The festival has all but finished, with a great many of the stalls having been taken down. The great bonfire still burns, and people still mill around enjoying the festivities, but there are no more logs to be added to the fire and soon everyone will be packing up to go home. Jason finds the designated meeting place devoid of activity, dark, and a little bit chilly.

In reply to Aeternitas (msg # 1):

Jason steps into the clearing, his head sweeping the opposing tree line instinctively. He breathes in through his nose, taking in the rich earthy scent of the forest outskirts mixed with the distinctive smell of wood smoke from the bonfire, carried on the wind.

He took up position under a large tree, leaning back on it with every indication of guarded calm.

Truthfully Jason was a bit nervous, a strange flip flopping in his stomach. But it was the excitable sort of nerves that Jason first experienced just before Colonel Marsh threw him out of a plane for his first skydiving jump.

A tiny voice in the back of his mind suggested that maybe it wasn't just the flight that had his stomach twisting.

He swiftly throttled that thought.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:49, Tue 10 Sept 2019.

Lesleigh's voice flutters against Jason's ear on the breeze. "Jason... Over here... Jason... This way..." He can also see a faint light, dancing like a lantern's flame, waving at him from within the trees.

Should he follow it, the whispering voice continues to urge him forward, while the faint light remains just out of reach. By the time he catches up, he's gone far enough into the woods that he can neither see nor hear a single sign of the dwindling festival.

The next thing he knows, he's standing in a small clearing, bright with moonlight that makes the heavy white fur cloak wrapped around Lesleigh seem to glow amongst the tree's shadows. She's sitting cross-legged on a besom, an old fashioned handmade broom - one of the local heather industries products - with at least four feet between hers and the forest floor. She's not wearing her glasses. She smiles as he comes into view.

In reply to Lesleigh Ebongrove (msg # 3):

Jason starts when he hears the voice. It's unmistakable Lesleigh's but it also sounds like the natural sound of the wind blowing through trees.

He advances towards the light warily. Slowly at first, moving with all the grace of a natural woodman but as it dances away he feels a compulsion to quicken his pace as well. By the time it stops and he reaches the clearing he almost falls into the moonlit grove.

Without her glasses on, The girl's eyes reflected the bright moon so perfectly that Jason was lost in a daze for a moment.
"That's...That's a nice coat."

Lesleigh sputters into soft laughter. "Again, I fail to predict what you'll say. I would have wagered the more surprising thing is floating in the air but it is a nice cloak. Mama insisted so I don't catch cold if we stay out too long. The wind chill when I go fast gets pretty bad, too," she says, then the broom floats down until she can hop off and stand on the ground properly. The broom winds up in her hand, held vertically.

"So, um, would you like to take control for a bit, or would you simply like to go along for the ride?"

In reply to Lesleigh Ebongrove (msg # 5):

"I forgot about the windchill..." Jason realises.

Jason looks down at himself, dressed in the same T-shirt and jeans that while perfectly suitable for a late summer festival did not lend itself well to high altitude flying.

His eyes track Lesleigh as she guides the broom down, off and into her hand and is a little jarred by the juxtaposition of the frail girl Lesleigh pretends to be against the young woman who in front of him who is obviously very confident and assured in her movements.

With a start he realises that she may have had just as much training as he himself has had, just in a different field and Jason begins to wonder exactly how much of a powerhouse Lesleigh actually is.

"I'll ride shotgun..."He gives another half smile.

What does that mean? Urgh, why can't people just speak plainly!? Lesleigh thinks vehemently, but ultimately this one isn't too difficult to decipher.

She hopes.

She turns and tosses the broom toward the centre of the clearing, while her other hand tosses a handful of dark puffs of cloud which dart out and catch it from below, holding it aloft a couple of feet above the ground. "This, um, this can be uncomfortable to ride for a long time, like I said, um, like I said at the festival before. It's easier to sit on it sideways but I don't think we'll both fit, so, um, so you'll sit behind me and I'll take us around the glade and see how it goes. The broom could break or you could get sick from the movement, and that would be bad, so."

She walks over and throws one leg across the floating broom, fussing with her skirt and the cloak while leaving plenty of room for him.

In reply to Lesleigh Ebongrove (msg # 7):

Jason approaches slowly, slightly unsure of how to actually mount the broom.

In the end he has the throw caution the the wind and just swing his leg over. Thankfully the broom holds steady.

Jason spends a moment messing about trying to follow Lesleigh's advice, sitting behind her before he manages to get into a position where a sudden stop of jerk wouldn't ruin his chance of having children.

Lesleigh checks on him over her shoulder and when she thinks he's settled, she starts to move the broom slowly and directly upwards. If there are no problems, she starts them casually floating around the edge of the clearing at a speed roughly equivalent to how fast Jason walks. She turns back again and says, "How is it? Not feeling queasy, are you? I don't think increasing velocity will make you sick if this doesn't but it's a bit of a journey to get where I'm thinking I would like to go."

In reply to Lesleigh Ebongrove (msg # 9):

Jason was surprised to find that the broom seemed deceptively sturdy. The brief feeling of weightlessness as they ascended had Jason's stomach doing flip flops briefly but that soon passed as Jason focused on his breathing,c calming himself down.

"I'm okay." He said, hoping his voice didn't come off as breathless as he moved any nervousness and trepidation to the back of his mind.

Lesleigh chuckles and reaches back to take hold of his hand, and unless he jerks it away or resists, she guides it around her and places it firmly around the broomstick, directly in front of her. "You'll feel safer if you hold on more tightly, but don't worry, even if you fell I could catch you with my magic, okay?"

While this is going on they're slowly gaining altitude as they continue their loop around the clearing.