[RQ] spark-a-dark

I used to hold your haunted neck; I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes

It's almost finished - and although they've missed the snows of Deepfrost, with the constant downpour arriving alongside Flowerbirth, Danta still thinks their merry bonfire will make a fine addition to the region. All that's left is to put all the ingredients together and approach their goddess to add that final spark.

Danta waits in the plaza in the middle of the Inner Quarter, stacks of kindling and firewood stored in crates under a nearby awning, his bag of gemstones in hand. It's not going to look great, and without divine intervention, it stands absolutely no chance of striking even a lick of flame. But that's why this is no ordinary bonfire.

Dantalion

There's only one thing missing to complete the bonfire's construction, and as luck would have it, Fox and Kiada have the secret ingredient. Armed with pouches of ash from Apopo (tied inside his coat so they don't get damp, of course), the hunter approaches the square with his hand in his fellow Ancient's, offering her a soft smile as they draw closer. "Once we're done here we can grab a drink somewhere in the Last Whisper," he suggests to her. "I should probably check the notice boards too, make sure nothing has been posted." Really he ought to be patrolling the perimeters of the farmland and other borders in the Grounds, and paying visits to neigbours likely to struggle. And he will - but this will benefit the region for good, especially for the Ancient at his side. So of course he's here to help. Nodding to Dantalion in greeting, he waits for the other man's instruction in how best to proceed. fox

// seen you smile in a secret language

If she didn’t know any better, she’d assume Danta’s enjoying seeing her with how often she’s helped out. It’s a comment she doesn’t say aloud, though, not as she squeezes Fox’s hand and lets her gaze linger between him and the path they take, more than content to bask in the hunter’s attention.

Especially when he has a beautiful idea that has her gasping her delight and grinning. “Yes please!” She chimes, nodding her agreement at looking for the notice board posts after. All things she can help with, should he request it.

She gives Dantalion a bright smile of greeting and a nod herself before settling in to wait for the instruction, half huddled up against Fox in the process.

KIADA

love i know just like the ocean //

totally sniped from odd ilu

I used to hold your haunted neck; I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes

Kiada shouldn't know better, because Danta definitely likes seeing her, even as she arrives draped up against a fellow Ancient. He offers a gentle nod to the two of them, made subdued by the rain and the prospect of finally finishing this little project, and ducks beneath the awning to the crates. "Thanks for coming, both of you. Hopefully this will make things a little more palatable for all of us in the Grounds."

Opening the crates to show the kindling and the firewood, Danta gestures to the square where he's hastily marked out the area with chalk, though it's already starting to run. "First things first, we need to build the bonfire over there. Don't worry if the wood gets wet, I don't think there's any chance of it staying dry in this weather. All that matters is it's sturdy and it looks good when it's done."

Dantalion

Thankfully Fox doesn't know what's going on in Danta's head - or the time he's been spending with Kiada - because (and even he isn't aware of this yet) he might end up a little jealous. Instead, smiling to hear Kia's agreement and already planning the rest of their afternoon in a much drier location, he listens to Danta and finally extracts himself from the Ancient at his side to get to work. "Okay, let's do this," he murmurs, remembering collecting this very same firewood not all that long ago. Grasping some of the larger branches, he goes about trying to construct the main frame of the bonfire, propping the firewood against itself to form a rough pyramid for them to continue to bulk out. fox

// seen you smile in a secret language

Then it’s perhaps for the best that all of them are unaware – though she says nothing in regards to it as she offers Danta a bright smile, settling in and extracting herself from clinging to Fox despite how she wishes to. “I’ve already had to warm up in a fire, so you have my agreement there.” She chimes, humming a laugh at the idea of it. It’s new news for Danta, unlike for Fox who had found her in that predicament.

But it was one that had gotten here here on his arm, so could she truly complain? No.

Iceberg eyes drift to the crates opened up, and she withdraws for the moment until Fox has decided to grab the bulk of the work with setting up the logs. She does have a moment where she simply admires the Ancient’s muscles before she’s grabbing the kindling, aiming to place it in the base of the bonfire that Fox is constructing, sprinkling some on top in order to hopefully catch it easier the second that it’s ignited.

KIADA

love i know just like the ocean //

totally sniped from odd ilu

I used to hold your haunted neck; I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes

Raising an eyebrow between Kiada and Fox but opting to say nothing, Danta heads beneath the awning to gather up pieces of firewood that can nestle nicely between the larger branches that Fox is using. Collecting them up, he moves between his fellow Ancients to place them accordingly, and before long the bonfire is taking shape. It's a large structure, some 6-8ft tall, made bulky by Kiada and Danta's additions.

Smiling at the end result, the Maveric takes a second to sweep his wet hair back from his face before reaching for the pouch of gemstones he's gathered; peridot, sapphire, topaz, ruby, emerald, and all manner of others. "Here," he says, offering the pouch out for each of them to take a few. "Let's try and get these between the branches. Might make things look interesting when it's on fire."

Dantalion

Oblivious to Kiada's ogling, Fox (naturally) is hard at work, stepping out of the way to allow his fellow Ancients to add their kindling and firewood to his initial structure. He's soaked to the bone as a result of his efforts, of course, but you know, what's new for Flowerbirth in the Grounds? All the more reason to look forward to warming up once all this is over. Wiping his face with his sleeve and nodding at Danta's suggestion, he reaches into the pouch and withdraws a few gemstones, examining them in his hands. "You'd never expect something so colourful to come out of the climb," he remarks idly, stepping forward once more to try and place the gems in safe cradles amongst the branches. fox

// seen you smile in a secret language

She works diligently to get the pieces of kindling to fall within the crevices needed to spark it up for a long and steady fire, and she moves easily whenever Dantalion comes to add in the additional firewood. It’s a large bonfire, Kiada realizing that if she were to try and get some of the kindling toward the top it would be either an effort of throwing the kindling up there and hoping for the best or jumping and doing much of the same.

So she does her best between the rain and height of the structure to get the rest of the kindling in before Danta’s returning with a bulky bag. “Oooh,” Kiada can’t help but to hum as she watches Fox pull out a few colorful pieces, nodding her agreement with a smile. She reaches in and pulls out a few of her own, a sapphire and an emerald, and the one she’s most excited about – the ruby. Mostly because it matches the veins that spark along her horns.

She goes to the other side of the bonfire, copying Fox in her attempts to place the gemstones in safe crevices, but also in places they may light up from within to expand the colors all around them.

KIADA

love i know just like the ocean //

totally sniped from odd ilu

I used to hold your haunted neck; I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes

Smirking as his fellow Ancients select their gems and crystals, Danta is content with whatever is left in the pouch. Sidestepping Kiada and Fox as they move around the bonfire, the Maverick also places his gems carefully between pieces of kindling, trying to select places where they might be seen best through the flames to come.

"I think that'll do it," he murmurs once it looks like they're all finished, pocketing the empty pouch and ducking back beneath the awning where he can try (and fail) to dry off. "You two were able to get the ashes from Apopo, right? With the rain it might be unwise to try and scatter them over the bonfire, so I think you can probably just sprinkle them at the base of it."

Dantalion

Fox pretends not to notice the way Kiada coos over the gemstones, hiding his smile and watching her saunter off to complete her task. Is that something he's going to keep tucked away for a(nother) rainy day when he might want to offer her a surprise? Perhaps. Either way, he works alongside Danta to arrange the gems in the bonfire, joining him beneath the awning when they're finished. At the comment about the ashes, he withdraws both pouches from his coat and offers one out to Kiada. "That doesn't sound too difficult. Would you do me the honour?" Grinning to the harpy, he ducks back out into the downpour and crouches among the larger branches of the bonfire to empty out the ash. It clings to the wet wood and luckily isn't disturbed into the air too much, but still, Fox would hardly call this an enjoyable time. fox

// seen you smile in a secret language

Once all the gemstones are in place, Kiada stands back out of the rain to survey their work. It’s beautiful in the light that they do have overhead and she can only imagine how stunning it will look the second that it’s lit. She drifts closer to Fox as the next task is set out, reaching out to gently take her own pouch of ash from him before she flashes a playful grin. “I’d be honored.” She trills, giving a flare for the dramatics before they head back into the rain.

The Harpy is meticulous about trying to spread the ashes over the base, keeping it dry in some places where others it clings, but eventually her pouch empties as she shakes the hell out of it to get every last little bit of ashen dust out of it before tying it back up and straightening out to make her way under the awning again, fingertips ashy from where she’d physically spread some of the ashes further under. "Should hopefully be enough?" She asks, her gaze flickering to Dantalion curoiusly.

KIADA

love i know just like the ocean //

totally sniped from odd ilu

I used to hold your haunted neck; I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes

More than content to let the other two Ancients give each other the honour of ash-scattering, Danta wisely stays out of the way and beneath the awning until the deed is done. Only once he's sure that the task is finished - and he's not going to get any wet ash blown into his face - does he step back out to look over their work as a whole. And you know what? He's actually damn fucking proud of them.

(And him, mostly him, almost entirely him, but whatever).

"More than enough, I hope," he agrees with Kiada. "I know it isn't Deepfrost any more so we don't really need it to stay warm, but with the rain at least you can find somewhere to dry off, with any luck." Shrugging his shoulders, he nods back to Kiada and Fox and sweeps his wet hair out of his face. "Thanks for your help. I should be able to take it from here."

Well. Dygra should. But he knows they know that.

~FIN

Dantalion