what's poppin'

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

Already within the Hollowed Grounds, Melita snagged at her companions waiting for her at the Firecracker, then began to stroll their way through the marketsquare. Sila settled upon her shoulder with the air of a refined queen, and Fangorn in her arms as a distinguished gentle-gourd, but the Honeybee was hardly any of those things. Her mission was currently a two-fold operation, between gathering an appropriate box, and harboring something she could utilize for confetti – that was not paper.

Maybe she shouldn’t have been arranging a gift with the additional bonus of mischief attached, but then again, perhaps it was a usual expectation. Presents from Ludo demigods came with their own hazards, or something like that. Consulting her list from her free hand, she spoke back to pumpkin and dragon. “I’m thinking glitter…but it has to be the right colors,” obviously, because when it popped out of the container it’d have to go everywhere and it should look nice while being simultaneously irritating and annoying. She missed Sila roll her eyes. “And then I thought well okay, maybe like, flowers? Or leaves?” Bubbles would be complicated, and she’d only need certain herbs and shit to make it all feasible.

But then she spotted someone familiar nearby – and with a grin, and companions in tow, she skipped over to where Aithne was browsing and perusing. “Hey! How are things?”

to be the sun

MELITA

Aithne's afternoon is, in a word, boring.

She hates market days - at least, the routine kind that end with a purchase of various food and drink. Shopping for clothes or jewelry or any other such things is great fun, but groceries? No matter how she tries to make it enjoyable (a little treat here, or terrorizing a vendor there), it always ends with frustration. Perhaps it is that she spends so much of her hard-earned coin, leaving little for refurbishing the little house that now belongs to her. Or maybe it is simply that she would prefer to be hunting or playing or some other such thing.

Either way, she's glad of the interruption when a familiar demigod skips to her side. "Oh, hey!" she chirps, happily turning away from the vegetables that she's currently wondering if she needs (after all, sating her bloodlust seems to take care of all her nutrition requirements) to focus on Melita. "Things are good! How about you? Gotten into any trouble lately?" she adds, eyes sparking with interest and mischief in equal measure.

Aithne Murphy

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

“Maaaaaybe,” she inferred without explanation – blowing up Kaisel’s underwear had been the latest sting with far more to go – but the grin on her features gave away nothing but mischief in the interim. As Fangorn wound his way to her opposite shoulder, she hooked her arm through Aithne’s like they were old friends, eyes flickering over to the vegetable stand with a vague sniff. “I’ve been good. Busy, y’know,” with what wasn’t granted either; humming vaguely under her breath before diving into the next round of potential.

“I am, however, looking for glitter, a box, and things I can use for confetti. Working on a little project.” At this she arched her brow, the smile growing broader. Sila snorted and Fangorn didn’t do much else but grumble; used to this sort of thing. “Know any good places?” An expectation, of course, that the Ancient, given her own brand of chaos, would have quick access to those sorts of things.

to be the sun

MELITA

'Glitter' and 'confetti' is all Aithne needs to hear, linking arms with Melita gladly enough and beginning to steer the demigod away from the gods-awful vegetable table. "Hmmmm," she muses, eyes sparkling with sudden excitement and mischief. "I have some ideas." And they wander up the path, passing through the remaining food stalls and coming out into other vendors, all of whom begin to shout out their wares.

"Glitter should be right up - aha!" Aithne crows, dragging Mel to a nearby table, where various crafting supplies can be found. There are paints and canvases and papers in all shapes and colors and sizes, but the true star of the show is the glitter selection. Aithne is rather drawn to the rainbow sparkles shaped like hearts (anatomically correct ones, thank you very much), and she holds up the bottle with a dramatic flourish. "These are my favorite, but, as you can see, there's plenty to choose from. Then we can talk boxes and confetti," she adds with a wink, already beginning to amass a list of items in preparation.

Aithne Murphy

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

“I knew I could count on you,” she chimed, grin content and mischief-laden, Cheshire embedded nuances taking over as Aithne steered the little group of companions and demigod towards the right vendors. It was an immediate showcase of all things bright and spectacular, and Melita’s eyes widened, round as saucers, as she parted from the Ancient to begin bouncing and bounding along the glitter table. “Oh, these are fuckin’ fantastic,” she uttered, ignoring the way a woman maneuvered her young girl away from the display and profanity.

She wouldn’t be heading for the anatomic hearts, but the hordes of hues and shapes was enough to keep her attention occupied. The grand show of colors reminded her of the stones amidst Frey’s Breath, and she bickered back and forth, at war with herself, when she came across the blues, whites, and browns, figuring they’d be a nice combination to go along with her gift. “Gods this is hard to pick,” and the Honeybee’s eyes narrowed, speculating as she grabbed several packages - then saw an array of creature ones. “I definitely need these!” and she snagged the Pegasus shaped ones quickly, along with some starwhale and dragons for affect. And the dogs, who could…if one squinted, look like the outline of Goose.

to be the sun

MELITA

Bright and beautiful baubles fill the merchant's stall, and Aithne grins widely at the demigod as Melita expresses her delight. She snickers as a woman maneuvers a young girl away from the pair, enjoying the chaos that Melita manages to cause by her very existence. Its a shame that she's a Ludo demigod, Aithne thinks; she could do quite well as an Ancient, had she a mind to make the change.

Oh well. The girl watches as Melita browses, trading the merchant a couple of coins for the anatomical heart glitter (it's just too good to pass up). Then the demigod snags a few items: some pegasus-shaped glitter, and some starwhales and dragons and dogs. It's a strange combination, but Aithne has never been one to ask too many questions. Except, as it turns out, one: "Soooo, what's the glitter for?" She's eager to help with any shenanigans that Melita might be causing, but she would rather like to know what she's assisting with.

Aithne Murphy

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

Marching over to the merchant, who was giving her a wary eye as she excitedly tossed the whole lot on the counter, she glanced back at Aithne once she’d delivered the coin amount and pocketed the first round of necessities. “A gift!” she uttered with confidence and a grin; streamlining away from the apprehensive, newfound sentiments; bolstering her audacity and boldness because she’d managed to, somewhat successfully, impart a new portion of their lives with some clarity. There was much more to be done, but these were steps. “And what kind of gift would it be without added bonuses?” Empowered by the thought of Iskra opening the box and being covered in chaos before actually receiving the bestowal was like a present to herself.

Glancing back and forth from the other stalls, she would have to rely on Aithne’s abilities once more. “I also need confetti – but it can’t be paper. I was thinking something I could just use to make on my own. And a box to put it all in.”

to be the sun

MELITA

"Ooooo," Aithne replies, eyes sparkling with excitement and mischief. "I love it." She can only imagine the surprise on the recipient's face when they open their gift to be covered in glitter of various shapes and colors. It's enough to make her want to grab a gift of her own. She rather thinks Soren would appreciate the anatomical hearts, although she can't say he would love getting rid of the glitter afterwards.

As for confetti, Aithne doesn't really see the difference between it and glitter, but she's certainly not going to rain on Melita's parade. "Hmmmm..." she ponders. "Well, you could always collect, like... leaves or flower petals. Orrrr sometimes in Stormbreak, wedding guests liked to throw birdseed?" She shrugs, all out of suggestions after that last. "D'you know what, like... vibes you're looking for?"

Aithne Murphy

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

The Honeybee hadn’t really thought ahead of getting rid of the glitter; that is a problem for the future, and really, she wouldn’t mind it all over the place. The next segment though is something she’d already been pondering, and in her matchy-matchy phase, she furrowed her brows, eyes glancing back and forth between the wide variety of vendors. “I think the companions would eat the birdseed,” and she wrinkled her nose; because while she wasn’t really thinking of Sila being that silly, Fangorn and Goose absolutely would. “Flower petals could work. If we can find some that go with these same colors?” she held out the bags of glitter again – most of them representative hues of the impending gifts.

And she really didn’t have the urge to go skipping and frolicking in meadows to find the perfect ones – not when they could be available here. “You guys have some of those vendors, right?”

to be the sun

MELITA

Flower petals are simple enough to find at this particular time of year, and Aithne hops and skips along towards that section of the market. "This wayyyy," she trills, and before long, they are surrounded by flowers in various hues and fragrances. These vendors are more sedate, and they watch the two women walk by with smiles but without shouting prices at them. It's a welcome reprieve.

"So there's rose petals," the girl muses as they meander through the flower sellers. "But I dunno that they'll have that many colors, will they?" As though to prove her wrong, at that very moment, she spots a cluster of white and blue roses, and she darts towards them at breakneck speed. "Ooooo maybe I'm wrong!"

Aithne Murphy

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

The Honeybee hopped and skipped right after Aithne, led along through other sections of vendors. A more peaceful, subdued area; nothing like the flailing glitter area or the screeching prices of meats or produce. Melita wasn’t sure if she enjoyed it or looked around for the chaos. Regardless, they’d be making some of their own anyway.

Her eyes went to the roses – debating internally. They certainly wouldn’t look like the flowers when she was done with them; all soft and delicate and then broken into pieces and portions to satisfy her impending surprise. “Those’ll do,” she winked, snagging at several white and blue ones, along with a softer, pale shadow of yellow. After giving some more coins to the merchant, she ran off her mental list as Fangorn beheld each package with his many vines. “Now just a box. Maybe a fancy one.”

to be the sun

MELITA

The roses are seemingly sufficient, and Aithne watches as Melita snags the white, blue, and then a soft yellow. Her companion, a floating gourd with myriad vines and appendages, carries her purchases as the demigod redirects them to the last of the items on her list: a box. A fancy box.

"Hmmm, there's crates and stuff that way," she said, pointing in one direction. "But the fancy chests and things are this way. Oh, and over there are some, like, cardboard boxes, but they have fun designs on them." The options are many, and the Ancient doesn't particularly care which way they go, so she waits to see what Mel's preferences are before prancing off in whichever direction to find the vendors in question.

Aithne Murphy

to be lit up from within

vein by vein

Her nose wrinkled in thought once more, not quite used to formulating multiple levels of plans. The temptation to go wandering to something premade was there, but Iskra deserved more than just her impulsivity. She’d already come this far. “Let’s go to the fancy chests,” she finally declared after another moment. Maybe he’d be able to reuse it for something within his shop or the guild.

Then they could go frolicking in that said direction – of which the Honeybee hadn’t realized there was so many options. This vendor had a particular style of wooden, carved, burnt, or embedded things, and the demigod’s eyes widened. “Let me know if you see anything with a pegasus or a dog on it,” she whispered to Aithne, as she went scurrying down the rows of selections.

to be the sun

MELITA

Pegasi and dogs seem to be high on Melita's list at the moment, but Aithne isn't going to complain. She wonders, briefly, who will be the recipient of this gift, what will be hidden amongst the glitter and confetti, and whether this will be a good surprise or a bad one; but then she's distracted by a fancy wooden chest made of some wood with a deep brown hue, accented with golden filigree along the edges, and she forgets to care.

There are indeed so many options that it's easy to get lost in browsing the various wares, and indeed the pair have become separated by the time Aithne calls out, "Ooooo, come look at this one!" It's a dark chest with a silver pegasus emblazoned on the sides, with several similar options with various animals and colors included nearby, if the one Aithne has found doesn't suit. Her dark, curly hair bounces as she stands on tiptoe to find Melita, waving the demigod over excitedly to see.

Aithne Murphy