity seems incredibly personal for almost everyone involvined—spirits included. as blunt as he sometimes is, kol can understand what it's like to struggle letting go. whatever that is for jason… well, he just hopes this origami boat helps. ]

You should see if it sails as well as the Argo II.

[withsadness]

Not yet!

[But the noises have been so pretty...like music!]

Do you think they'll be my friend?

[withsadness]

I dunno.

[She doesn't really...actually know. She just gives her best estimate as she watches him fold the paper with clear excitement.]

Nine!

[equinoctials]

[ Riku might just be having the same problem, given how he sways to look around it, catching after a few attempts that the spirit is playing some kind of game it made up by itself, leaning in his path each time.

He relents after a moment, shoulders giving a little shrug, eyebrows arched like M.K.'s brush-off had interested him, but there's nothing he can do about it with this little guy in the way.

Riku does lift a hand to point past M.K.'s shoulder, as a spirit with a fairly impressive rack of antlers - looking more like gnarled branches, really - starts to plod towards the shore. ]

Hey, you should duck.

[otrazhenie]

Maybe one day he'll argue with her. With the way he is about things, what she's managed to guess about who he is and what he's been through... she'd be proud of him for it. She'd probably argue right back and stubbornly stand her ground, but she'd be really proud of him nonetheless.

"That means a lot. Really, I appreciate it more than I can say." It feels important that he know that, more than anyone else here. She isn't forcing him into this and she never would, so to have him volunteer so willingly is a gift she'll try her best to repay.

[worthallthis]

The Soldier briefly considers reminding her that this is its job, doing whatever is needed for its handlers and donating blood to techicians... but it's afraid that might lead to her attempting to argue the point, and it really wants to sit down alone now and make another little boat until it's internal static settles down to more manageable levels. So what it does is nod gravely and say, "You're welcome, Elena." It even leaves off her title this time. (Might be time for a title change, anyway.)

Besides, she looks like she feels a little better, more relaxed somehow. That's worth dealing with a few minutes of someone touching him.

[otrazhenie]

Hearing him say her name makes her smile, something in it calling to her old self, from before everything was pain and darkness. There's a connection between them now, however slight, and she's so very grateful for that as well.

But for now, she nods, more to herself than anything else, and then gestures out to the lake. "You should make another boat if you want," she suggests, the soft glow from all those little lights illuminating the water's surface. "You're pretty good at it."

[callada]

Maybe, if you take good care of them. I think people keep crickets as pets. They're supposed to be good luck in some countries.

[Can't be too hard to take care of, right? Especially if instead of trying to keep them indoors, she just tries to befriend the ones outside. In fact, on second thought, he really doesn't want insects crawling into his clothes while he's trying to sleep, so she'd better not bring them in.]

They'll be happiest if you let them live outside though, but you can always bring them food. Oh, or play your ocarina for them.

[knifecollecting]

[That's not quite the suggestion she expected from him.]

Where would you start?

[knifecollecting]

[Jo looks out over the lake, focusing on the floating lights. All her life she wanted to follow her father's footsteps. She might not have done what her mother wanted, but she wanted to make her proud too.]

My dad...he died when I was young. [She shrugs, watching a wave break gently on the sand.]

I always wanted him to be proud I was his girl. You know?

[trivialpursuit]

[He follows, carefully holding his paper turtle until he can set it down at the edge of the water and place a stone in it. Well, it looks... better when he's standing upright and therefore further from it, but still! Charming.

He is, however, not a prayer kind of person. Maybe if he stands here in silence for a long moment, he'll get away with it... the perfect crime.]

[worthallthis]

That's nice of her to say. "Thanks. I'll do that."

And, because now it has official permission, the Soldier dips its head to her, steps back once, and then turns to head over to the craft pile. It's done its duty, made (technician?) Elena feel better, and now it badly needs to recharge its ability to handle people. The paper boats help. So will not being touched for a while.

Hopefully that's not too rude.

[sunborne]

Yeah... I know...

[ daylight looks sympathetic when he hears about the status of jo's dad. having never gotten to know his parents and wanting so desperately to make them proud, it's definitely something he can get behind.

he wants to give his condolences but... it doesn't feel right to do that? not now, at least.

so, instead, daylight makes this little observation instead, trying his best to recall the words of his auntie laura from all those years ago: ] Someone once told me to show love to our family, we should try to live our best life. We should live what we think is our best like, all the while knowing we can look back and not feel regret for the path we took over-all.

I think that's a good thing to keep in mind for times like these. Even now... I don't regret it.

[ hopefully. jo knows what he means by 'it' in this moment. ]

[featherknives]

[She doesn't pray either, but she does make a wish. Whether it comes true or no it's up to the guy that's still alive. He better stay alive or else-

But since he's standing in silence, she does take it as if he's praying so she doesn't disturb him. She's respectful like that.

The silence is broken, however, by the spirit that was hiding under her cape earlier. It brings over the boat, and Xayah steps off to the side towards Kakyoin, to make some space. The spirit makes a small hooting sound, places the boat in the lake with a glowing stone in it and then dashes away into the forest.

Xayah chuckles,] So shy.

[knifecollecting]

[Some people are better at pretending. Jo's always been good with people. That might make it a little easier.]

Oh? Most of them are helpful. [She chuckles for a second.] Weird. But helpful.

[notthatjason]

Thanks.

[Jason's frown softens a bit at Kol's compliment. He could tell, somehow, that he was being genuine about it. If he were being honest though, he's still not entirely sure what he's doing here. Who is he mourning exactly or maybe for himself it is less of a who and more of a what...but even that he's not sure he can put into words. Either way, it's only been a few days and he already misses his friends and his home. It's strange, he'd been apart from them before, but not like this and somehow this time it feels different.

The spirits move away from him, heading towards the water's edge to put their own boats out. Jason watches them for a moment, wondering why spirits would need to engage in something like this as well. Or why Kol seems so reluctant to? He decides it doesn't really matter and steps towards the water's edge.

Let's see then.