[SWE] curb your enthusiasm

Wren

The name hit her like a stone dropped into still water.

Wren.

The young Accepted blinked, certain she had misheard. The festival noise swelled and crashed around them, full of music and laughter, but the man’s voice cut clean through it. She turned toward him slightly, confusion already tightening her chest. He was staring at her as if he had seen a ghost dragged into daylight, eyes wide, color drained from his face.

“I—” Her voice faltered. ”You have the wrong person.” But she wasn’t sure he would be convinced. Recognition burned in his expression, deep and personal, threaded with grief and shock tangled together. It frightened her in a way anger wouldn’t have. Strangers weren’t supposed to look at her like that. Strangers weren’t supposed to know her at all.

Wren.

The name echoed again in her skull, hollow and disorienting. She wrapped her arms around her, stray fingers toying with a lock of hair. Her pulse stuttered. For a heartbeat she saw nothing but broken impressions: white light, the smell of antiseptic, blood on stone—then it vanished, leaving her breathless.
“I’m Jesse.” she insisted, but the stuttering of her pulse showed uncertaintiy in her words.

Without realizing she was doing it, she stepped closer to Zavien, her shoulder nearly brushing his arm. The movement was instinctive, a body-level search for something solid and known—safety by proximity. Her gaze never left the man’s face. Apology lingered in her expression, along with alarm and a fragile edge of pleading, as if she feared the wrong answer might break something.

But his eyes were her eyes.

Here I am, a rabbit hearted girl
Frozen in the headlights

Tell the tales of the trail of dead
Lovers learned from slower hands

You have the wrong person.

It echoed in his mind, a refrain that did little to soothe the jagged edges of his heart that he'd thought had begun to heal over. Logic dictated that this couldn't be Wren. Wren was dead - long dead and gone from this world, with her mother and sister in Mort's halls.

But she had his eyes.

Some paternal instinct insisted that this was her, that something had gone wrong all those years ago when he'd thought her lost. But as she insisted on a different name, stepped closer to Zavien as though gravitating towards safety, Liam swallowed back the mounting protests and did his best to quell the quiver in his voice.

He failed.

A hand lifted as though to reach for her before he stopped himself and jerked it back. "But - you look just like -"

But the last thing he wanted to do was scare her. What if he was wrong? What if this was just some strange coincidence.

But she had his eyes.

"Excuse me," he said abruptly, turning away and nearly running into Maea, who he hadn't even realized was there until just this moment. Swallowing hard, he met her eyes, his gaze distant and tormented. But he couldn't bring himself to explain - not to say anything more in front of Wren/Jesse, where any move he made might be construed as a threat that he never wanted to be. Hopefully his partner would follow as he fled the others, slipping through the crowd and towards the other side of the bonfire, away from the truth that he hoped that he might one day uncover.

But it wouldn't be today. Not when Wren was looking at him like that.

Losing self in myself
And my demons make demands

Liam

You woke a fire inside of me

It seemed like a normal conversation, to someone who hadn't heard the name he dropped, who didn't know its significance. Just a mistaken identity, oops, haha my bad – except Liam wasn't laughing, and the look in his eyes as he turned to run from this Jessie person was so haunted that Maea felt knots tighten in her gut, worry erasing the smile that played on her lips a second earlier. Stepping nimbly aside to avoid being knocked over by her lover, she cast a bewildered look at Sohalia - what had she missed? - and hastily pushed her basket of food at Zavien. "Hold this for me, will you?" 

Whirling around she took off after Liam, darting past revelers and dancers, foodstalls and water fountains and narrowly avoided knocking over a child nibbling on a lollypop before she was vlose enough to reach for the soldier's sleeve. "Liam, wait! What's wrong?" Hauling on his arm to make him stop, Maea shook the pale tangles of her hair out of her eyes and nearly broke her neck trying to catch his gaze. Was he angry, sad, upset - what in Dygra's name had that girl done to elicit this kind of reaction?

Maea

// nothing is as simple, I worship, you're my temple //

The way Danta has simultaneously shut down and also become nostalgic honestly takes most of the butcher’s focus right this moment. It’s enough that he misses the vast majority of those that have arrived, Flora, Kaisel, Deimos, Thalassa, and even Maea. He stays close to the Maverick, keeping his arm in his as they drift over toward the stalls to pick and choose whatever it was Danta wanted.

His head is held high but he can see in his peripheral vision the way Danta’s gaze remains on the floor, at least until he’s glancing up at him for the question that leaves his lips. Hearing the answer, seeing the brief edges of the mask and performance his lover puts into it, Asta lets Danta guide him to whichever stall he wants something from.

And to say he’s not at all surprised by the choice is an absolute lie. Sweet treats were not something Danta often chose for himself, yet here they are stepping away with two of the sugared donuts in his lover’s hands and Asta with his own sweet, Danish kind of pastry that he nibbles on as he focuses on the Maverick continuously to make sure he was fine.

At least, until the question of Thalassa come sup and he looks away, squinting into the distance to see her blonde and by the fire, his head tilting. “It does appear to be, doesn’t it?” He murmurs in confusion, his pastry held in a pause from the next bite as he thinks. “Perhaps she has lost a bet and that is why she is blonde now?” He suggests, not knowing how true he is on that regard, but knowing her well enough to know she probably wouldn’t choose to be blonde on her own.

Astaroth

// and heaven, hold your gates open, all the hell we've been through //

Let's commit the perfect crime.

When everyone else is sweating and melting into piles of disgusting body odor, Nova sparkles in the heat. The sheen of moisture along her exposed body glistens bright in the harsh sunlight filtering through the smoke, the occasional snowflake drifting down around the blonde and red curls that bounce with her enthusiasm. Reality seems to ripple and shimmer around her, the fabric of her short, open-backed dress fluttering in a breeze of her own making. Gold and white material attaches to her shoulders in a faux sleeve style, flapping behind her so that they look shockingly similar to the membranous wings of a dragon. 

She skips through the crowd to the beat of the music, hooking arms with someone as she spins and laughs then moves to the next person, slowly making her way closer to the bonfire in the center. Still, she takes her time, snagging a free sample of something bright and sweet, waving to a group of somewhat familiar people, and singing along to the music without knowing a single word. By the time she reaches the middle, she's drawn more than a few eyes, but that's not even the start of things. 

Grinning vibrantly up at the roaring flame, Nova reaches an arm into the glittering bag at her side to pull out a bound and inconspicuous item - as inconspicuous as something painted in gold can be. Then she tosses it into the fire with a hop and a knowing giggle. 

The moment it comes in contact with the flames, it erupts in a burst of sparks and color, the blast breaking through the sound of revelry like a demand for attention. Uncontained, the firework explodes into the sky, a true offering for a god.

---

Nova arrives and gives Tanau the present of her presence fireworks.

Nova

I'll steal your heart, and you steal mine.

Sohalia

There was an uncomfortable silence while the girl - Jesse? Wren? - seemed to process Liam's tormented query, and then she was denying the name and shrinking closer to Zavien. Soh didn't know Liam all that well, but what she did know of the man led her to believe that the girl wasn't in danger, whoever she was. If anything, the poor man looked like he'd seen a ghost.

But they weren't to learn who he thought she was, for he left abruptly, nearly running into Maea as he departed. Soh accepted the basket thrust upon them by the Ancient, who hurried after the ex-Dragoon, and then turned to Zavien and the girl, utterly bemused. She exchanged a glance with Zavien, but then her focus was back on the girl. "Are you alright?" she asked quietly, her voice as calm and soothing as she could make it. Anani crooned a quiet, chiming sound meant to comfort, breathing a gentle, cooling cloud towards the air over the girl's head.

there's no life without you here

And when that sky rains fire on you
And you're persona non grata

Nina followed along as Deimos led the way with Erebos astride. The younger Ignatius was far more talkative than his father, and charming in the way that all children were: eager, not yet wary of the danger strangers could pose, not yet aware of social conventions (in a way that Nina could relate to). At the mention of Deimos setting things ablaze, Nina raised one brow and glanced to the hellhound; perhaps she and the Warden had more in common than she had originally realized.

"I was very young," she told Erebos, gaze shifting to Ember as the fire elemental followed obediently along, perhaps cowed, for once, by the sheer magnitude of the festivities. "My grandmother took me to see the First Flame for the first time. From what I can recall, we were meditating -" Or trying to, as was more likely for young Nina. "- and the Flame began to move. From within the fire, Ember emerged. It came to me and attempted to nudge my hand." She held up the appendage, showing Erebos the burn scar across her knuckles. "It hurt, but after that, I realized that we were bonded. I could feel Ember's regret that it had caused me pain. It has never tried to touch someone else, after that incident."

Dropping her hand, she shrugged. "I do not know where it came from. Perhaps it was a part of the First Flame come to life. Perhaps it was drawn to the Flame's warmth. But it is a good companion, and I cherish it." The little fire sprite crackled at that, seemingly pleased to hear such rare praise from its bonded.

They arrived at the food tables, and Nina surveyed the options, waiting for Deimos and Erebos to make their selections. Burgers were not her first choice of meal - so messy, with all those toppings - but she quickly found some kebabs nearby and made a purchase of her own.

I'll tell you how I've been there too
And that none of it matters

Nina

You can’t stop the change,

any more than you can stop the suns from setting.

The nuances of the interaction are lost on him, the meaning obscured behind confusion and lack of context. His eyes flit between the two, taking in Liam's gaunt expression and Jesse's (Wren's?) fearful one. He can't understand the panic or utter terror that seizes her, and definitely not why she thinks she needs to rely on him for protection from the kind ex-Dragoon over what appears to be a mistaken identity. 

Before he can mediate or ask for clarification from either, Liam is darting off, pushing past Maea who decides to dump her basket on them. He's left momentarily stunned, running a hand through his wet hair before turning to Sohalia with a bewildered look. Any hope of an explanation from the Attuned evaporates in the mirror of his own confusion, wide green eyes meeting wide steel eyes with nothing to show for it. 

Turning more fully to Jesse, Zavien offers a small smile that's as soothing as a field of sweetgrass leaning in a soft breeze, his voice carrying gently as a ray of morning sunlight. "That must have been a shock. It's okay to be surprised." Slowly as to not frighten her more, he rests his hand on her shoulder, waiting patiently for her to speak, to answer Soh's question or offer some kind of way for them to ease her discomfort.

Zavien

I'll Shout! From the rooftop singing, everybody gonna know my name

Kaisel has definitely said an untrue thing or two for the sake of a joke. The sort of absurd thing you throw out there just for the thrill of the gasp, or the possibility of it being true, even if it’s implied it’s not. He bluffs far more often than Flora, but about this? His gaze slides from the fire to the side of his view where her catlike smile lingers like a taunt in the wake of her dare. ”YeP,” the last letter punctuates with a solid pop. ”You only have to say the magic words.” He shrugs, pushing back on the line to see just how far she’s willing to take this one. Ultimately, they did what they came to do, paid Tanau some respects. And hey, he might appreciate things heating up a bit more by their own hands.

The drawl of the reminder of their code words fades slowly and reluctantly into a low hum of consideration as the topic shifts. ”Is that right?” he wonders with a tilt of his head, expression impartial still as he continues to watch Soh and Zavien. ”Not really sure his oral’s that good,” he scoffs, choosing the very literal version of her remark to avoid the sting, although it still lands, he just tries to hide it with the absurdity. He does sigh though, as if aware what she means beneath the insult.

His jaw rolls, working over the other side of the story. He’s not real sure he has a great defense for Koa this time. He himself had been irritated with his cousin’s long absence, though he’d chalked it up to their spat and the workload Koa willingly put on his shoulders. Soh and him though, he shakes his head, not sure what had gone so wrong—why Koa had just watched her sail away. ”Yeah, he took a sabbatical, but I guess he didn’t tell her much either.” He got small tidbits, crumbs, and it’s still nothing like it’d once been between them. Guess that’s the cost of growing up.

Pulling on his neck, Kaisel’s attention peels away from the possible couple, no longer interested in the drama of it. ”I dunno Flora. If Soh’s upset, then she should let him know. If he’s been confused, he’ll probably keep trying otherwise. I’m sure he never mean—we all do dumb shit sometimes, especially when it comes to feelings about others. I don’t even think he knows what he’s doing any more. Anyway, looks like maybe she’s found a new harbor either way, so what’s it matter what Koa’s doing?”

Kaisel

So I gotta be loud! Don't turn it down, can't let outside noise drown you out

Tell the tales of the trail of dead
Lovers learned from slower hands

Liam heard his name just as Maea reached for his sleeve, and it took a great deal of effort to slow his strides even marginally for her. That wasn't enough, though; the Ancient hauled on his arm, tugging him to a stop so that she could peer up at him, worry rolling off her in waves. "I'm sorry," he rasped, unable to stop his gaze from flicking back the way they'd come, as though hopeful and fearful in equal measure. "I can't -"

A gaggle of partygoers passed by, and Liam tugged Maea out of the way to avoid them. "That girl -" he said, thoughts jumbled. He raked a hand through his hair. "She looks - she looks like -" Auburn hair and hazel eyes flash in his mind. "- Wren," he managed to choke out, eyes glassy with shock. "But that's - that's impossible. She's -" Dead. Except, what if she wasn't? What if she'd been alive all this time? Alive and alone and living as Jesse, all because he hadn't managed to find her.

Guilt threatened to cripple him. Shaking hands reached to clasp behind his head, fisting in his hair. Gods, he must sound insane.

He hadn't had a drop of alcohol since he and Maea had pledged themselves to one another, but at this moment, all he wanted was a strong drink, and the only thing keeping him from it was his lover's pale eyes staring up at him. "But it's her," he said, disbelieving, as though trying to convince himself, to convince Maea, because gods knew there were a million logical responses to this moment, and his wasn't one of them. But he knew - it was her. It had to be her.

Losing self in myself
And my demons make demands

Liam

idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on his sword

Having missed the first skyship out, Koa and Pipsqueak arrive at the party a little breathless and more than a little late. Then there are stops for snacks as the catsnake demands, and shiny baubles distracting her human, and by the time they reach the bonfire it seems the gang's all here.

Together they approach the great bonfire, Pip circling overhead to drop their aromatic plant within. Glistening with sweat already, Koa lets up a silent prayer for the fires to please abate, thnx, before pushing into the crowd. He spots many familiar faces in the crowd; waves and greetings are exchanged as appropriate as the pair winds on. It isn't until a familiar knot of heads appears that he finally settles, excitement swelling at the sight of family friends.

"Breakers!" Koa exclaims with boyish enthusiasm, his grin infectious as he comes up behind Zavien, throwing an arm around his friend's shoulder. A warm smile is reserved for Soh - he got her letter and had hoped to see her here, to steal her for a much needed talk - a wave for a girl whose name he places as Jesse, and then confusion clouds his brow as Liam and Maea abruptly break away. "Was it something I said?" Koa jokes, puzzled, but content to shrug it off.

---

Koa and Pipsqueak offer the plant they found in [o] The sky is falling

koa

code by sky

some people lie and believe they'll never die

Calla had thought very hard about not coming here. There had been countless reasons not to: she doesn't like crowds, her interest in seasonal dieties is quite limited, the Barrows are alight with wildfires. But it was this last which ultimately brought her here, a need to see any semblance of peace brought to the tombs she tends overcoming the trepidation she feels where travel is involved.

The flight over having been difficult enough, Calla quickly finds herself both curious and overwhelmed by the buffet of sights and sounds. Together she and Lucifer flit like shadows around the edge of the throng, picking their way between the few shadows toward the roaring fire that holds so many enthralled. The stone in Calla's hand hums warmly; she inhales, steadying herself with the sensation of it on her palm. "Please, Tanau" the Keeper murmurs, firelight dancing in her large dark eyes, "Let the dead rest." So saying, Calla throws her stone into the fire--

-- which explodes in a thundercrack of noise and light, sending Calla scurrying back in terror and awe. Had she done that? Was her offering being accepted- or worse, rejected? Heart fluttering in her chest, Calla looks around to try and gage the reactions of others, only for her excitement to die like a fire doused in water as her eyes alight on Nova.

Of course.

"You!" Calla exclaims before she can stop herself, gaping open-mouthed at the other girl, two points of color flaring high on her pale cheeks.

---

Calla offers the stone she found in [SE] sorrow and the sting of smoke

there is no value in youth unless it is wise and kind

Let's commit the perfect crime.

The explosion of noise and color and heat make her heart soar, the brightness of it all causing another eruption of giggles. She claps and bounces, throwing her hands up as more sparkles fall around her. 

Turning to whoever is about to praise her amazing work, Nova is greeted by a face she won't soon forget - and the expression it wears is that of outrage rather than exhilaration. She recalls the onslaught of insults, the judgement and rude outburst that had caused so much doubt, and she gets angry back, no longer caught off guard by the woman's quiet demeanor. 

For a moment, her smile falls, lips puckered in a manner befitting a toddler. Nova puffs her chest, sparkles and small gusts of wind making her look like a radiant swirl of golden light and energy. "Just cause you're no fun doesn't mean I can't be!" She sticks out her tongue, a declaration of rebellion and determination, daring Calla to contradict her and yet not caring enough to see if she does. Spinning on her heels, Nova lifts her head and skips pointedly away, a stubborn hum and an overbright smile trying to bury the annoyance.

Nova

I'll steal your heart, and you steal mine.

// I thought of angels choking on their halos //

Humming his agreement to Astaroth - that yes, it certainly does look like Thal over by the bonfire - one of the donuts has already disappeared, Danta licking the sugar from his fingers before immediately starting on the other. "Maybe she heard about how blondes have more fun," he says with a brief flash of fangs, "or even how much you like them." Bouncing his eyebrows at Asta around another bite of donut, the Maverick is soon distracted by another stall (evidently this is going to turn into a spree).

From this one he comes away with some kind of sweet iced tea and what looks like several corndogs, Danta offering both to his lover to try if it suits him before he's back on the prowl. It's not just food either - though rest assured there are plenty of other stalls that will see his custom before the afternoon is through - but vendors selling colourful shawls and trinkets and jewellery. He might be more manic now than anything, but one might argue it's better than the alternative.

Dantalion

// get them drunk on rose water //