July Mini Event - Seaside Sway

[pumpkinhollow]

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It’s the end of July. Summer is peaking, hitting its stride. In the forest, frogs sing and fireflies dance through the night, and dragonflies go about their business in the sun. In town, farmers roll up their sleeves and young ladies swap out their many layers for breezy floral gowns. And on the beach, swimmers take to the sea for water at its warmest and young crabs climb up from the sun-drenched sand. Kora’s glory at its finest!

For about a week now, a flier has been up on the community bulletin board. :

Midsummer Beach Festival!

Join us on July 21st and 22nd for our annual beach bash!

Organized by the Temple of Sacred Roots in tandem with Town Hall, all townsfolk are invited to join in for seaside festivities in honor of the height of summer. Activities will include:

• Live music (Sign-ups for performers will be available at Empty Pockets Music Bar)
• Locally made strawberry wine from last summer’s strawberries
• Beach pit barbecues for lunch on both days
• A hot food banquet for dinner on the 21st
• A fish fry breakfast on the 22nd
• Paper lantern float
• Beach games
• Tents and bed rolls for beach camping

We look forward to seeing you there!

And, as promised, the festival opens up on the afternoon of July 21st, where the smell of barbecue rises up from Tawny Beach. Tables sit on wooden plinths to avoid sinking in the sand, bearing fresh summer fruit and drinks. Pork, fish, and lamb roast in a sand pit. Enchanted barrels covered in magic frost keep frozen treats like orange juice shaved ice and strawberry sorbet cold. A station for assembling little wood-and-paper floating lanterns can be seen off in the distance and Cormac and the Banshees are setting up for their opening set. Tents and bed rolls have been set up toward the Marina. Literally everything is decorated with thin golden coins on strands of twine, sea shells, and sea glass. In the center of it all, stones have been laid into the shape of a massive compass rose, whose center houses the makings of a bonfire.

Those who were here last year will recognize that this festival is much larger than last year’s, and was not preceded with desperate pleas from Town Hall for help providing food and decor. It speaks plainly to the health of the town now. Even with all that has been going on, the growing population and renewed sense of community and purpose have improved matters around the island considerably.

Near the tent area, a family of crabs (one red, one blue, and three purple) can be observed. The small purple ones are poking each other with sticks. The Limoncello has made port, and Royal and his crew are splitting helper duty with the staff of Town Hall, and are dancing and partying the rest of the time. All is as it should be. For once, there is no dangerous surprise lurking in the shadows.

So, what’s on your agenda? During the day, volleyball, swimming, and a game that involves throwing small fabric sacks of dry lentils into wooden hoops in the sand can be enjoyed, alongside a plethora of frozen treats. At night, food and wine and lemonade are served at the banquet tables and lively music plays on the temporary wooden stage for dancing by firelight. There is also the lantern float, which encourages participants to send a glowing lantern out on the water in honor of the lost and the distant, ending the first night in a moment of peaceful sobriety. You may also notice a charming stranger milling around, cozying up to Royal, and drinking after nightfall--- a woman with dark olive skin, raven hair that soaks up the firelight, and rum brown eyes who wears a billowing blue dress and (whenever she hasn’t placed it onto someone else’s head for fun) a wide-brimmed black hat.

Then, at night, camp on the beach under the stars or head home by additional lantern light. The festivities will continue until the following afternoon! Feel free to share your beach fit in the fashion show thread below, as well. Enjoy!

Comments

lights

[not_the_last]

A young woman with a lantern of her own is approaching, and comes to a startled stop when she sees Elsie sitting there.

"I -- I'm sorry," hastily, "I didn't see you."

[hereticofthewilds]

Elsie sniffles and looks up with glassy eyes. When she notices the lantern in Cassandra's hands, her lower lip trembles slightly.

"Who?"

[not_the_last]

"... Who is this for, do you mean?"

She isn't sure; the question could as easily be who are you.

[hereticofthewilds]

Still too choked up to speak, Elsie nods with practically her entire upper body, just in case the head isn't enough.

[not_the_last]

Cassandra swallows.

"My parents," she says. "And my two sisters, and three of my brothers."

[hereticofthewilds]

"So much family..." Elsie says with a mix of envy and sorrow.

What would it be like to have so many family members? What would it be like to lose so many, too? If losing only one mother hurts so much, how can anyone survive more?

"So much hurt. Sorry."

[not_the_last]

"It's been a long time," says Cassandra, very low. "I still miss them."

A pause.

"Who is yours for?" There's a strong urge to add if I may ask?, but the other girl asked first, with no such hesitation; it feels more appropriate to match her in this.

[hereticofthewilds]

"Mother," Elsie answer somberly, but with a small amount of hesitation. "I think..."

[not_the_last]

"... You think?"

Cassandra genuinely isn't sure if that's meant to qualify Mother or meant to introduce some new thought.

[hereticofthewilds]

"She might not be dead," Elsie clarifies.

[not_the_last]

"Oh." Startled, and then softer: "Oh. That's very hard. I'm sorry."

[hereticofthewilds]

Now it's Elsie who looks startled, jolting and staring up at Cassandra with eyes wide in wonderment.

Hard. Yes. Yes, it is. Harder, even, than when she believed her mother was gone to rest. The uncertainty of it now tears at Elsie from inside, like an animal trying to claw open her chest. Fear, anger, confusion, all these bitter emotions swirl inside and she knows not where to direct them.

There's wetness on her cheeks, suddenly. She touches her face in surprise. She's crying? But, why now?

"You... understand?"

[not_the_last]

"I ... think so."

She folds down onto the sand beside the other girl, sitting cross-legged and tucking her skirts with one absent hand. "I have one more brother, who isn't dead. But for a long time I thought he was, with all the others. And he thought I was. It was five years before he came back. But then ... he and his friends, after that, they were adventurers. They went out on dangerous missions, again and again. And ... it was harder, in some ways, not knowing if he'd be coming back."

[hereticofthewilds]

Elsie turns her big watery eyes on Cassandra with wonder. She... really does understand.

"Why didn't you go with him?"

[not_the_last]

"Adventuring? I couldn't." A somewhat unsteady smile. "They put me in charge, back home. I had to stay and help run things."

She runs her fingers through the sand. "We were the last of the ruling family, my brother and I. We couldn't both go."

[hereticofthewilds]

"Did you want to be in charge?" It sounds horrible to Elsie, but she knows some people do like it. She'd rather go adventuring herself.

[not_the_last]

A rueful smile. "Honestly? At first I was terrified of it. Until someone suggested a ruling council -- shared rule, instead of all of it being my responsibility. And then it started to look like something I might be able to do. And then something I could be good at."

[hereticofthewilds]

"Shared? Hm." Elsie nods in approval. "Shared sounds better. Was it better?"

[not_the_last]

"A lot better. And now my brother's back home, and taking on more himself too. It's working quite well."

[hereticofthewilds]

Elsie brightens up so much when Cassandra says her brother is back. "You're together!"

Then, just as suddenly, she turns glum again. "Oh... but now you are away here."

The more outsiders she befriends, the more heartbreaking it becomes. They are all so willing to tolerate her where the townsfolk aren't. But it's selfish to wish for them to stay when they have homes where they belong.

"Sorry..."

[not_the_last]

"It's all right," Cassandra says steadily. "Truly it is. I miss my brother, I miss my home, but I know they'll be all right and I'll see them again."

[hereticofthewilds]

"Yes," Elsie says, trying her best to sound reassuring. "You will go home. Will you... tell family about Elsie?"

[not_the_last]

She blinks, not sure what to make of that question. Is that something she wants, or ...?

"Would you like me to?" she offers.

[hereticofthewilds]

"Yes," she answers warmly. "Lieutenant Tayrey promised to tell my story in the stars. Will you carry Elsie's story too?"

[not_the_last]

"Then I will. I'm not a storyteller, but I'll do my best."

Cassandra pauses for a moment. "You'll have to tell me what your story is, then. If you want me to tell any more than there was a girl who missed her mother very much."