logsinthenight | 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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[ he watches the exchange off to the side as well as the awkward pause that follows. when most others seem to take their moment only after they've sent a craft off into the water, it does stand out as interesting. ambling over, he pretends to hold some interest in the other boats out on the water for a little bit before eventually speaking. ]

It's not going to walk onto the water by itself, you know. [ if he had a cigarette, this would normally be when he takes a puff and pretends to be distracted by it before speaking again. but he doesn't, so eliot just rolls his shoulders and tilts his head to the side, still watching the boats drifting further out. ] Sometimes you just have to take the leap instead of thinking about what leaping actually means.

[ they're words of wisdom kol didn't know he needed to hear. he doesn't jump when eliot approaches; he could hear his footsteps, even if he wasn't focusing on them. in truth, he was too focused on his little boat and its stupid meaning. still, despite eliot's words, he keeps the boat out of the water and looks at his newfound beaconite.. ]

Does the leaping need to have any meaning?

[ of course it does. people don't jump off rocks into lakes without some sort of intent. usually it's to show that they could do it, that they were brave enough. although, kol doubts letting boats drift into the water and off to wherever they're going to go is meant to represent such a feat.

with a glance down, he notices eliot's hands are bare. ] Did you already leap?

[ the first question is loaded and not something eliot can really answer for-- he takes a peek at the name --kol. however people choose to mourn, however strangely or impossibly ridiculous, if it helps at all, then it's more important than what anyone else thinks about it. not that he's an expert even slightly because he has his own share of things to reconcile that he's still learning to do, still struggling to be braver about, but what he does know of having made and sent of boats with quentin the day before is that even if one doesn't know if there will be any meaning, one's heart will always answer on its own. ]

In some respects, yes. [ there's no real way to absolve how quentin had died in front of quentin, but maybe that's why he's here again, wanting some other kind of closure of his own. ] But life is. Complicated and not at all what you always expect it to be.

[ he rolls his head a bit as he speaks, trying to gesture the peculiarity of it all on top of the reality. ]

That's why thinking about leaping is a mistake though. Not all of it's going to make sense, but it doesn't really have to. That's just. Life. [ he looks toward kol, then. ] You know?

[ oh, yes, he knows quite well about how dangerous leaping can be—it's why he does it quite often. he's been wanting to find meaning in so much; perhaps that desperation is why he has always wandered into corners or been shoved into a coffin. perhaps the point of everything isn't to leap but to do something else.

it's all a bit too deep for kol, who is already feeling strangely vulnerable writing down his own name. it'd be easy to make a joke about it—he's simply making fun of the fact he's dead again—but his heart wouldn't be in it. ]

Life's definitely complicated. [ with a glance at the boats floating in the water in front of them, he shrugs a shoulder. ] Or unlife—whatever this is. It's a good idea having a little festival like this, but… [ he sighs, finding that act is far more relieving than this activity. ] Putting a boat in a water isn't going to make what you want to let go any easier to let go.

EVENT LOG: FOR EVERYTHING A REASON

sept 7. b.

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