[SE] bonfire cries and fireflies

it's not your fault that you're always wrong

The hull's a little bit fucked, but it isn't anything Jack can't call in a favour to sort out. For now, the crew's at shore for what counts as a very unusual season indeed. The Ark is usually out for LeafChange in its entirety, but with the exploration voyage and now the unexpected repairs, they'll be around more than anticipated. So, naturally, it calls for a good ol' Torchline celebration. Go us, we didn't get murdered by ghost whales, and all that.

Oh, and there's the whole Ludo shenanigans that happens this season. Jack's almost forgotten about that, and when he arrives at sunset with the stars winking overhead and a bonfire at full roar, there are people dotted around already making lanterns. Grumbling to himself, the captain takes a seat on a log nearby and grabs at a bottle of wine half buried in the sand. He doesn't do lanterns, but whatever floats their boats, he supposes.

---

This is a group thread for the Ark crew members to make lanterns for the Festival of Lights and to generally drink and chat and cause mayhem. There won't be much of a post order, so throw yourselves in as much or as little as you want!

just take your time wherever you go

Saiden had not only brought supplies to make lanterns, he'd brought food. There was what amounted to a small cauldron's worth of chili set up on a smaller fire besides the bonfire with a stack of bowls, plates, and utensils next to it. Beyond that there was fresh bread and rice, sliced fruit, and a seaweed salad for the health conscious among the crew.

After making sure everything was ready to go food-wise, he'd snagged a bottle. Then he'd settled in a short distance away from the bonfire to begin working on his lanterns. The first was both the easiest and the hardest: he took brown and white paper and began folding it in the shape of a seabird.

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

Melita had already made her lantern. Clementine’s was safe, back in the confines of shelter, but Eloise’s was clutched from her fingers, swung back and forth so that the wind might toss it about and make it feel like the sea. She’d already lit the candle inside, permitting it to cast an eerie, enigmatic glow, like fireflies and flames, along the reaches. She might not have come at all here. But tradition called too – crew members and parties, drifting along the fringes, the boundaries, of waves – a celebration of life, that they still existed, that they had made it along another voyage, and could spread the tales as far as they yearned.

The honeybee and her gourd followed the lines of smoke and the embers of the bonfire, the crowd already beginning to form, and the familiar figures of their captain and their cook outlined against shadows. She avoided Jack for now, steering towards the stack of food Saiden had prospered and granted, snagging at some bread, before offering him a wave, and then settling herself nearby too, Fangorn trailing along. The youth sat directly in the sand, hands conforming to a few shells, pondering where to place them as the lantern followed suit, there upon the dunes.

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Aurelia

and that the world is always our fault
when we did nothing, how did we do wrong?

Aurelia was asleep, actually, when these festivities had begun. She sat leaned over in a chair on the deck, resting her head in her arms on a nearby box. As uncomfortable of a position it was, she seemed to be sleeping soundly.

It didn't take long for the noisiness of the celebration to travel up to the ship. Groggily, she lifted up her head to find that it was dark and she was more-or-less alone. Following the noise and light, she stretched to her feet and looked out over the side of the ship.

A bonfire stood ablaze on the beach, lighting the faces of people all around. Many of them carried lanterns - or were in the process of making them. Somewhere amongst them all, she saw people she recognized. So that's where they went. A few of the crew had talked in passing about Leafchange and some kind of light festival. It came as no surprise, then, that the people of Torchline had started celebrating. "I'd better get down there and show some team spirit," Aurelia sighed.

She made her way down from the ship and across the beach to where Saiden and Melita were - and Jack, too, was nearby with a bit of an I-don't-want-to-be-here attitude. "Hey-o," she piped up casually, feeling more lively after the walk over. For a moment, Aurelia looked around and then she asked, "Where's Zephyr? Seems like you could use his company, Jack."

Aurelia wasn't particularly hungry but, she couldn't help following the smell of the chili. She grabbed a serving of it with a small helping of rice. Turning, she took a seat down in the sand somewhere between Saiden and Melita. She set her bowl down securely in the sand beside her to let it cool, and rested her elbows on her propped up knees.

"So..." Aurelia glanced between the two of them with her brows raised, "I heard there's a Festival of Lights coming up. What's everyone celebrating?"

and I've been thinking that when we thought
the world would break us, that we weren't wrong

it's not your fault that you're always wrong

"Plenty of company where I am, thanks," comes Jack's drawling reply, and he shakes the bottle at Aurelia as if to inform her that he's just fine. He does glance around towards the edge of the beach, though, like Zephyr should be turning up whenever he remembers in his old-man head that he's got somewhere to be.

As he glances back, watching Saiden with his seabird and Melita with her shells, a fluffy cat, black as pitch, hops over the log he's sitting on to prowl towards the group. "Oh fuck off," Jack tells the feline - something which she, of course, ignores.

Indeed, she ends up sitting presumptuously on Aurelia's knee, sniffing at her plate of food and fixing her with big yellow eyes. "Lights," she says, clear as a bell.

just take your time wherever you go

Nodding at Melita, Saiden didn't say anything to the redheaded woman. As Aurelia arrived, though, he glanced up from his work. Hearing the exchange between the newest member of the crew and the captain, the cook called out. "Don' worry about Jack! The cap'n's ego is company enough for 'im." He grinned at the two of them before bending his head down to work on his lantern again.

The body of the bird had taken shape, but the wings required a delicate touch. He folded the colored paper, creasing it with care. Of course, the arrival of the cat took him by surprise. Staring at it, he blinked as it spoke, before a slow smile spread across his lips.

"Well now, who's this? We got ourselves a Sear Cat then?" Grabbing a bowl, he ladled some of his chili into it before holding it out for the critter.

Only then did he turn to address Aurelia's question, his smile slipping away as he did. "Festival of Lights, aye. It's a celebration of everyone we've lost. We make lanterns to honor them." He gestured at his own construction along with Melita's.

you and me we're a day drink

Is he already slightly buzzed? Hell yes he is. But it’s not that big of a deal, seeing as this was a party, and if he was drunk and made a shitty lantern, well, so be it. He hopes Ludo understands, wherever the rag herald is. But he arrives with a half empty flask, a few things of the start of a lantern, plopping himself down somewhere between Jack and Saiden, reaching for a bit of material from the pile before lifting his head to scan the rest of those gathered. There’s a few new faces he doesn’t remember, but he dips his head to Saiden, Melita, and Jack all the same before his gaze lingers on Aurelia and then the black cat with wide yellow eyes. “We make lanterns fer those that’ve died. T’Remember them, y’know?” He offers to Aurelia before he can’t help but to not bring up the cat.

“Aye, did the Ark get a new friend?” He asks, pointing to the cat with a quiet laugh. He begins to work on his lantern, though, setting it aside to make a bit of a net to cast over it, fingers weaving and tying the rope in a more aesthetic way than was useful. But that was the purpose of decoration, was it not? He settles in and focuses hard, foot bouncing up and down to keep moving while he gives all of his attention idly to the task at hand.

so lose your faith in me
 

MILO

Zeph

You stroll in late because you were working, unlike these layabouts. But you've brought a bottle of pretty good whiskey that you and Vai found in the attic, and it is this you pass to Jack as you swoop in behind him, nudging him to make room on the log and settling yourself down. "Miss me?" you grumble to the boy, flashing a rare and unapologetic grin. The arm not currently offering him whiskey goes around his shoulders, and without giving him a chance to argue you press a grizzled kiss to his cheek.

Okay, maybe you're a little drunk. Or maybe you just like to stir shit.

Everyone's making lanterns, which is a tragic fucking mood. Whether Jack appreciated it or not you reclaim your whiskey, rising to your feet and finding your own seat on the outskirts of the group. You're in a good mood but it doesn't mean you feel like being a social butterfly; you're more than happy to sit on the sidelines, listening to the rise and fall of conversation and working on your own woodwork in peace.

you're not a bad person
for the ways you tried to kill your sadness

Melita

Eating fire is your ambition
to swallow the flame down

Then there were many of them joined – gathering along the sands, nestled in their company of occupations and forthrightness – her attention drawn immediately to the cat, of all things. Fangorn grumbled something incoherent to the feline, likely a greeting, and she had to stop herself from lunging out and going towards the little beast. Thereafter she was riveted in all directions, distracted and deterred from her tasks as there were maneuvering friends into frames – she waved to Milo and Zephyr – before remembering what she was going to offer and say towards Aurelia. “There has been a person picked at the festival before, and their loved ones come to see them.” For the last time, likely, before Mort had snagged at their souls too. The girl had often wondered what it’d be like; but the most precious beings she’d lost had been in another world – their vestiges and ethers not tied here.

So she’d eternally go without.

Then she quieted, the slight smile gone, placing her shells along the rim of the lantern, and then taking them off again, not satisfied with their adornments. A few more were dug around and found amongst the sands, and she tried again, reapplying the potential for beauty.

to be lit up from within, vein by vein
to be the sun

Aurelia

and that the world is always our fault
when we did nothing, how did we do wrong?

No.

...?

Nope. There's no way in HELL that cat just opened its mouth and talked.

It had to have been Melita or some bystander. Aurelia's senses were still foggy from sleep, clearly. She glanced around, noting that no one seemed to notice the odd occurence (or at least, they didn't react directly to it). It must've been her imagination.

With a confused smirk at the fluffy cat, she offered an open hand for it to sniff. Everyone seemed charmed by its arrival. Saiden even offered it some of the food he'd made, which was surprisingly soft of him. At least, from her point of view.

Aurelia kept quiet as a few others joined in their circle, offering a quick wave to Zephyr after Melita. She didn't recognize the other fellow that piped up, further explaining from Saiden's point about what the lanterns were for. That information brought a thoughtful frown to Aurelia's face. Lanterns for those that were lost, or dead.

That was... pretty much everyone, for her. Her gaze grew dark and her expression fell. Melita chimed in with her own piece of new information. Aurelia furrowed her brows, wondering how that was possible. Her eyes landed back on the cat and, self-consciously, she tried to straighten her expression.

"That's kind of twisted... isn't it?" she remarked suddenly, a little hesitantly. She looked over at Melita, saying, "Only one person, out of... everyone?" She shook her head, brushing a few stray strands of hair out of her face. She added, "Well, I don't think I'd want it to be me anyway. It would be too hard to see... but not be able to actually be with them."

and I've been thinking that when we thought
the world would break us, that we weren't wrong

it's not your fault that you're always wrong

Jack snorts at Saiden and is about to open his mouth in agreement with the sentiment about his ego, when he's corralled into a one-armed hug and a whiskered cheek scrapes against his own. Zeph either doesn't have any thoughts in his fucking head or he's moved too quick for Jack to catch him, but either way the captain suffers through the kiss with a hiss of disapproval, shoving the other man away and taking a long swig of wine to hide his smile.

But where Jack doesn't partake in lantern making, Seven is a social butterfly in comparison. The little shit sniffs at Aurelia's hand, greeting it with a generous headbutt before going to sniff at the chilli she's offered as well. "Meat," she says to the sailor, settling on Aurelia's lap and promptly digging into the offered bowl.

"We got one all of a week ago," Jack grumbles about the sear cat. "I've been selected for ownership, it seems." Regarding the festival, he's in agreement with their newest crew member, if he's honest - but not for such sentimental reasons. Jack hasn't got anyone worth making a lantern for, in truth.

just take your time wherever you go

The beach was suddenly much more crowded with the arrival of Milo, whom Saiden greeted with a nod, and the arrival of Zephyr, whom the cook greeted with an arched eyebrow. The Hali shifted to peel the older man off Jack, but thankfully Zephyr detached himself from the captain before Saiden had to intervene.

Grinning as the cat chowed down, it slipped away as Aurelia spoke. Scowling at her, the cook shook his head. "Better not let it hear ye say that," he warned. "And it chose me last year and reunited me with my sister. I will be forever grateful to it for that."

Setting the bowl down for the Ark's newest addition, the Hali leaned down to speak to it, dismissing the new crew member. "If ye ever get peckish, come find me in the kitchen. And if ye ever want a new owner, I'm yer man." He flashed a grin at Jack. Then Saiden retreated to his previous position, finishing the last touches on the osprey that represented Vanya. When it was finished, he placed a candle between its outstretched wings to make it a proper lantern.

you and me we're a day drink

His gaze lifts to Zeph upon his arrival, offering a small wave, before he continues to work at his lantern. He remains silent, listening to the conversation before snorting lightly and pausing to take a swig from the flask at his side. “It ain’t like Ludo’s listenin’ to ev’rythin’ we’re sayin’. It’s prolly got better things t’do.” As for seeing family, he glances Aurelia’s way with an amused smile. “I don’ want it to be me either if it helps.” A casual shrug given to that, before focusing back on his lantern.

He doesn’t even know who he’d see if it were to happen.

For a moment he simply considers the frame of what he’s making, before taking a few pieces of sea glass, their green and blue hues smoothed out by the weather, and goes to apply them to the side in a shape that’s a bit more stained glass/mosaic, before considering how he might arrange the next ‘window’.

so lose your faith in me
 

MILO

Aurelia

and that the world is always our fault
when we did nothing, how did we do wrong?

Aurelia was taken aback by Saiden's clear disapproval, meeting his frowning eyes with her own, uncertain gaze. "..Sorry." she replied quietly. She reminded herself that she was around people who had lived in this place for longer than her; they had made this place their home. They shared and celebrated the culture, whether they were originally from Caido or not. She hadn't thought much about being respectful of the tradition but, considering Saiden's warning, she fell silent. Her bitterness and frustration was ill-placed in this setting so she sucked it up.

Aurelia leaned back as Saiden leaned down to talk to the cat that currently sat in her lap, glancing over at the other man that spoke up. She couldn't place him but, he seemed familiar with the others. Was he another member of the crew, perhaps? Nonetheless, she offered him a small, appreciative smile at his attempt to lighten the mood. She watched as both Saiden and the other man returned to crafting their lanterns. She took that time to eat her food.

After a few minutes went by, Aurelia gently lifted the {freaky, talking} cat from her lap and brought it over to Saiden, standing by after she set it down beside his lantern. "Hey, that looks really pretty, Saiden..." It was nicely made and her words were genuine. She pursed her lips to the side, trying to think of how to ask but, she felt awkward regardless, "I honestly would like to make one, too, if you don't mind showing me how... You make it look pretty easy." She brought an uncertain hand up to rub the back of her neck, glancing between him and the lantern.

and I've been thinking that when we thought
the world would break us, that we weren't wrong