[SWE] Festival of Lights - 318 PC

you wouldn't be the first renegade to need somebody

There are more than a few looks shot her way, and while normally the Doubletake appreciated having all eyes on her, as she slipped her lanterns onto the twisting branches of a nearby tree, she shrank immediately back against Jack with a soft sigh of relief. Only once her fingers have twined themselves through the captain's again, does Flora lift her eyes, smiling toward Melita, Sunjata, and then Astaroth and Dantalion.

"What?" Turning, Flora looks over Jack's shoulder toward Sohalia before sipping in a soft breath which she abruptly releases into the soft fabric of the captain's sweater. "Gods, I just assumed..." You know, with there not being a funeral, with the Ark being back, with the letter she'd pinned to the Notice Board...but then, she supposed, if her friend really had thought her dead, no doubt Sohalia wasn't really looking for signs that she was wrong. "I should probably go say something." Pressing her forehead against Jack's chest for a moment in order to remind herself that he was alive—that they both were—and that things were fine, the queen gave herself another silent shake before giving Jack's hand a squeeze and heading toward the Luminary.

"Boo," smiling weakly, Flora reaches out for Sohalia after having picked her way through the crowd toward the former queen. "I'm sorry I didn't reach out to you, I've..." Flora's smile falls away slightly as she tugs at one of her sleeves. Looking better than she had when last she was in the Greatwood, Flora was still thinner than she ought to be, and the dark circles beneath her eyes spoke of many sleepless nights since her murder.

the lullaby

"I don't know about you, but I feel like I haven't taken a full breath in over a week." Remi is saying as he and Ronin approach the edge of the festival. Tucking his wings in with a roll of his shoulders, the Bastion glances at the Knight with a weary but adoring smile. From having gone to rescue Flora to saving Sunjata, the days and nights had all but blurred together such that if this festival wasn't the sort of thing the pair absolutely were obligated to be at, Remi would have skipped it entirely. Then again, given the looming threat the Family posed, there was every reason to think protectiveness would have had the pair showing up anyway.

Spying Flora and Jack through the trees, the Bastion is both relieved and surprised to see the pair back near the literal scene of the crime; regardless of what their motives had been in coming, Remi hopes the Family takes it as a giant fuck you.

"Come on. Lets go hang these, and then we can mingle." He'd seen Isla and Everest not too far away and Sunjata too.

---

Remi brings a lantern for Aoife, Rexanna, Enzo, and Vervain.

i collect scars because I want proof
I've paid for the sins I've committed

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

gladiator, picked a fight with the gods, i'm a giant slayer

"Haven't taken a full breath and haven't really stopped to think about it, honestly," Ronin agrees with a tired sigh and a smile that tries for amused but doesn't touch his eyes. He'd like to wind his arms around his husband and find some shady spot to sit with a cup of cider and a cinnamon roll, but with lanterns to hang, that will absolutely have to wait. Still, like Remi, he lets his eyes flick across the proceedings, gaze softening to spot Flora amid the crowd.

Offering a nod of greeting to Deimos and Sunjata, too (though he doesn't think the latter sees them), there are countless others he's sure he ought to go and say hello to, but for right now, it's with a lingering feeling that he needs to be on edge or prepared for something to go wrong that he follows after Remi to place their lanterns with the others. "You'll forgive me, I hope, if I'm not the usual life of the party," he says softly.

---

Ronin brings lanterns for Aoife and Vanya

bone shaker, dominator, freight train, wreckin' ball, i'm the gladiator

RONIN

JACK

"You know what they say about assumptions," Jack drawls, tilting his head down at Flora before glancing back towards the crowd while she focuses on Sohalia across the way. His own magic is, of course, draped across the proceedings like a net, plucked by attention thrown his way - and he glances towards Astaroth to incline his head back to the other man - before his focus settles inevitably on the Marin triplets.

"Don't do anythin' I wouldn't," he whispers to the Doubletake, brushing his lips across her cheek before letting her go, allowing him to snag a drink of something strong and spiced as he heads through the stalls and the gathered crowds to where Vesper and Nova are standing.

"No lantern for me?" he rumbles, voice laced with dry amusement. "I'm offended." Raising his eyebrows towards the demigod in particular, whilst neither of them is trusting enough yet (or ever, perhaps) to lower their guards and speak with their minds, the look on his face says it all: fix your face, it's giving you away.

when I look at something, I see it for what it could be
when I look at something, I see how it ends

Code stolen from Queen Sky

the harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun

Having already been given the go ahead to attend such a festival even without a lantern to show for it, Amhran is making the most of the fact that the general mood seems to be one of celebration (not something he'd expected, in truth). As such, he's tailing Deimos and Evie with green eyes filled with awe at the strings of lights, the hanging lanterns, the music and the food, and it's on more than one occasion that he has to pick up his pace to catch back up with them.

"I would quite like to try that," he says offhandedly, nodding towards where someone is spinning sugar into cotton candy and sprinkling it with coloured (and flavoured, seemingly) sherbert. Returning his attention to the Sword - and spending a second or two to wiggle his fingers towards Erebos, sharing in the babe's excitement if not in his squealing - he adds, "if that's alright, of course."

Mateo

who are these people?
I just woke up in my underwear

As Flora - and likely the rest of the family, at this point - are beginning to realise, not everyone has gotten the memo that the Doubletake is not actually deceased, and they make their plans and their lanterns accordingly.

Mateo is one of them.

He arrives on one of the skyships into the Greatwood, eyes red rimmed and his posture uncharacteristically closed off; with Everest attending with Isla, he'd decided he would prefer to make this journey alone anyway. The lantern he carries is hand-painted, painstakingly adorned with every type of flora that reminds him of his sister; sunflowers, marigolds, peonies, sprigs of lavender and bursts of carnations, all of which will light up gorgeously once nestled amid the trees.

Ordinarily seeing this festival so jovial would have had him intrigued at worst and knee-deep in trouble at best, but this evening he heads straight for a suitable place to hang the lantern - which is when he sees his fucking sister across the way, standing with Sohalia. Were it not for the chatter and the bright illumination of all the other lamps, he'd have sworn Soh's lantern had been chosen for a visit from the deceased Doubletake, and his confusion and shock has him moving before his feet ask for permission.

"Flora?" he asks, voice tight and accent thick, his creation falling from his fingers to tumble into the dirt as he reaches for his sister, grasping at her arm as if to check she's real.

no liquor left on the shelf
I should probably introduce myself

SUNJATA

the flood

but am i too late? or hearts to your spades,
if i don't suit you? then what do you want from me?

He doesn’t step past even though Nikandr stops to allow him to. Instead, a polite and crooked smile blooms on his face briefly. “Couldn’t hurt, right?” He says softly, in regards to the coffee, pulling his stormy steel gaze away from the thinner man, glancing across the crowd.

He spots Isla first, offering a small twist of a smile to his friend, until everyone else is suddenly ignored when he spots the person she's with as he greets him across the way.

Now, he assumes it’s Everest just based off of knowledge, but gods, he doesn’t look it.

Sunjata pales, hands suddenly clammy as he regards Everest and his face (or lack there of) because the attuned’s face appears to be half there and half not; too many eyes sunk into the flesh, both into his cheeks and up through his forehead, and the smile is one full of needle-like teeth; and everything seems black with a certain violet sheen.

Sunjata thinks he might be sick, his stomach rampaging against itself, the walls of his mouth suddenly sweats, and the Flood doesn’t even look at Nikandr as he starts to withdraw, navy feathers sprouting in his hair and along his shoulders, down and down as he steps back as if he’s seen a true ghost.

“If you’ll uh, excuse me.” Sunjata manages to say before the man shifts into the macaw and darts through the trees, away from the Festival to gain some distance between himself and Everest (at the very least).

---

Sunjata out! ;-;

so we're not written in the stars,
but i'm okay with that. i'm okay with anything

Sohalia Lumaris

It seemed that word of her survival had gotten around, for Hadama seemed to be nothing but pleased to see her again. Of course, the mermanta was stoic at the best of times; Soh doubted very much that anything took him truly by surprise. It was the kind of calm that she'd wished to embody in her time as a ruler, and in looking back, she could only see how much she had failed. Still, he was a dear friend, and she was pleased to have this time to spend with him.

She arranged her lanterns neatly around her, and was about to share a little about each when a familiar voice froze her in her tracks. She looked around to find none other than Flora standing behind her. "Flora?!" Soh gasped, lurching to her feet to reach for her friend. The Queen was gaunt and thing, with dark circles under her eyes that Soh recognized all too well as the mark of someone haunted. "I thought - I thought -" Tears she wasn't aware of shedding slipped down her cheeks. "I thought you were dead!"

And then Mateo was there, seemingly under the same impression as Soh, and all the Luminary could do was stare at the reunion between siblings as she tried to bring her emotions back under control.

you wouldn't be the first renegade to need somebody

Reaching out with her good arm, Flora tries to draw her friend against her in a hug that wasn't as tight as it normally would have been, but was no less genuine for the queen's lack of strength. "I mean...to be fair, I was." She admitted with a weary laugh before straightening. Of course because of how she'd positioned herself in order to hug Sohalia, Mateo was left with nothing else to grab but her wounded arm as he reached for her.

Gasping sharply as pain ricocheted up her arm and into her neck before snarling down her back, the pained set to her lips vanished as she turned in time to see Mateo's lantern slipping from his fingers, her whimper turning into a coo of reassurance. "Hey." Gesturing at her arm, Flora pulls away from Soh in order to tuck herself against her brother's side.

"Gods, I'm sorry to both of you. Ever since Jack and I were brought back, I've just been..." Pausing, the queen glances between the botanist and the Luminary, her aqua eyes dulling a touch as she sighs. "-hiding, in all honesty. But I should have said something...I didn't mean to worry you."

and the only solution was to stand and fight

With an intention of always remaining reclusive and not being able to achieve those measures, he was still surprised by the number of greetings. Nodding towards Rhiannon, he gave a smile in return. “Rhiannon. Good luck,” and before they could move much further into the throngs or lanterns, he saw Alys, extending a brief wave, and then Zavien – sparking a notion he’d already had plotted through in his mind – but Elizabeth was there too, and he nearly laughed.

Erebos gave the therapist his enthusiastic gurgle and toothless grin too – loving the attention – and the Sword chuckled. “Thank you. You as well.” Odd, maybe, to find these actions much more pleasant than other festivals in the past, but it took his mind off of other more melancholic vocations.

When they ultimately found something Amhran was intrigued by (for which the young demigod earned an extended ‘Amham’ and another zealous squeal from the infant), Deimos paused, figuring they might as well have made camp there – beginning to tie his lanterns off on the closest rope. “The cotton candy? Sure. I need to go over that way for a moment anyway.”

So while Rae’s chosen would find some pleasant sugar to dive into, the Sword directed his attention towards Zavien. “Sorry to interrupt,” he rumbled, to which Erebos waved from over his shoulder, “but I wanted to return this.” He extended his hand, intending to give back the ring contained within. “We were successful. Thank you again for letting us use it.” With the band, of course, came a series of notes; vital information Sunjata had disclosed.

DEIMOS

// but darling you are a river //

Lena gave a warm smile and wink to Zavien in return, further enticed by the thought of warm apple cider, fresh bread, sweet rolls, and anything cinnamon-esque. But there were other notions to be had and collected, and between the Sword’s intervals, and hordes of other people, she had some inquiries too. While this festival seemed far more appealing and celebrative than others in the past, the underlying tension spoke of other volumes; the Queen of Torchline for one, not being dead, nearby. “Did something go well?” She whispered, while snagging at several pastries for the two of them, collecting them and listening simultaneously.

Lena

// but you will never stop; you flow //

kaiden

There is no shame in survival
Only strength

As Kaiden snacked on a fish-filled pastry, they got the impression that this year's Festival was especially dramatic. Oh, right. The Queen died and then un-died. The mer supposed it made sense that some people were upset. They hadn't read the notice board themselves, but there had been enough gossip around the coast that Kaiden had heard.

The mer raised a hand, gesturing for the nearest person to approach them. Whether Fae (or character), they whispered loudly, "How did she uh.." They gestured wildly at Flora. "You know...undo the whole dead thing?" Kaiden wanted to know because it seemed like a handy trick.

coding by kaons

I can't control their fear, only my own.

Noticing Deimos's approach, Zavien leaned forward to whisper in Lena's ear, "Hopefully. I'll be right back. Maybe we can theorize together after?" An accompanying wink went along with the suggestion, full of fun speculations about the drama unfolding tonight. If she insisted on staying, he wouldn't fight, but he planned to tell her everything later anyways, and he figured the fewer people (and the less self-character-interactions for Heather) the better. Stepping to meet his friend, he couldn't help the joy at seeing father and son, smiling brightly.  

He gasped dramatically at the little boy growing from the Warden's back. "You have an adorable little shadow today! I think I even saw it move on its own!" The Dragoon sent Erebos a wink, sticking his tongue out playfully before turning to Deimos and his outstretched hand. Accepting the ring in a subtle handshake, his smile became warm but slightly more serious. "Anytime, friend. I'm glad to hear things were successful. Please let me know if you need to borrow it again, or if you need any other kind of assistance." Pocketing the ring and paper discretely, he tried to hide the itch to open the note now and discover what kind of information it may contain. As much as he wanted to do so, he wouldn't risk it in the crowd of people. Who knew the people who might be watching?

Zavien

yet my blood renders me a King

Sah's eyes softened as he watched the crowd. It seemed that not everyone had seen a notice about Flora (and Jack's) revival. He knew intimately what it was like to see someone that you were so sure was gone, walk right past you. The relief and shock were overwhelming.

Spotting Talyson and Alys nearby, the hybrid walked over, popping one last cookie into his mouth before heading over. "Hey, you two." It almost felt strange to see the pair together. Most of the time, it was just Talyson that he unfortunately encountered, but recently, he'd seen Alys more often, too. Granted, the hunter had been receiving a string of commissions on that side of the Draig lately.

Sah