logsinthenight | EVENT LOG: FOR EVERYTHING A REASON

Entry tags:

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.

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Nine, huh? That's pretty young. You living on your own, or you got somebody cooking and stuff for you?

[ it's a little surprising to see the spirits take to their activity with meaningful care, but then kol remembers that spirits have reasons to mourn, too. hopefully it's a good kind of mourning and not a terrible one.

it's only with a couple of steps he follows jason with, ensuring to remain just a comfortable distance away. something tells him to give him some space. ]

Well—it floats. [ he says that chirpily. the boat looks quite good in the water—and compared to all the others? expertly folded. ] I thought those stones would've stunk the boat.

[Jo takes a long moment to think over the words. It's a nice sentiment.

She regrets some things. Not finally leaving the Roadhouse to hunt, even if it did put her on the path to Carthage and her death.

Eventually, she nods and takes a deep breath.]

Yeah. That's good advice.

_{[You know what tends to ruin the Serious Business™ aesthetic you're trying to embody via grim face, tight jaw, and forbiddingly crossed arms? This. As if the spirit rocking like a pendulum and interrupting his Likewise Serious™ move to one-up Riku in this conversation wasn't bad enough, then some... moose... thing has to come barging on through.

He's never seen a moose before, but he imagines this is what one would look like, a slow-moving train that has zero respect for any dark ones that may or may not be standing in the way. He has to unfold his arms and a quick step back to avoid getting an antler tip to the face.

Others aren't so lucky. His fluffy Picasso-in-training squeaks when the spirit bumps the table, turning a stroke of paint into a smear job. Farther along an antler snags a half-finished lantern and turns it into a misshapen head ornament to the dismay of a group of spirits that go chasing after.]}

Unbelievable.

_{[Slightly awed that these are the same creatures that guard the Lighthouse and recently mowed some of their number down.]}

[Jason doesn't look back, but he can tell Kol is giving him his distance. He appreciates the gesture and decides to focus on the boat for the moment. What is he letting go of? Who is he mourning?

It's not a person really and it seems selfish in a way, but Jason can't help but mourn his own losses by being here. The downward spiral and loss of his relationship with Piper, the loss of any opportunity to make Camp Jupiter even greater than before, the loss of being the go-between for Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood, and the loss of his friends. He'd known what he was doing in joining Apollo, Meg, and Piper in hunting down Caligula, but that didn't make it an easy thing to accept. It just didn't seem fair. He'd survived an encounter with a primordial god only to be cut down by an undead Roman emperor? Was this his punishment for standing up to Jupiter in the first place and defending Apollo's actions? Or was it because he'd gone too far in trying to figure out what was going on with the lost oracles?

Jason's face is blank, no tears or anger, though there is definitely something brewing beneath the surface -- like a storm bubbling on the horizon. He watches the boat sail away, glowing softly, and instead of letting the storm take him he blows it out with the boat. The water ripples beneath the origami craft and it picks up speed a little, encouraged by a wind Jason sends out after it.

He straightens a little...that did feel better.]

Nah. You've just gotta balance it the right way.

[He turns back towards Kol.]

I could show you if you want.

Yeah.

[ That sound comes from closer now; in the chaos, a number of spirits went off after the larger one, meaning Riku could finally get back to his feet. He's standing at his side and a little behind, staring at the antlered one in fascination. ]

To think that there are even bigger ones out there.

[ Like what they'd seen during the Lighthouse mission, like what he was told about, when Sora and he stood at the entrance to the Invincible, run ragged and injured. Ones that reach the treetops, who seem to command others smaller than them. Who seem to read their hearts and intentions, regardless of the words you say.

They're incredible.

Riku glances aside at M.K., turning away as he clears his throat. ]

I'm gonna finish this and head back. It's up to you if you decide to come along.

_{[Although they're watching the same ridiculous carnage, their thoughts unspool with slightly different emphasis. The bigger ones--yes, the bigger ones worry him, too, those powerful and mysterious spirits hiding in the deep forest. The green-eyed ones. The ones the Lighthouse Keeper either controls, or knows more about but refuses to say.

Inwardly, he shivers, unease spoiling the innocent tableau of spirits releasing lanterns onto the water and playfully chittering after their larger brethren. Overlayed is the reality he fears: potential enemies, all around, and this town so small and exposed. Literally and figuratively in the dark on all counts.

With those concerns still lingering in his periphery, Riku's repeated--and vague--invitation sparks irritation, coated in mystery so much like this entire enterprise has been from the beginning. He looks over with his lips pressed tight.]}

What is it with people in this place and straight answers?

_{[Note that it's not a no, but the world at large needs to hear this. Are you listening, world? He hates guessing games.]}

Oh, that would be lovely! Maybe I can make them little presents, and maybe if I play music, they can dance!

[Like a little buggy parade!]

[ Elena's usually much better with people than this. She used to be social, making friends wherever she went, but now... ]

That's good to know, honestly. I can handle weird. It'll feel just like home.

Oh, no, I haven't been alone at all!

[Not all that surprising, giving the nature of a good deal of the people in town. How could she possibly have ended up by herself?]

I've been with Rosinante, and he's so very nice and very special!

[ daylight smiles, his winglets perking up at her answer. ]

Happy to be of help, Jo! I- [ he pauses, feeling a bit silly for a second. then he decides to heck with it. he might as well push through the hesitation and embarrassment to say what he wanted to say while the chance is there for him to say it. ] I like helping my friends. If I can do something for them than I know I'm living the best life I can have.

[ because we're friends, is something he doesn't say but the earnestness and the friendliness in his expression and his voice says it all. ]

[ It's probably about what he expects, that Riku leaves without giving him a straight answer.

He constructs a single lantern, he sets it out to float among the others, he even speaks with a few others who have gathered here.

And then Riku leaves, long after his dirt-stained pants have dried and the floating lanterns glow in the distance. He takes a less scenic route - just beelines straight for a small hill where the sandy dirt eventually gives way to a steepening slope clotted with withered vegetation.

The hill commands a decent view of the gathering down at the shore and of the humble boathouse. ]

Uh, maybe. I don't think I've ever seen insects dance. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try!

[Hell, why not. This place is so strange. Dancing bugs! Could be! The idea makes him laugh just a little as he leans back on his hands.

She's lucky her childhood seems to be an imaginative, magical one. That's how kids should get to be.]

What kind of presents do you think bugs would like?

It- [ daylight pauses, feeling a flicker of frustration in him at his inability to find the proper words to express himself. it's amazing how this frustrates him the most in little moments like these. the moments he wants to make his words matter but they seem to slip him by.

but he takes a deep breath and tries to calm himself, knowing good things come to those who are willing to try, as his dad used to say. ] -It definitely makes talking about stuff kind of hard. Feels... weird, at times, to try and explain things, knowing it's strange and different to the one you're talking to, while it's something so normal back home. Makes you feel like... an island, I guess? A whole and still alone.

But, despite it all, I'm glad we can talk. I'm glad we met. [ daylight looks up at rosinante and a big smile spreads across daylight's face, his expression earnest and sincere. ] It makes everything here a lot easier, knowing you have friends to rely on and think about.

[ upon touching the chassis, riku would probably feel- a hum, is perhaps the best way to describe it. instead of where a heartbeat would lie, there's a quiet, quiet hum underneath his touch. silent but steady, present and willing. just like the support daylight shows to riku when he hears the request.

daylight says nothing at the moment, wanting to keep the moment between them as it is, and he silently extends his servo out, the palm up to reveal the paper boat that just happens to be dotted in stars across a night sky.

his optics dim in sympathy when he hears the pause in riku's words while he lets his friend take the boat to release it out in the waters. he had taken his time to design this boat but he wasn't sure why at the time, finding a strange urge to put details and care into the delicate little work he had before him. now- now he's happy that he did. he hopes this helps riku in some way. ]

... I wish I had gotten a chance to meet Dawn myself, Riku. [ his voice is soft, afraid to break the delicate thing between the pair. ] He must have been an amazing guy.

[Rosinante returns the smile. Partly because he means it, for the strange robot is someone he does appreciate. They can bond over being the tallest ones here, but more importantly, for some reason Daylight trusts him and he doesn't want to lose that too quickly. It feels good to be liked. He's not used to it. And that therefore makes up the other reason he smiles: because he wants to look like he also regards Daylight as a friend, even though he normally would reserve that word for someone he's far closer to and has known for far longer.

Sometimes he wonders if he'd grown up around other children if he'd have social skills instead of social tactics, but they amount to the same thing in the end, don't they?]

It's true. We can't even see our way across town in all this darkness. We have to rely on each other a lot more than I'd bet most people are used to doing, so having people you know are helpful is important. Well, helpful, and... Sympathetic, I guess. There's something to be said for that, too.

[Dying changes things.]

I bet that means you'll be fine.

[ Not staying dead changes things too. ]

Do you have any tips?

[From the pause, Jo gets the sense that he was nervous about that.

But sure. She gets it. And she likes him, so she'll allow it.]

Yeah. Helping friends, and anyone, it's important.

[As they start to move away, Hope shoves her hands in her pockets, eyes focused firmly on the ground as she stares at each of her feet step in front of the other, over and over.]

Seventeen. I would have turned 18 in May but...you know.

[Death caught up with her. She kicks a foot at the ground, watches as some dust kicks up before she moves through it.]

Edited 2019-10-11 03:47 (UTC)

Yeah! Let's make that a promise.

[ excited and cheered by this turn of topic, daylight does a very daylight thing and extends a servo out towards jo. the pinky finger is out and so is daylight's megawatt and sincere smile. ]

While we're here, we'll do what we can to help each other! To the best of our abilities to live our best lives. [ well- technically it's their unlives but no need to cut hairs like that. ]

That's no excuse. [ hands in the pockets of his jeans, he shrugs easily. ]

I've been dead for over a thousand years and I celebrate my birthday every year.

[ does he celebrate it on the same date every year? sometimes. truthfully, kol's forgotten just when his birthday is—it's a result of not having a calendar, spending most of his "youth" running, being daggered, and his family not caring to celebrate. sometimes kol thinks he's forgotten out of spite. he can't be upset when no one cares enough to remember in the first place. ]

[ with every second he spends with jason, things get more and more exciting. it isn't lost on him that the sudden breeze pushing jason's boat out to wherever it is the boats will go has suddenly come and gone. the one thing kol loves most is learning new things—especially about the supernatural—and finding someone who presents something new is a rare find for someone as old as him.

he can't help but smile, close-lipped and at least respectful, given where they find themselves. the miserable vibe of this activity is gone momentarily with his little bout of excitement. ]

How to balance a stone in my paper boat or how you just blew yours out to whatever this water meets?

[Yeah. It does.]

For being here? [She goes quiet as she thinks for a moment.]

Be flexible.

I could demonstrate how I blew the boat out further, but I don't think you could mimic that. I was referring more to the whole rock in a paper boat thing.

[Of course, maybe Kol could, he hadn't heard all about the abilities of those here with him yet. And people were often surprising him.]

Though, that would mean you would need to finish yours.

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