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

[whattigerscanchange]

"Oh, well then. I suppose it's my duty to... distract you," Odessa muses. Her smile curves sly. "But I do like to encourage trouble. Fair warning." She leans to rest her arm on the bar, studying Charles for a moment as if to decide whether or not he's just having her on. In her defence, that's happened before.

Is this appropriate? Since when did I even care about appropriate? Different departments, so it's fair game.

"You're cute when you pretend to be a goody two-shoes."

[cerebral]

It's mostly (shameless) flirting on Charles' part, with the potential for a little more. But it is genuine.

"I am both respectable and upstanding, I will have you know." And then, in slightly sly tones of his own, "But we all need to let our hair down, once in a while."

Especially him, especially lately. There's this city, the political climate, his work, potential futures, Erik, a thousand questions burning in his mind from his research on social movements that both terrify and also thrill him a little. Someone once said to him it must be hard being a telepath, having to deal with everyone else's thoughts and your own. But sometimes he needed an escape from those, too.

[whattigerscanchange]

"Mmhm. I can see that." Odessa reaches out and fusses with Charles' hair briefly, and she smooths back into place what she's messed up, but he had to make a hair comment while she's almost qualified as drunk, so it's his own fault. "Is this what your hair looks like down?"

Then she folds her hands together on the bar's surface, looking a little sheepish. "Sorry."

[cerebral]

There's a little faux-intake of breath. "Not the hair!" And he winces dramatically, knowing that he hasn't convinced anyone in the slightest (especially not by the way he's biting at his bottom lip in a smile). Look, he feels like being silly.

"No, I don't mind." And he gently nudges her side to show no hard feelings. This is not someone who has a problem with tactile behaviour.

[whattigerscanchange]

If you can't be silly after a couple pints at the bar, then when can you be? Odessa laughs when she's nudged, rolling her eyes a bit at her own nervousness. There's a quick cure for that, though. She reaches over for her refreshed drink. "You know, I actually really like it here." Baedal, she means. Her lip curls some, more thoughtful than out of disgust. "Do you think that's strange?"

[cerebral]

"Mmm, no. I don't think that it's strange. Parts of it are quite lovely." Now it's his turn to reach for his drink, hands curled around it almost protectively. "But others... Well. Not so much." And he won't let himself forget about those.

Which leads to him making a slight face. "I told myself I'd try not to think on such things tonight. That must seem odd, given the occasion."

[whattigerscanchange]

"Those parts remind me of home," Odessa remarks wryly. "Hard to feel homesick that way." She tips her head to one side and frowns slightly at that face. "Sorry. I didn't mean to... head down that road necessarily. It's just..."

Her gaze slides away and then down to where she taps the toe of her shoe against the ground anxiously. "I don't actually want to go back to New York. But I'm kind of lonely here." An ill-timed hiccup breaks the seriousness of the moment and Odessa can't help but laugh at herself. "Apparently I've had too much vodka for this kind of discussion." Her nose wrinkles, dismissing her thoughts. "It's not so lonely with you around anyway."