OPEN :: A golden bird was singing

[baedalites]

Who: Everyone!
What: St Kelley's evening
Where: The Apache and surrounding environs.
When: Veerdi evening.
Notes:
(1) The topic threads are just suggestions; if you've got somewhere else that your characters simply must be, make your own thread.
(2) All mementos will appear overnight in some part of your character's apartment.
(3) Dance!

St Kelley's is one of the more sedate occasions in Baedal, at least as holidays go. It passes more or less unnoticed by the majority of the population as many of them feel it doesn't concern them. It's not their holiday; it's for the others. Those with severed ties and broken hearts. The temple and church preach that it's a time for reflection or for glorifying the generosity of the gods. It's one of the few days on which no one looks askance at first generation Citizens mourning their missing loved ones publicly.

As night rolls around and floating lanterns are set to sea, the Apache in Mog Hill prepares to accept guests from the newer cohorts. It's something that happens every year, making it a practical tradition. The alcohol will be cheaper for first timers, and the music will be kept at a reasonable level.

Comments

[charismatic]

Will's mostly just passing through – clearly this is a short cut for something, nevermind what – but he pauses for a moment after he catches sight of the face floating behind the glowing cigarette tip. Hey, it's that guy. “I see you're brushing up on your ninja skills,” he says.

[fish]

Although he doesn't actually bust out the huh? guns here, there's definitely a moment of computation before it occurs to Fish a) what Will is talking about, and b) who he even is. When he does, the switch from a perplexed—and somewhat wary—frown to an obvious look of recognition is instantaneous.

"Yeah, well, this's the place to do it. My camo works best out here." He is wearing an awful lot of black, as usual. "What's up?"

[charismatic]

“A party, apparently,” Will says, like he wasn't down by the river doing the boat thing with everyone else. He's a little apprehensive about what he's going to get. He's a little apprehensive about getting anything at all. “I'm just out here hoping to steal some ninja pointers.”

[fish]

"I dunno, man, this is some secret stuff." He pauses here to take a drag from his cigarette, speaks through the exhaust... "I can't give it up for just anybody." ...and then exhales properly, swaying a little to shift his weight from one foot to the other.

"You been inside yet?"

[charismatic]

“A couple times,” Will says. “It's less maudlin than I was expecting.” Which is a good thing, and a tiny bit surprising. Take a bunch of people who've been kidnapped, give them a whole day to brood about people they're missing at home, and then shove them all into a bar together with a lot of booze. What could possibly go wrong?

[fish]

"Yeah, the discount prolly helps with that." He feels pretty okay about it, personally (see: prolly). Mash all those feelings down and douse them in liquor! It's the only way.

"I was thinking... it seems mean to remind everybody of where they're not, and who's not here. Like, they could just not have the holiday at all. But it's kinda nice, too. At least they recognize it." They. Whoever.

[charismatic]

Will makes spooky fingers, but he's quiet for a moment, considering it. “I suppose,” he says, eventually. “I'm not sure if it's worse to kidnap people and then create a holiday acknowledging that it sucks or to kidnap people and act like it's totally normal and no one should be upset.”

[fish]

Fish shrugs and ashes his cigarette with a flick of his thumb. It's easy to pretend they're talking about everyone else; he's been here nearly a year. "I'd rather feel like someone gives a shit, personally. Even if it's the same people... or whatever...that made this place. We don't know why they did it." He only barely pauses to take another drag, speaks through the smoke. "Maybe they had to."

[charismatic]

“I suppose,” Will says. The smoke bothers him a little – he's not really used to it – but he ignores it. This isn't an angle he's thought of before, and he's not quite sure what to make of it. “What do you think they could need us for?” Not anything good, is his guess.

[fish]

Fish is usually pretty good about aiming his smoke away from people's faces; if Will's discomfort becomes obvious he'll start turning his head away too instead of just blowing it up into the air. Because he's just that nice.

"Cheap entertainment?" He shrugs. "If there's an answer, someone woulda found it by now... after a while it's like, you might as well be wondering why you were born. Or the meaning of life or whatever. So I try not to think about it too much."