[SWE] Festival of Lights

Boreal was happy for Lilly's company as well, the dragon crooning a soft note of comfort to her friend as they trailed along with their somber humans. A glance back at Pad included the young rascal in their mutual assurance, renewing the bonds of the still-living even as their Bondeds mourned their dead.

Sah's murmured compliment brought a rare, tired smile to the courier as he nodded in acknowledgment. The night was too heavy for their usual hijinx, and for once he took the words as they were meant.

Separate but still close, Tal was given space to mourn without ever quite feeling alone, and when Ludo chose Their lantern for the night he only found himself feeling relieved that it hadn't been Enzo's when Ru wasn't around (unknowing of the family goodbyes that had been said in another place and time). As for his own parents? Well... it wouldn't have felt right to be chosen when his sisters weren't there with him. It was with a strange mix of regret and relief that he turned away from the unknown woman and her dead lover to collect his lanterns and wait for Sah to finish his own prayers before they headed back to the ship for the journey home.

will heaven step in?

After placing his lantern and helping Cordelia keep comfortable, eventually it was inevitable to end up shoulder to shoulder with fellow Halovians. Time passed and, when it seemed like everyone was holding their breath, Ludo appeared. Bringing with them a fallen ascended, Noah lowered his head some.

Jealousy was easy to feel when someone else got to see someone they had loved and lost, and it was a dimly burning coal over the attuned bond for his close friends to feel. The jealousy mixed darkly with anticipation, a growing gnawing in his gut that boiled and bubbled until it was a fiery hue of worry painted behind every one of his heartbeats.

Deimos’ hand came up to grasp his shoulder and, as the world around returned to normal, Noah’s jealousy—and worry—turned to a sigh of relief. White and gray and blue reminiscent of his home calmed down the burning within him.

will it save us from our sin?

Dantalion

but you can't be free

"I see," Danta purrs, tilting his head down at Trinket's 'friend' and reaching out and down to boop the porcelain doll on the nose. "Well at least you've got a companion," he says with a roll of his shoulders. As for the dead people, he lets a smile creep across his face at that.

"I know a lot of dead people. They need lanterns so they can come back and annoy the living," he informs her, nodding at the scene currently playing out across the Waterways. "Like that."

But now all the excitement is over, it seems, and the Ancient drops, catlike, from the tree, landing beside Trinket. "Maybe next year you'll have grownups and dead people to attend the Festival," he says. "Or maybe you'll be dead." Either way, it's not like he cares; without a further word, he prowls back off into the darkness.

'cause I'm selfish, I'm obscene

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Trinket tensed up with the strange man reached for her doll. Her eyes narrowed. She started to flinch away, then the tension faded from her body when all the man did was touch the doll's nose.

"Annoy the living." Trinket nodded. "That makes sense. It's interesting when the living get annoyed. Dead people are probably really good at that."

She considered whether she should die one day, just so she could get a lantern and bring it back to annoy the living.

She considered it for a long, long moment.

Not today, she decided.

The stranger had been interesting. Trinket watched him disappear into the distance. It was a shame. He had been the most curious part of the festival.

With the stranger gone, Trinket looked around. Nothing else interesting was going on. Quiet people. Quiet woods. Quiet dead, waiting for their lanterns.

Boring.

Trinket headed off, carrying her doll with her. She hoped to meet the strange man again. It was always fun to meet people who were interesting.

Sah

Sah smiled wistfully when he realized who had been chosen. He didn't know Isla, had never laid eyes on her. But she was clearly an Ascended, as was the man who appeared for her. It was appropriate, if in a morbid way, that Isla would get the blessing of a goodbye tonight.

The Abandoned turned away, giving the pair their privacy as he gave his own lanterns one last goodbye. With a sigh he nodded before silently falling in step with Talyson to head back for the ship. As they passed the tree, Lilly touched her nose to it briefly in her own goodbye. Somewhat timidly, Pad did the same.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Seeing people begin to hang their lanterns, Edmund followed suit. It was a bit awkward as he stood on his back paws and gently teased the rope onto a branch with his canine teeth. But with some finagling, and a tail sticking out wildly for balance, the young Ancient managed it. Dropping back to all fours he gave a silent goodbye to Enzo in the form of a rumble and rubbing his shoulder along the tree from which the lantern hang. Edmund was of course sad when his lantern wasn't chosen. This would have to be the best goodbye he could give for Enzo then. But his melancholy abated at the emotional reunion between Isla and Varus. For that at least, to see someone get the chance to say goodbye, he was grateful. As people began to leave, the molten tiger gave Enzo's lantern one last glance before following crowd to the closest skyship. Edmund the prince of torchline

don't you know i'm no good for you?

It isn’t a surprise to him when Darkeye completely ignores him. In fact, it’s essentially what he expects for the entirety of this festival, with the only one who actually made an attempt was the one that had asked him to go with her. So he steps back, hanging by, standing beside Nate’s lantern as he watches the events unfold.

There is some content (and relief in a sense that it isn’t Nate’s lantern that’s chosen), when Isla’s is picked. He’s still nearby, just close enough to watch the reunion and subsequent goodbyes, listening to the fiddle but enough that he can busy himself doing anything else to give her that moment of privacy.

He remains enough that when it’s over he can take her back to the refuge, plucking Nate’s lantern from the branch to join Lusea’s on the shelf back home, quietly content to be simply just a presence for the rest of the time as Isla processes everything.

i've learned to lose, you can't afford to

SUNJATA