[SE] it's the heat that drives the light

idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

Apparently some revellers from Longnight had decided to use an area next to the Temple as a bit of a dumping ground, hiding their sins behind a few large panels of wood intended for use in some Flowerbirth project or another. Anyway, said project is now underway, and it's come to the Maverick's attention that there's quite a lot of trash just sitting there, now.

By come to his attention, of course, he means someone has told him. Three times. And is now complaining about it. So he's come to take a look.

With dark shirtsleeves rolled to the elbows and a wrinkled nose of disdain for the state of the area, the Maverick considered just burning the fuck out of everything before realising it would likely create some unappetising smoke, and the merchants nearby won't thank him for it. And so with a roll of his eyes, he goes to procure a cart from somewhere, planning to load the trash onto it so he might burn it a ways out of town.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

I can't relate to  d e s p e r a t i o n

That morning had seen the priestess leaving the Temple and heading toward the Last Whisper on dark-coloured wings. She'd gone to try and negotiate for some supplies in order to make candles herself, or at least to learn the process. After several blowjobs, two rooms swept, a curtain repaired, and some goats milked, Charlie had a bag full of wicks, some oil, and a recipe for making wax herself. It seemed silly to keep buying candles, burning them, and having to buy more when she could just make them herself, right?

Unable to fly with her purchases in hand as a crow—and given no one knew she could suddenly become a dragon that seemed a touch problematic—Charlie had begun the walk home. Singing under her breath, the priestess's song stopped abruptly as she caught sight of a rather familiar rakish figure strolling her way.

"Dantaaaaaa?" Charlie's voice is musical and bright as she appears suddenly in the road before him. Literally; ever since having gained her dart! ability, the little blonde has been using it for all sorts of practical and wicked purposes. Flicking her tail back and forth she grins up at him. "What're you doing here?"

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idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

Almost walking into Charlie but feeling nothing but good about it, a grin flashes across Danta's face to see her dart! before him. "Neat new trick," he quips, "I like it." As for what he's doing, he gestures back the way she'd come, where a few carts sit outside some merchant's warehouse. 

"Did you know there's a load of trash stacked up against the side of the Temple? I do, because people won't stop telling me about it. I need one of those so I can go collect it and burn it away from the Inner Quarter," he explains.

And then, because obviously he wants a partner in crime almost always, he bounces his eyebrows at her and her shopping. "If I let you ride in the cart, will you help me get rid of it all?" he asks. "You and your bags shouldn't be too difficult to push back to the Temple."

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

I can't relate to  d e s p e r a t i o n

"Right?" Beaming, Charlie seems to inflate beneath his casual praise, before her smile softens as she peers behind him. "No? Why would there be trash outside the Temple?" Blinking curiously the blonde's eyes narrow ever so slightly; now that Danta mentioned it, maybe it had been brought to her attention and maybe she'd been so excited at seeing someone new coming into the Temple that her enthusiasm might have taken over just a little.

"Need help? I can help." She trills easily, and rather than answering, Charlie Darts! into the wagon. "If it's too heavy I can always shift and pull us." The priestess offers, crossing her legs and tugging her bag into her lap. "I'm going to start making candles. I'll start with the ones we use for around the Temple, but then I was thinking, why not bigger ones." She explains conversationally, her tail flicking animatedly back and forth.

"Could be a way to get people into the temple, you know? Someone could cover me in wax and then burn me to get me out."

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idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"Ugh, some idiots hid it behind some pannelling during Longnight," Danta explains with a bored shrug. He almost resents the merchants moving the panels now, because he has to do something about it all. "I would love some help, if you don't mind." And in the meantime he can tug her along with the cart he's gone to procure.

Once she's settled with her shopping in it, Danta heaves it onto the path and picks up his pace enough that it can trundle along without much issue; it isn't as though Charlie weighs much; likely less than the debris he needs to load the cart with, anyway. "Candles?" He grins. "Are you going to make ones in different shapes?"

Like penises. It goes unsaid, but Charlie will know very well it's what's on the Maverick's mind instantly.

"Ooooh. I'd be honoured to burn you out of a wax prison. Only on holidays though - you need to make it special for people."

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

I can't relate to  d e s p e r a t i o n

Expectantly Charlie waits for Danta to make it make sense, but as he shrugs, the priestess frowns hard enough to have furrows lining her brow. "But...that's so rude." She whispers sadly before lifting her blue eyes with a renewed desire to help.

"You bet I am, and before you ask, yes, definitely body parts." The ancient gives her tail a flick. "It can be like, a study in anatomy if anyone needs lessons how on things are meant to go together, you know?" And not just on the obvious things either; Charlie knew about reflexology too, and she'd be more than happy to share that knowledge around.

"Awwww you.' Blushing, Charlie sends little fingertips of flame to tickle against Danta's cheeks. "When is the next holiday, by the way?"

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idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"People don't think when they're drunk. It's weird, though - you'd have expected them to just throw it all in the bonfire, right?" He glances over his shoulder and her and shakes his head, uncomprehending. Fire could purify anything, at least in his books. Still, the uncertainty melts back into a fanged and victorious grin to hear that Charlie is already taking his ideas into account, Danta nodding his approval.

"In which case, then, I can't wait, to see what you come up with," he tells her, rumbling the cart back into the square and towards the Temple, the glow of the bonfire able to reach them even from here. "The next one..." Turning into the fire that kisses his cheeks automatically, it takes the Maverick a few moments to think. "I suppose it would be the Festival of Lights, in Leafchange," he says. "The Ludo holiday? There was a blood moon my first Longheat back here, but I haven't seen one since."

Which, boooooo.

Anyway - with the Temple and the debris gathered to one side of it in sight, Danta lets his steps slow so Charlie can hop down if she likes.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

I can't relate to  d e s p e r a t i o n

"I wonder if wax is bad for you..." Switching her tail, Charlie makes a mental note to ask Isla about it when next the pair met. It was one thing to fuck a pair of wax titties or cum onto some wax toes, but at some point she was sure that there were going to be wax cocks shoved in various places. Of course Charlie would never yuck someone else's yum, but if precautions needed to be taken, she'd want to ensure they were all done ahead of time.

Safety first, you know?

"Never heard of it." Charlie murmurs a touch rhetorically. "LeafChange feels very far away. Maybe we could...plan our own?" She suggests, her dark eyebrows nearly disappearing behind her bangs as she smiles pleadingly at the Maverick. "To celebrate the new shrine Asta has made?" She adds, tail wagging excitedly.

Charlie could hop down, but why? Dart!ing, she's gone in a flash, setting her bag down on the Temple's stairs before rushing back to Danta's side in just a few quick jumps. Laughing, the blonde tilts her head back. "That's so fun." She giggles cheerfully, before glancing towards the newly revealed pile of debris.

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idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"I mean, I'd hope no one was chewing on the candles," Danta says with a scrunch of his nose, evidently taking wax being bad for you as Charlie being worried she'll find someone eating her creations. As for the festival, he shrugs his shoulders as if already bored of talking about it. "People bring lanterns for dead people, Ludo lets someone talk to the dead people, I dunno," he drawls, only for his eyes to light up at the suggestion that they make their own fun.

"Oh you are very clever," he purrs, having to look around for her briefly as she Dart!s away and bounds back towards him. Tail swishing interestedly at his heels, he ushers her around to the side of the Temple so they can (haphazardly, granted) shove all the debris onto the cart. "What kind were you thinking? We would have to do it every year, of course."

He can't deny he's a little jealous of her ability to randomly teleport, and there's an itch at the back of his mind that wants to try it out for himself. "How do you do it?" he wants to know.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

I can't relate to  d e s p e r a t i o n

"Well....' The priestess shrugged; some might like chewing on people, some might like chewing on candles. Charlie didn't judge, but she should probably find out if doing so would require hospitalization.

Talking of festivals has the priestess positively radiating delight, the expression on her face suggesting she had no shortage of ideas. "A fire festival?" Theme: fire. "Yeah, and!" Bouncing on her toes, Charlie's blue eyes go even wider (if such a thing was possible). "And it would be perfect right after LongNight too because of stuff like this!" Pointing at the previously hidden debris, the blonde grins. "We could have everyone haul in their trash and we could all burn it!" They could even go to other regions like a travelling festival, offering clean up with a side order of fiery Dygra worship.

"Mmmmm, it's kind of like..." Charlie's whole body wiggles back and forth as if the answer wasn't just on the tip of her tongue, but on the tip of her everywhere. "..like imagine just hopping from foot to foot." She explains, doing so herself. "And then just...cut that step out." Suddenly the blonde was there, and then she was a foot away, before springing back again. "It just kinda happened one day. I woke up, thought about getting out of bed and suddenly I just was." She continues, blue eyes wide with delight.

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idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

Even as Charlie wells about it, Danta already has images of chewed up, mangled wax penises in his head, and while he also doesn't like to yuck anybody's yum, he can still Kombucha Girl while being tolerant. More than content to put that sort of talk on the backburner in lieu of new festivals, especially when there's fire involved, Danta grabs up some of the debris - there are clothes and bottles and all sorts of other random items included - and hauls them towards the cart.

"I presume there will be much feasting and worship as well? Otherwise it would just be a trash burning festival. Which, don't get me wrong, yes, but maybe we can... I don't know, burn an effigy as well or something?" Don't as him what of - he doesn't know. "That's a good idea to host it after Longnight, though. I wonder if we could take advantage of..." He jabs a finger at the Big Massive Bonfire nearby.

Dumping the trash into the cart, he turns to find Charlie hopping from foot to foot - and of course Danta copies her, which likely looks hilarious to anyone watching. "Just... cut that step... out?" Tilting his head, the Maverick is about to say he doesn't get it when he abruptly does, made evident by his appearing suddenly a foot away. It startles him enough that he overbalances and has to pinwheel his arms, by which time he's left gaping at the priestess. "Did I do it...?"

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

I can't relate to  d e s p e r a t i o n

"Well obviously." Charlie trills. "We could cook food and things beforehand so that we don't contaminate anything by burning garbage after." She suggests before her eyes light up. "Ooh, we could have effigies of all the other gods and their heralds?" Blasphemous though it might seem, really it was just the natural order of things. Everything would fall away beneath the powers of creation and chaos; of Caido and Dygra.

"Yup! Just take it out!" Charlie confirms encouragingly, and as Danta briefly disappears from view, he'll hear the blonde's bright screech of delight followed by enthusiastic clapping. "You did!!!" Offering him a thumbs up as confirmation, the priestess waggles her fingers. "And it isn't even just side to side! Watch." So saying she steps up close to the Maverick, before dart!ing up and appearing eye to eye with him. It lasts only a second before she's falling a foot or so to the ground, only the second time she does it, she sneaks a quick kiss against his cheek before she falls.

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idealism sits in prison
chivalry fell on his sword

"Oooooh, that's a good idea," Danta agrees with a feral sort of grin. "And Flowerbirth is supposed to be all about renewal after Longnight, so it isn't as though anyone can be upset about it." That's a stretch, Danta, but the intentions are good, so maybe the first Dygra-centred festival won't result in all the Ancients being smited by the gods and their heralds. Or if they are, their dark mother might at least make an appearance and say hi, right?

Able to hear Charlie's squeal of delight as well as her clapping, Danta still isn't convinced he's actually succeeded until she's darting up at him - twice - and is rewarded with a kiss. Scoffing out a laugh - the Maverick hasn't learned anything new for a long time, and he's been trying hard enough to re-learn all that he'd lost since The Climb - it's safe to say that Danta has all but forgotten about their cleaning.

Or at least, he no longer has any intention of walking to and from the cart with the trash. Even if he can only teleport a foot at a time, worth. "Wait, how come you can go further than me?" he demands, laughing.

Dantalion

I slithered here from Eden
just to sit outside your door

I can't relate to  d e s p e r a t i o n

"Well! I guess I'll start working on it now!" Charlie decides with a delighted clap of her hands. "If we're going to host the first one next year, I'll make sure it's the biggest and best!" One whole year to construct effigies of all of Caido's gods, get the word out, plan and organize an entire festival? It would be just like old times!

The Maverick's question has Charlie grinning slyly. Running her tongue across her teeth, the blonde lifts one shoulder in a flirtatious shrug. "Maybe because I brush my hair more than you?" She suggests with a laugh. "Or, I bet it's because I say please more." (Aka she had no idea). Snapping her fingers as if having struck the nail on the head, the priestess Darts! nearly the entire way to the garbage pile before making a come hither motion for Danta to follow.

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