kismet_loop_logs | Come gather 'around the fire...

Entry tags:

Come gather 'around the fire...

Who: Anyone
What: A gathering for the citizens of Haven. A time to relax and mingle...and a little something more.
When: All day and night of the 14th
Where: Outside of The Hub, and perhaps inside too if you wish.
Event: Not everything is as it seems. Some of the offerings will cause some...unexpected results.

The Guardians have been hard at work getting the large open street outside of the Hub and Warehouse set up for a massive gathering. There were tables set up all over the place full of all kinds of food, drink, and fuel. A large bonfire had been set up in the middle of everything, and various volunteers rotated in and out throughout the day and night playing various kinds of music or providing other types of entertainment. There would be a constant flow of music, skits, acrobatics, and magic tricks. The festivities will be held throughout the day.

Not everything would go as planned, though. There were a few tables among that many that had been set up courtesy of the Miasma. They go unnoticed with everything else going on. Really, there is enough for literally hundreds of people of various races, the handful of suspicious tables are easy to miss. The contents of these tables will have peculiar effects on those who consume the contents offered upon them. Nothing harmful really, just some effects to further encourage the lighthearted purpose of this gathering.

((ooc: tag in, mingle, have fun. Effects can last for only the party or through the end of the week, and can be mixed as much as you want.))

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Jadewing slung an arm around Thundercracker's shoulder, managing to maneuver easily between wing and shoulder vent only because doing so was so ingrained that it required no thought. Maybe if they both helped prop each other up neither of them would end up on their faces. Hopefully, anyway.

Out of character or not, Jadewing's hardly sober enough to notice. "Heh, yeah, teleportin's his thing," Jadewing said. "Unique mod, far as I know. Probly good thing he had it too; ol' Warp never was the sharpest blade in the armory, 'f ya know what I mean, so he had ta have somethin' goin' for him."

He blinks a moment, looking confused at Elsa's question. "Course, I can fly," he said. "All Seekers can fly, long as they're not damaged, like I was." It doesn't occur to him that she might be talking about Cybertronians in general.

Jadewing snickered even more at the comment about Space Case's paintjob being a crime. Because it kind of was. "Heheh... yeah," he said. "Good thing for him 'fashion police's just an expression."

"Didn't know humans got that wild with their paintjobs though," Jadewing said. "Least not ones meant to last. I mean, I know some humans... think it's mostly females... put temporary accents on their faces an' in their hair, but nothin' that's s'posed to be permanent. Might be easier to tell you guys apart if more of you got unique paint jobs."

No offence Sam, but compared to Cybertronians? Humans are very uniformly designed. And it gets hella difficult for mechs who don't normally spend a ton of time around them to pick one out from the crowd.

"It's a good thing for all of us---imagine if the fashion police did exist, and shared his sense of style!" Spreading her hands with the exclamation, Sam held her forearms up in an X---the worldswide 'nope'---before lowering them, as she listened.

"Not normally." Sam shrugged one shoulder. "My examples are pretty exceptional; known 'round the world by people interested in body modification. I'm not quite comparable, since I don't have any facial tattoos, but the amount of ink I've got is unusual."

Far from offended, the adept nodded; what Jadewing said made sense, especially for someone at his height. (God, but it took some getting-used-to, to be about others' ankles.)

"Yeah, make-up and hair colour are just... for styles people pick up and drop. Nothing serious; nothing permanent gets painted on. I think, as much as I love my music notes, not many people want to put in for something so permanent as a tattoo." She smiled up at the Seeker, wondering what he'd make of the process her 'paintjob' had actually entailed.

OK, that X? That made Jadewing go from snickering to straight-up laughing. "Ha! Ya got that right!", he said, slapping his leg with a loud clang in the midst of his mirth."Tha's somethin' the whole universe can be glad of."

Jadewing settled down though, as Sam went on to talk about body modification. He nodded. "More like gettin' a brand, then, stead of a paint job," he said, tilting his head to indicate the brands on his own wings. "Course, that's assumin' you've got a choice of gettin' one or not." A huff of air that sounded distinctly like a snort, indicated that Jadewing was in the group of 'not'.

"Paintjob's just style, in the end," he said. "You can change it if ya got the time and resources, even if most don' bother. But a brand means somethin'. Least it's supposed to."

Lea had been busy filling his own plate, and didn't notice at first the Jendayi had already nibbled some things from hers. Not that he would have particularly cared even if he had noticed. This was a party; certain rules of etiquette could be bent.

However, this result in Lea not knowing what to make of it when Jendayi is unsteady on her feet as they head for a nearby table to sit and eat. He frowns slightly. "Jendayi?", he asks. "You feeling OK?"

Lea, who'd been nibbling a mixed-berry mini-pie himself, waved back when he noticed Sam. "Hey, Sam!", he called back once he mouth was free. "How's it going?"

"I bet,", Le said. It hadn't sounded like there'd been that many parties in Elsa's life back home. Though that was all the more reason to make up for lost time now.

And needless to say, when Elsa rested her head on his shoulder, he had absolutely no objections. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said, sounding a bit sheepish, though whether he was apologizing for giving her the runaround, not telling her, or both was unclear. "Turns out she went off exploring without telling anyone and wound up getting lost. Predaking brought her home, and that night I set down some rules for future explorations to prevent things like that from happening again."

"Good, good, as I hope it is with you." She brushed the last crumbs from her hands as she closed the distance, and stopped, smiling, a few feet from Lea. "I just wanted to say 'hey,' and how glad I am you got Jendayi home safe none the worse for wear."

"Predaking...I've never met. But he sounds kind enough." To bring her home?

"Oh, no, really? I was going to plan a big snow day with her, without telling you. I'll have to find a way around those rules, now, won't I?" she muses, only half serious. She thinks she's amusing enough to smile though, maybe even chuckle. Pressed now by the seemingly accidental intoxication, she snakes a hand down his arm and into his, another thought not given. Kind of like it belonged there. Here you go buddy, it's Elsa with no brakes on when it comes to her public displays; quite honestly, something she should do more often.

"So then you'll be staying longer, then? I don't have anywhere to be."

"They'd. Past tense. Here and now, I'd help you out... Or offer a little invective on your behalf, since that's something I have done for people in the past. And about those people..." Sam shifted her weight from side to side, considering Elsa's words as she tried to decide where to begin. "Well."

The broad strokes seemed best.

"The ones I really know, we call kitchen-witches, the whole family. The things they cook up have... qualities way, way beyond what could be explained by the ingredients, which are all normal things---stuff from any grocery shelf. Only they can mix up a hot toddy which will clear a cold overnight, none of them are ever sick themselves, the plasters they out together---for burns, infections, anything---work wonders, and they don't age as quickly as everybody else. What they do, they've been doing for generations; Felix, the youngest, is my good friend." It was what it was; not a bad beginning. The adept offered a small smile; the absence of 'others' hit close to home. "He and his sisters were taught by their mother and grandmother; his mother was taught by her mother and grandmother. I'm self-taught, though."

"Hmmmmm?" She looks up at him, completely drunk.

"Yeah. I'm okay. M'def...def'nately okay. Are yooou okay?" She giggles, swaying on his feet a bit.

"Probably...?" If they ever revisited the subject, and if Jadewing was interested, she'd offer an outline of what branding (and, she supposed, scarification) involved in the context of human body art, but for now she hoped to hear his elaborations. "There's the time, the resource, and most people not being bothered in common with paintjobs, but permanence is a big part of it. There's no easy way to remove a tattoo---they don't come off so much as they come out. But, would you tell me more about brands?"

"I wish I could take credit for that, but Predaking's the one who brought her home," Lea said. "And afterwards we set down some rules to prevent it from happening again."

"Also speaking of which," he said, "I never did get to thank you properly for all your help. I was really freaking out there before you and the others lent a hand. So... thanks. Really."

"I'd kinda like to make you a little something too, if you don't mind," he said. "Nothing too big, just a little token of my appreciation. I make art and things out of metal and glass with my fire magic, see. So, um... anything in particular that you'd like? Or should I just forget the whole thing?"

He recognized that kind of slurred speech. Jendayi was drunk. But how the hell did it happen so fast? And more to the point who was the irresponsible idiot who had given a small child alcohol? Lea needed to know so he could set them on fire later.

"Jendayi," he said, setting his own plat down so he'd have a free hand to steady her, "can you tell me something? Did anybody give you anything to drink?"

"Well, he's a big dragon type robot as far as I know," Lea said. "Jendayi seems to like him, though."

Lea chuckled. "Really now? Planning a snow day without including me? Shame on you." He leaned in slightly and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, readily looping his arm with hers. "Any snow day, I definitely want to be involved in. I promise not to melt everything."

"And yep," he said. "Barring unforeseen circumstances, I've got nowhere particularly urgent to be either."

Jadewing made a thoughtful noise at her question about brands. "Hmm..." he said. "Well, there's usually a little ceremony involved. Brand's heated by plasma torch, then applied to the bot wherever the brand's s'posed to be. Nothin' to numb the plating and no medics; tha's cheating. Gotta tough it out on yer own."

"Bots used to get branded for lotsa reasons, but these days, only ones you see are faction brands, Autobot 'n Decepticon." He indicated the ones on his own wings. "Seekers get four, two on each wing, once we finish training. I's done in fronta all the mechs on base, and ya try and stay silent long as ya can through it. Longer you can go without reactin' to the pain, the tougher you are. Average is makin' it through the second brand, but no Seeker's ever made it through all four without yellin', at least a little. Wings're sensitive."

She looked all around, humming a bit. He’d have to catch her face to get her glassy eyes to stay on him for more than just a split second. “Driiiiiiiink? Nooooo. No, V’not had a drink. Bu’drink soundsss...mmmmm.”

And apparently she found that funny, because she’s gonna very nearly bury her face in her plate and giggle. It’s probably a surprising touch of sauce to her nose that has her head popping back up.

"Oh! I'd heard you had her back, but not how." The adept considered the additional information, then shrugged, initial surprise fading fast. From her own interactions with the beast king (interactions in which he'd proven himself to be both courteous and kind) seeing a lost child safely home was nothing if not in-character. "Predaking's a good guy; one of my first friends here. And I'm about as glad as anything to hear there shouldn't be any encore."

Sam held up her hands at the first 'thank you,' smile growing into a grin.

"It was what anyone shoulda done, man, so you're more than welcome. And while you need to know you really don't have to make me anything... I'll happily accept, in large part because that would be one of the---" Coolest wouldn't do; she seized on an alternative, "---neatest things I've ever been offered. Could you do some sort of sun-catcher with green glass, please...? And thank you?"

Lea blinked when Jendayi said she hadn't had anything to drink. She was obviously drunk, but she hadn't had any alcohol, or anything at all to drink for that matter? He supposed it could be something in the food, but any alcohol used in cooking was burned away, leaving only the flavor. And at any rate, if any at all had been left it would be a negligible amount; hardly enough to get a mouse drunk, let alone a person, even a small one.

Still when she sits back up with sauce on her nose, he can't help but chuckle slightly, his face softening. "Just a second," he said, steadying her face with one hand and grabbing a napkin to dab the sauce off her nose with the other. "There."

Glancing around, he noticed that Jendayi wasn't the only one acting strange. And not everyone was acting drunk either. All of this added up to just one thing. "Hmm...", he said. "I think someone, or maybe something, has metaphorically spiked the punch at this party. This should be interesting..." He just hoped that Jendayi wouldn't have to deal with the after effects of drunkenness the next day...

"C'mon Jendayi," he said. "Let's actually get you a drink and see if that clears your head a bit." Hydration was important, after all. He bent down to pick Jendayi up, not really trusting her to be able to walk on her own at the moment.

"Heh, you an me both," Lea said. "I really should have thought of things like that before, but well... Live and learn, I guess. Least I'm finally starting to appreciate how much trouble I must've given my parents as a kid."

He grinned, though, at her request. "Think I can handle that," he said. "Any particular shape you want? Or should I just make it a surprise?"

"Hey, I've got the impression you've been doing really well for someone with a ward on such short notice. And I think everyone who's had to look after a little person for more than an afternoon has had some kind of scare, so don't stress over 'I should've' or 'I ought've' too too much. That said... I feel for you." Sam's grin grew a little more mischeivious. "My parents told me 'I hope you end up with a kid just like you are,' more times than I could tell, more times than I could tally."

It was as unlikely now as it had ever been, but the Chinese curse---also invoked, on occasion---had been fulfilled... some twenty times over.

"I'm partial to four-pointed stars but I also think surprises are pretty sweet, so, y'know, whatever; either's excellent."

She keeps giggling while he cleans her face and then she’s smiling drunkenly up at him. “Ooookay.” She lets out a yip and another giggle when he scoops her up, and will nibble at some more of her food.

“This’s yummy. Try it?” She holds up a chicken wing for him to try.

Sam saw the cat, and stopped to stare.

That there was a cat wasn’t at all surprising; there were enough strays roaming Cybertron, one came to expect the occasional encounter. That there was that cat, though---that was surprising, because Sam had never expected a cat could be so sphincter-clenchingly spooky. With an aura not only absent---

There was a story the cat called to mind. A scary story to tell in the dark, about an old man, and an empty house, and talking cats, if they really were cats---Schwartz had also covered Like Cat’s Eyes in his collection, and that story was about something else.

Something else entirely.

And at being noticed - and stared at - the cat in turn shifts its attention to the young woman.

WHATEVER QUESTIONS YOU HAVE, YOU ARE INVITED TO ASK.

And the creep factor probably just shot WAY UP, seeing as how that voice is not so much heard with the ears as simply understood with the mind.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 5 of 6

Come gather 'around the fire...

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject