A light breeze blows through the trees, carrying the scent of newly blossomed flowers upon the wind. Fresh, green leaves adorn the branches, the color of hope as spring spreads across the city. Pathways of white pebbles wend their way between trunks and among roots, gently guiding pedestrians along as they stroll, many enjoying a relaxing lunch among nature while others jog, trying to fit in a bit of exercise in their hectic schedules.

Flowers bloom in well-tended beds, the colors bright and lively in the sunlight. Each one is carefully labeled with its common name as well as genus and species. Pixies in overalls flit between the blossoms, carefully checking soil moisture and plant growth, while occasionally casting a baleful eye at children left unattended. There is nothing on this earth that is quite so destructive as a toddler left to their own devices!

In the center of the park is a large, open area with plenty of space for frisbee or tag and that normally has a few picnic tables. However, those have been put away in favor of pastel, cloth tents and sprawling, wooden tables. Large poles are strung with impossibly thin wires that are adorned with paper lanterns in the shape of the moon. A few fae move about, carrying boxes or hanging more decorations as they prepare for the festival which is set to begin tomorrow evening.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:59, Tue 26 Jan 2021.

Dalion quickly dusts his pants and jacket before entering the park, he believes everything will be fine as long as nobody looks at him too closely or gets close enough to sense the smell. He's wearing his cleanest clothes, a dark brown jacket with slightly darker pants, under de jacket a dark blue button shirt. He washed himself the best he could in the train station's bathroom and combed his hair and beard. After looking himself at the mirror for the last time he thinks he probably can pass as some very bohemian individual.

Enjoying the festival's arrangement he walks around, the park feels really cheery with so many people, illuminated stands, beautiful light arrangement that looks like flying flower and children playing around. Dalion finally locates his area of interest, the food stands, he keeps an eye on the people eating and the security staff at the same time, he wouldn't like to be "kindly" escorted out on the first day of the festival so he tries to stay in places where he doesn't draw too much attention towards himself. He just needs to wait for an opportunity to discreetly take some food from a stand or an attendee but being hungry never helped anyone to be more patient.

Sienna had dressed for the festival in a skirt and small top. She was all made up for the events tonight, her outfit had been crowd chosen. She was supposed to be putting together a video about the festival.

To that end she started with the garden, the pixies, and she had her camera out watching them go about their work. "Let's go see how the pixies are doing with their work."

As she approached, she got down lower and focused on a few of the workers. "Hi there, do you mind if I record you? And, if you really don't mind, I'd love an interview." She smiled brightly at the small creatures.

**See description for current outfit**

One of the pixies perked up, a young male with iridescent, blue wings and a shock of bright, red hair poking out from under his tiny cap. He flitted closer to Sienna and grinned up at her, "Why sure! I'd love to show you around, if you like, and maybe tell you about some of our flowers."

Another pixie zipped over, as well, to hover near the first. She placed tiny fists on her hips and gave the first pixie a stern glare, "For goodness sakes, Q, we don't have time for this kind of nonsense. There's too much that needs to be done before..." She pauses, her attention caught by something happening behind Sienna. Her indigo eyes widen and her wings rattle in alarm, "Hey! Hey, you! Get your kid out of those beds NOW or, I swear to god, I'll fly so far up your ass...."

In a flurry of dust, she abandons Q and Sienna for a much more imminent threat to her botanical livelihood.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:10, Thu 28 Jan 2021.

Sienna watched the entire scene and smirked. She was going to say something when the second came up an was a bit dramatic. Part of nature was destruction and the kids were definitely good at that.

"So, Q is it? She seems intense and, hopefully, won't do anything to those kids. Now, I'd love to get a tour and I'm sure many of my viewers would too." She didn't actually know much about plants except that they tended to mature faster around her. "And I have to say I love the hair color, I think we might match." She turned the camera around and moved over to the pixie so they could both be seen in the recording. "What do you think? Let us know in the comments." She pointed down before going back to just being a camera woman/narrator.

Q laughed and shrugged, "That's Iris for ya. She's a little possessive of the flowers and I can understand why. I mean, a lot of these aren't even meant to grow here, ya know? Climate's too cold or too dry or... too not-the-right-Realm. And then ya got ones that don't have the proper pollinators. Lots going on! Some of them take some serious magic to keep alive, much less healthy and blooming."

He grinned up into the camera for Sienna, happy as a little bumblebee to be talking about his beloved gardens. Q leaned forward in excitement, suddenly seeming to recall a detail of great interest, "Oh! I know! Dr. Avalon is setting up a new greenhouse display on the other side of the park. It's still a work in progress, mind ya, but it's coming along super nice. I think he was saying that he'd display a bunch of orchids there, once it's ready."
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:00, Thu 28 Jan 2021.

An opportunity presents. There's a girl in the gardens area talking to some staff, she's not exactly close to the food area but she draws enough attention towards herself to be an effective distraction. Dalion paces around picking up some leftovers from the tables and some sauce satchels from the stands, half a soda from a guy intensely staring towards the gardens and some a tray of Pixie Sushi from another.

Haha! That girl really knows how to draw attention towards herself- Dalions thinks to himself.

[Rolled a 1D6, result: 2]

Sienna was largely oblivious to whatever was happening outside of her own, little world.

"Oh, really? There are flowers from the faerie realms here? I'm sure everyone would be interested in learning more about those? Are they magical?" Magic might be real but most people had only a little experiences with it if any at all. Sienna had been that was growing up, she remembered the first time she saw a magical being.

"Oh, stay tuned everyone. I'll head over there for our next video. So, Q, anything else you'd like to tell the world? Do you have any accounts you'd like to give a shoutout about?"

It was then she noticed the pixie food being taken, "hey, what's going on over there?" She gestured to the not so subtle man.

Dalion kept pacing around with his attention focused on whatever else he could take. He took a strange-looking flask from a table, it had all the rainbows colors and was shaped after a cockroach. "What?" While looking at the thing he bumped into someone else walking in the opposite direction, quickly apologizing he started to walk faster towards any exit from the food court while lowering his eyes. Unknowingly he walked towards the garden area, and when he finally looked up he saw the luring girl and the pixie in front of her looking directly in his direction.

"Oh no!"

He suddenly tried to turn around but he did so with a surprising lack of coordination he tripped with...himself?

"SHIT!"

He found himself in all fours with all his loot scattered on the ground below him.

Sienna's first thought was that she was going to have to edit all this out and that would take some extra time. At least she hadn't decided to livestream today. Although, might have made for some compelling watching it didn't really fit in her brand.

Closing her camera and slipping it into her bag, she moved a little closer to the man and looked down, "Are you okay? What...well it seems pretty clear what's going on but stealing from the gardeners is really not cool."

"And now I'm being lectured by a kid with a camera, great" Dalion smumbled under his breath.

He sights and shook off the dirt from his pants and hands while trying to look around [Rolled 1D6, result: 1] and see how many people noticed his little "incident". Ignoring the young girl at first but eventually addressing she hasn't left yet.

"Ahem! I... erm... I was just picking up some trash, besides, it's none of your business what I do little girl" Deception [Rolled 1D6, result: 6]

Dalion made sure to at least pick up the strange-looking flask and put it in his pocket.

Sienna certainly didn't like what she was hearing.

'Kid' 'little girl'

Seemed she wasn't alone in picking up on that. However, she did get a sense he was just mumbling to himself on the first but she could hear it clearly.

"I don't know who you think you're talking to like that. I'm neither a kid nor a girl. The correct term I prefer would be woman, I'll take young woman or lady even. Stealing from workers, though, that's not something you get to just be blasé about." From a closer distance it was might be noticeable that she was perfectly symmetrical, her skin flawless and other than lipstick and the eye art she wasn't wearing the basics of foundation, blush or anything else. Nothing out of place at a fae festival, but she didn't seem to carry herself like she was fae.

"Yeah yeah whatever you say ki- erm... uh... lady?" Dalion took a second to look at her from top to bottom, the red-haired girl looks quite dashing with her long skirt and top of very trippy colors, thinking the girl must be very accustomed to being the center of attention everywhere she goes.

"Damn you sure look like you belong around here Ha Ha, are you looking for your lost ancestry or something? Ha Ha Ha!" He teases. But immediately afterward his stomach grumbles, cutting short his laughter. He looks down and sees that everything he looted was wasted on the ground.

_{Dammit, everything went to waste and now I'm littering too} he mumbled quietly between his teeth. Dalion looked around noticing that he's drawing way more attention than he would like to, and the girl's looks and attitude are drawing even more eyes in his direction. Worrying about being identified and kicked out of the festival he started trying to walk away from there, ignoring the red-haired girl again.

When Sienna was on she very much was on and did have a tendency to garner a lot of attention. It was her job, though she did wear many hats with that job.

"You know, contrary to your general negativity and comments about my outfit aside," she rather liked what the community had chosen, "I think today I'll live by the words of CD Broad, 'that each of us has a special obligation to benefit others' and get some food for you. There's a truck that has tater tots that smell amazing." While she quoted a philosophy of altruism she was really more of the mind that altruism may not exist and that it along with humanism (well, metahumanism) were the morally right position but one that carried along with it a healthy bit of self interest.

Dalion stopped on the spot, looking from over his shoulder at the girl who so stubbornly seems to want to be heard, she reminded him of a certain someone of his past, a headstrong co-worker and friend from the university who taught philosophy, the memory of nice endless coffee table conversations and debates made him ponder for a moment.

Ha ha ha! well, I'll be damned! Dalion turns towards the girl with a smile and starts quoting "I presume that you are compassionate: to be without pity means to be sick in body and spirit. But one should have spirit in abundance, so as to be permitted to be compassionate! For your pity is detrimental to you and to everyone. In compassionate men (or in this case woman), severity is a virtue." or at least that's what Nietzche would say to your C.D. Broad, but the truth is I don't think Nietzche ever had to sustain himself with other's leftovers while he wrote all his "grandiose ideas" about morality and ubermensch so... yeah, I'll take you on that offer princess Dalion estimated that he would be much less likely to be kicked out if he stuck with the girl that looked like the fae queen of the festival, after all, nobody messes with the young pretty girls in this kind of "nice" events, even if they are accompanied with the damned swamp ogre.

But noticing all the trash he almost left behind Dalion kneeled after saying: "I'll need a minute though, and also, I don't know who you're talking to about negative comments about your outfit, I haven't said shit about that" and started picking up the trash.

All the while that this has been happening, Q hovered close by Sienna's shoulder, listening to the exchange. He seemed to think about the situation for a moment before flitting down close to Dalion, where he knelt.

"Hey, don't worry about that too much. Why don't you go get some food in ya? Still lots of time before the festival begins proper. So, a little extra clean-up is nothing," he smiled and shrugged.

Solstice stepped through the entrance of the park, looking around with wide eyes and wringing his hands with a slightly slouched posture. His wings were down and pressed close to his body. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this..." He mumbled to his companion.

Dr. Orrus chuckled and patted Solstice on the shoulder, "This will be good for you. Get out, meet some people, have a little fun!"

The doctor took a deep breath, taking in the fresh scent of the mountain air, along with the scent of flowers mingled with... funnel cakes? It seemed that some of the food booths were already running, taking advantage of feeding the crews setting up for the evening's festivities.

Sienna rolled her eyes when Nietzche was brought up. "While not my least favorite philosopher there are plenty of problematic issues with Nietzche's philosophies and views but his anti socialist bent would probably be the most important feature now when I'm offering to share the wealth. Although, I'll admit that's a bit unfairly reductive in regards to the totality of Nietzhe's views on politics and morality." She was far from a princess, she had to work a lot for her money. But she was also quite well educated. One of her youtube channels was a series on the modern application of philosophical theory, specifically how humanity's morality had been shaped in the last several decades since supernaturals had let themselves be known.

She turned to Q, "Thanks for the offer. And, if you're interested in doing some shows let me know. I have guests regularly and I'm sure people would love to hear about the plants and everything else."

Sienna returned her attention to the strange man who was clearly poor but quoting 19th century philosophy. "I'm going to go order, any allergies? It's all vegan so the cheese is either cashew or nutritional yeast." She had no allergies except she didn't do so well with cast iron pans. Steel was fine, though. That definitely added to the belief there was a little fae in her family history.

Once she got the information, Sienna was off and ordering.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:33, Fri 29 Jan 2021.

Solstice shied away from the crowd. "But there's so much going on here..." He mumbled. Then he smelled the sweet scent of fair food and looked around for the source.

Looking surprised at the Pixie talking to him Dalion answered " I... well... uh... alright little fellow, I'll leave it to you and the other Santa's helpers"

It seems that Dalion's luck was improving that night, he stood up and looked again at the red-haired girl, half-listening her retort. "uh looks like I got a do-gooder tonight". Dalion understood from the small exchange between her and the pixie that she makes some kind of show involving interviews and that she wasn't part of the festival's staff, maybe she's some kind of journalist? although her clothes were too flamboyant to be the case.

"Aye aye Ma'am" he stood up straight, parodying the military decorum "No Ma'am, I wouldn't have lived this long on the streets if I had to worry about such things as allergies" he said laughing lightly, she now reminded him of some of his students, the ones who were top students but also very attractive, he always thought those were the ones with the most rotten attitudes but also the ones who were the most lonely. "Sure, whatever weeds you provide will feed this donkey well enough, I'm not picky". Dalion followed the red-haired girl a couple steps behind.

"And that's what makes it wonderful," Dr. Orrus chuckled and gave Solstice a gentle push between the shoulder blades, encouraging him forward. "Look! I think the stands are over that way."

Orrus pointed off to the right, towards some pastel tents. Nearby was a small gathering of people, what appeared to be two humans and a pixie conversing about something. At their feet was a small pile of what appeared to be dropped food.

As they stood there, considering where to go, there was a sudden hue and cry that arose from somewhere off to the side. Suddenly, a grown man came running across the park, his arms held over his head protectively as an irate pixie dive-bombed him. Tiny poofs of pixie dust peppered his hair and shoulders and, above all the other sounds of the park, Iris's high-pitched voice could be heard, "No touching! Shoo!"

------------

"Aw, dagnabit... Uh, I should probably go save him," Q started to drift away from Dalion and Sienna. He doffed his hat in polite apology, "I'd love to do a show with you later!" And, with that parting comment, he was gone, undoubtedly set upon trying to rein in his coworker before she terrorized anyone else.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:47, Fri 29 Jan 2021.

Pixies, not elves. Not that she knew if there was even a Santa. That was something she was curious about.

"I wouldn't know about that. I mean, my mom and I had some rough times when she lost a job or there were budget cuts and we had to live on rice and instant ramen but thankfully we only had to move from rental to rental instead of losing a place completely." She was glad that she was now able to help her mother out. "I do have a couple of allergies, though." Well, one. But she didn't mention what it was.

They arrived at the food truck she'd picked and she ordered before letting the man get whatever he wanted as well before paying. once they were waiting, Sienna asked a question, "there aren't many people on the streets who can readily quote philosophy. What's the deal?"

Solstice let himself be pushed forward, but not without a slightly miffed wing flick. He turned towards where the good doctor had pointed and saw the food. But then he saw the two humans and the food on the ground and mentally prepared for a fight to break out. But the food smelled so good. "I haven't had fae cooking in forever. It smells even better than I remember." He let his feet start to carry him towards the smell.

Dalion walked next to the red-haired girl, apparently, she meant it when she said she would buy him some food, looking inside the food truck he yelled at the cook: "Hey! I want whatever bullshit you think you would feed a Gorilla, I hear they only eat weeds, and yet they can tear a man in two, so give me whatever will make me strong like one!" 

As he listened to the red-haired girl share about her mother and their struggles his face changed for a moment, he listened with a serious expression, when he realized this he remembered to smile again and said "Yeah, I hope that you're not one of those kids that choke from just imagining a peanut, that life sucks, and ah... about the philosophy thing well... maybe I heard it somewhere or maybe I'm the reincarnation of Diogenes the Cynic eh? who knows?He he!

Dalion noticed a scrawny figure closing in his direction, walking like a zombie.

"And what about you? did you come to claim your birthright and rule over your kind or something?" he asked jokingly.

Solstice heard the man address him and froze in his tracks, taking a step back. His wings dipped down behind his back and his bright red eyes went wide. Then logic caught up with him. There was no way in all of the realms this random human knew about any of that. "N-no... I-" He glanced away then back at the man. "I was just..." He waved his hand vaguely.

The man was quite strange but the chef seemed to not mind as long as they were selling. "One everything coming up."

The smell of fried potatoes wafted through the air. "No, nothing like that. Just some annoying ones. And, just hearing that quote isn't common, referencing Diogenes outside of Sherlock Holmes even moreso." Definitely something going on with this one.

Sienna couldn't help but laugh, "I'm here working. My followers wanted me to come, picked my outfit and everything. So, I'm here making some videos about the event. Posting some pictures, too." It wasn't exactly glamorous work, but it more than paid the bills.

Seeing the fae join, "Oh, hello."

If there was one thing Solstice had imagined from coming here, it wasn't humans being so eager to talk to him. He was used to being ignored in favor of Novin. Who was probably behind him grinning like crazy at seeing the normally reclusive fae making friends. Solstice smiled uneasily at the woman greeting him. "H-hello... How are you doing?" He asked awkwardly.

Dalion found his reaction a little strange but quickly forgot about it.

So the "little girl" has some kind of followers that she somehow tries to please disguising herself and posting pictures and videos? Dalion didn't quite understand how she could make a living doing that but honestly, it would classify as one of the least weird things he has seen in his life.

Hey, red-eyes! why don't you take a seat and order something? you really look like you need to have a sandwich, don't worry! Miss bleeding heart here got you covered!

"I'm well, thanks." She had noticed the confusion when describing her work but explaining it would be a bit much.

"I'm Sienna. And, it seems we're getting some food. Vegan tater tots that are yummy. I found this place a couple years ago and they're spot on." Her name was called and she picked up her food before sitting down, pouring hot sauce over it and taking a bite. She remembered having a drink in her bag and pulled out a yeti.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:38, Fri 29 Jan 2021.

Solstice went up to the food truck and looked at the menu. He couldn't decide what to have. It all looked rather tasty. There were combinations of foods he had never heard of or had even thought to try. He hummed softly in indecision.

"I recommend the three, their cashew cheese and the roasted garlic are amazing." Sienna tried to help the fae since he looked like a deer in headlights.

Solstice tilted his head slightly. "I did not know you could milk a cashew and make it into cheese..." He mumbled with confusion.

"It's vegan, plant based foods. I don't know how it's made, but I think it's a combination of cashew butter and cashew milk which is more of a tea and some nutritional yeast for a cheesy taste. It's good." It wasn't that difficult, he didn't think."</rose>

Dalion heard his name called next and stood up to pick up his food, amazed at the variety of colors and smells he started salivating. The red-eyed kid seemed to be a little slow ordering so he impatiently yelled:

Hey chef! Why don't you do me a favor and get black skellington here something that would fatten him up a little? do you have a day special or something?

[Edit: deleting something because of mismatch of time, sometimes I take too long writing a post

This is what I deleted to keep the impression of Dalion being rude: He didn't realize the issue was halfway solved before he intervened, "oh, you already have an idea? go for that then if that's what you want, she probably knows what she's talking about."
]
This message was last edited by the player at 21:23, Fri 29 Jan 2021.

Solstice decided he didn't much care for the loud man who kept backhandedly insulting his appearance. "I would very much appreciate it if you kept your opinions to yourself, thank you." He grumbled, wings flicking irritably but he was still decently polite.

"I think he's in a constant state of hangry. Don't pay him any mind." She was quite polite, herself. Ever striving to be a good person if she was able.

"What's your name, by the way?" She took another bite and a sip from her yeti. Definitely glad she'd decided that the French rose in the fridge needed to be her companion on the trip.

Solstice turned back to the woman beside him. "I suppose that might be true..." He muttered. "My name is Solstice, and yours?" He asked politely.

My name is Dalion, so both your names start with S? good, that will make it easier to remember. Dalion said all this with his mouth half full, not wanting to stop eating.

"Solstice? That's an interesting name. Which season?" She knew that there were courts of fae, and that the summer and winter were generally opposed in a way. But, that was about all she knew, they weren't exactly open about internal politics.

"I'm Sienna Sanders, @siennas on insta and that has all my other accounts." She was working, it never hurt to get another subscriber.

Solstice ignored the man talking with his mouth full to save himself the disgust. But he did acknowledge his name. He smiled nervously at Sienna "Summer, I was born on the exact day. My fire magic is always strongest then, though I rearely use my element. I mostly focus on healing to help the good doctor." He paused. "My apologies... I don't have any social media..." He admitted sheepishly.

"Oh, fascinating. So healing and fire? An interesting combination. But, I guess summer is life in a way." She wondered how something destructive and something palliative worked together. Or separate, maybe. Two manifestations of magic. Maybe different magics completely. She didn't really understand any of it. Then something shocked her. "What? No social media? Oh, you just have to have some. Do you have a phone?" She also, after saying it, realized he may not be the age he looks.

Solstice chuckled. "It's funny people say that. But my fire is not from destruction... It comes from the stars above us. And what are we all made of if not stardust? Fire is warm, it gives us light and life." He told her, wings giving a little happy flutter. "I do have a phone... But I guess I'm not terribly social... Besides... I hear some sites track you... and I'm not so sure I like the idea.." He muttered.

"Stars may be the source of energy and life but they're also a source of destruction. I mean, even our sun will eventually expand and swallow the earth. So maybe it's a bit of both." Things were eventually going to stop, at least that was the theory. So any spark was good, anything to keep entropy at bay.

"Yeah, some track you. But you can turn that permission off. I don't usually, but I'm pretty much always on some form of social media. I've posted pics of my food and a few other things already today, and I'm making a video for later. I can help you set it all up if you decide."

Solstice let his wings sink back down. "Oh... I see... Um- well-" He paused. "A-anyway... I would like you to show me how to make it. If you don't mind..."

Dalion was happy to eat nearly uninterrupted, it wasn't often that he could sit down to eat a hot meal at peace. But a part of the conversation stood out for him, he kept digging away at the feast in front of him but did so only with his right hand, his left clenched in a fist under the table. He kept doing this until he was finished.

Sienna smiled at the offer. "Of course I'd love to help. If you get your phone we can set some up. I mean, at least get you some that you can meet people and communicate. I'll make sure all your privacy settings are set but they're tricky and change them from time to time so you'll have to keep up."

Solstice smiled and fished his phone out, it was a decently new smartphone but seemed rarely used. "Ok, what's next?" He asked.

She went on to explain the various social media and other sites that she was on, at least. How to set them up, creating usernames, all that. If he wanted to created something common across them or didn't care. Seemed like he might want to just see what else was out there and other people.

The fae man listened with great interest and followed her instructions to the letter. He also made sure all his profiles looked nice. He was never one to do anything in halves. "Thank you very much, Miss Sienna." He reached to pat her shoulder.

"I'll do anything for another follower," she clearly joked as he likely saw she had quite a few.

She thought nothing of the shoulder pat. "Can I ask you a personal question, I know that fae can live a long time, many are immortal, how old are you?"

What he likely felt in the touch, though, was not something Sienna was even remotely conscious of. She got a little charge, it felt like those times she'd managed a glamour but, no not the same as that. Was it Solstice's power? Maybe she had a small sense for the magic of others.

Solstice pulled his hand away like he had almost been singed. He had a shocked look on his face as he looked at his hand, rubbing his fingers together slightly. But he snapped out of it and looked back at the woman herself. "I- Well- I'm an adult if that's what you mean..." He muttered, seeming to withdraw slightly.

That was a strange reaction. "Is something wrong?" She didn't do anything, had she?

"Oh, I meant, I mean I'm 25. But, I heard there are some, even among the fae who came to this realm, who are hundreds and thousands of years old. It's just fascinating to see so much, experience so long where we humans only get a century if we're lucky."

"No no. You're fine. I just felt something." He muttered, then looked back at her. "Well... I'm nowhere near a thousand years old." He laughed nervously.

"So it wasn't me? Good." She hoped she hadn't done something still, but couldn't help but worry. "Well, that's good. Although, talking to someone that old would be fascinating don't you think? You don't know anyone do you?"

Dalion slams his hand on the table and sighted with noticeable relief "Ha ha lucky is one way to describe it" said towards Sienne.

"Is something the matter Mr. June 21th? Are you afraid of something? I wonder because if you are, then you are wiser than you look" Said Dalion to Solstice with a smile but with dead eyes. "And don't get me wrong, it is not a threat. Also, I don't think Miss torch head here hasn't noticed either, and hey, I got no problem with it, I just don't want any more complications in my life"
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 00:13, Sat 30 Jan 2021.

Solstice looked over at Dalion "I have no idea what you're talking about..." He grumbled, wings hiked up and defensive.

Sienna looked from one man to the other and back. "I'm with Solstice on this one. I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Fair enough! I think I'll take my leave now, I owe you one Miss Red Riding Hood, I think you have some things in common you will enjoy talking about with Mister Toothpick, just..." Dalion stopped and looked around before continuing "Be careful to not be caught by some big bad wolf, especially if the wolf is after someone else, good night!" Dalion turns around and start walking while thinking: "Well, that was interesting"
This message was last edited by the player at 00:48, Sat 30 Jan 2021.

Solstice took one very large step back. He immediately felt very very threatened.

Sienna just looked at the man and had no clue what he was talking about at all. "pay if forward." Better that than anything else. If more people did that the world would be a better place.

Looking at Solstice, he seemed like a scared kitten in a lot of ways. "It's okay, he's gone. I still have no clue what he was on about."

"I don't mean to be judgmental, but I fear he's not all there. I..." He sighed. "Anyway... Is this your first time at the festival? I just moved here not long ago. So this is my first time..."

"I think you're right. Educated but homeless. Not the usual combination." She had no clue about the reality of homelessness.

Sienna shook her head, "no, I used to come with my mom when I was younger. Unfortunately, she's out of town this year visiting my grandparents." She wished her mother were here, they always had so much fun. <rose>"It's my first time in a while, though. I've been away at school."<rose>

"Well, I've heard that some people go so deep into debt to get a degree that they end up homeless anyway..." He muttered.

"Too true. I had scholarships and make my money on social media. I'm still finishing my thesis but a degree in philosophy doesn't exactly do much for career options but It's definitely interesting."

"Well I certainly wish you the best. The world could use more wise people."

"Let's not get carried away. I'm getting a piece of paper for writing a lot of things that won't matter to most or help many if any. Wisdom would have been getting a useful degree with some practicality."

Solstice visibly deflated at this. "O-oh... I see. Sorry then..." He mumbled softly.

"You seem to do that. Back off instead of engaging in conversation. No need to apologize, you have an opinion, it's no more right or wrong than mine." Maybe she was a bit forceful but she'd spent the last seven years either making content or living in academia.

Solstice chuckled nervously. "I... I guess it's just my nature..." He mumbled.

"Everything I read about the fae is always so open and out there. It's interesting when fact and fiction are so far apart." It did seem worse after that moment. "It's nothing about when you touched me, is it?"

Solstice started to look visibly worried. "I- well- Not every fae is the same. I... I've just changed over a long time with humans I guess..." He mumbled.

"We're okay, though, aren't we? I mean humans are? And most people, aren't they interested in engaging with you? I'm sure you get all sorts of questions." She was definitely having a strange day. Q was the most normal part of it.

"Well, to be honest... I only really talk to Doctor Orrus. And the patients we get... But we just got here. And the citizens of the previous town weren't so nice..." He looked away. "N-nevermind-! Forget I said that!" He said urgently.

"Really? Doctor like medical? Magical healing too?" Solstice had mentioned healing. "Why wouldn't people want that? What happened?" She sounded honesty curious and empathetic.

"They were an old-fasioned type of people... They hated me just because I wasn't a human..." He muttered, shying away and curling in on himself.

Sienna put a hand on his shoulder to offer some support. "You don't have to worry about that here. I mean, there's always bigots about anything that's different but most people here, well, we have these festivals and everyone but the werewolves come."

Solstice looked away. "I guess..." He mumbled. "Sorry to vent all this to you..." He mumbled.

"I've rarely had to deal with anything like that. I mean, there's always some sexism but that doesn't seem the same. And no need to apologize, we all have our issues and should get to express them. But, part of that is also letting them go and putting the past in the past. Living for the future, or, better yet, the present." People often lost the present for the past or future.

Solstice looked away and shrugged, tapping his fingers together nervously. "It doesn't matter. It's the past... Everything supposed to be better now." He mumbled.

"Then we live in the present." Sienna thought for a moment. "So, tell me about yourself. What do you enjoy doing? Favorite book, favorite movie, favorite music."

The fae man hesitated. "Well, I suppose I like drawing the best... I'm not really a movie person... I much prefer shows. You get much more time with the characters. You feel for them more." He mumbled.

"I can get that. I kind of like slice of life movies where you just get a glimpse into someone's existence. But, some shows are good. Some go on too long and ruin the character. It's a gamble vs the certainty of a singular film. As a storytelling medium, though, I think I prefer video games. The ability to interact with the bits of the narrative and shape the nature of the character."

"I haven't played very many video games. So I wouldn't know."

"No social media, no video games? What are you doing in this world? You're definitely missing out. I sort of play games as part of my job, too.  It's good doing what I enjoy."

She looked around, "You know, there's supposed to be a greenhouse around here with orchids. Want to go find it, you can check out more of the festival too. Meet some of the local fae."

"I suppose it would be good for me to be acquainted with the locals... At least a little..." He mumbled, not feeling sure how to respond to the comment about his own lifestyle.

All the while that this conversation has been taking place, Dr. Orrus has been sitting quietly by Solstice's side, saying nothing. His lips are quirked upwards in a warm smile, though, as he watches his friend work through this awkward encounter. He wouldn't interrupt this for anything! It's good to finally see the young man drawn out of his (understandable) shell, even if just a little bit.

Shadows are being replaced with true gloom as night begins to descend. All along the pathways in the park around them, paper lanterns suddenly light by themselves, making a soft "pop!" noise. It's almost like watching a string of glowing popcorn suddenly activate, spreading pale light upon the ground and offering plenty of light for the celebrants who are now arriving, along with various entertainers.

In a larger, pale purple tent in a wide clearing off to the right, a group of fae can be seen settling in with musical instruments. There are a couple of fae who are clearly of the Courts, tall and wispy, almost ethereal to look upon. A satyr has sat himself down on a stool, clutching bagpipes to his chest and laughing with one of the garden pixies who has alit upon the back of a nearby chair.

Groups of all sorts are starting to wander the paths. Small groups of humans walk along, padding towards the food vendors are starting to crank up their businesses for real. Or, perhaps, they are witches or warlocks. It's hard to tell, really. Still, there are no vampires to be seen, though it is still a touch early for any of their ilk to be making an appearance.

Solstice had never before seen such a wide variety of persons in his life, even back in his home realm. He couldn't help but give prolonged glances at some of the more outlandishly appearing individuals. He could feel the magic in the air and it was like taking your first break of fresh air after being underwater for just a bit to long. His flame colored wings fluttered with small joy at the feeling. He hadn't felt such magic since he had last been home and was clearly enchanted.

Suddenly, the feeling in the air around them changed, as though a storm loomed on the horizon. The electrical tang of ozone creeped in over the smell of sweets and savory treats. The fae in the area immediately stopped what they were doing and looked around in consternation, and even the humans stopped in their tracks to look around, sudden anxiety gripping them.

From across a small pond, a female figure appeared, gliding along just above the water. Ethereal robes whipped around her, as though caught in a strong wind. Silver hair was blown back, making her beautiful face look harsh and angular... though the furrowed brows and fiercely thinned lips did much more to convey the fury that she was containing.

She swiftly approached the crowds, her piercing eyes sweeping over the people present, dismissing each in turn as unimportant as she obviously searched for someone in particular.

Solstice felt the air around him change and he backed up a step, wings pinned low as he searched for the source.

Then he saw the woman and he was left paralyzed by fear. What could someone like that want with the festival?

"Steady," Dr. Orrus placed a firm, comforting hand upon Solstices shoulder. He watched as the fae glided past the small group, her eyes briefly touching upon them before moving on, disinterested. "Whoever or whatever she is here for, it's not us."

Solstice feels a slight breeze by his shoulder and can hear the whir of tiny, dragonfly wings. Glancing to the side, he sees the pixie that had been speaking with Sienna, earlier, hovering just at head height. Beside him is another pixie, a female, who watches the whole affair with a worried expression, "And be glad she's not. That's Samthann. She's one of the highest born of the Summer Court. Normally, she's fairly relaxed. But, when she's pissed...?"

Q whistles low, "I wouldn't want to be whoever she's looking for!"

Solstice was still edging on panic, even as the others spoke. "What could possibly have her so upset?" He asked the pixie with clear worry, moving closer to the human doctor beside him.

Dr. Orrus edged closer to Solstice, letting his shoulder touch the fae's. His eyes, though, we still tracking Samthann and she continue along, the crowd parting before her.

"Pfft. Who knows?" Iris snorted and crossed her arms, though her tiny brow was creased with concern. "Those High Court fuckers are always up to their snooty noses in intrigue. Could be anything."

"Think it has anything to do with the Unseelie?" Q flitted closer to Iris, though he made sure that their wings did not collide.

"Wouldn't surprise me. I don't know who thought that marriage was a good idea. Too many centuries of bad blood," Iris shrugged and looked over to her comrade, her expression softening slightly. "Whatever it is, it doesn't involve us. We just keep to the leaves and we'll be fine."

"Unseelie? Marriage? Wh-what do you mean?" He asked, wings down low and trembling as he spoke. He was clearly very worried and confused.

"Oh. You're not from around here?" Iris commented, somewhat oblivious to Solstice's obvious distress. She snorted, "Oh, man. Yeah... awhile back someone decided that the way to bridge the differences between the Seelie and Unseelie was marriage. So, Autumn Lord Eachann agreed to marry Spring Lady Mairona. That's just been a giant ball of chaos since day one, as far as I can tell."

"But, honestly... we stay out of it," Q piped up, shaking his head.

"Anyone with half a brain does," Iris nodded in agreement.

Solstice frowned. "Oh... Well... What do we do now that she's here and very mad?" He asked softly, trying not to think of his own history.

"Well, she's obviously not looking for us. So, I think everything will be fine as long as we leave her alone and let her do her thing," Q answered.

"Sounds like a good idea to move on to something else, then," Sienna said. "I still need to get some more footage for my show. So, I'm going to mosey on over to some of the tents and see what else is happening. It was nice meeting you all!"

Just as the Sienna departed, Samthann turned in a slow circle, scanning the crowd. Her eyes swept past Solstice's small group, once more, and came to light upon someone just to the side and behind them. She moved with swift purpose past them to come to an imperious halt in front of a human man dressed in a jeans and a comfortable jacket. The two of them were close enough that it was easy to overhear their conversation. Not that Samthann seemed entirely worried about eavesdroppers...

He sighed and straightened his back, putting on an easy smile, "Good evening, Samthann. What can I do for you?"

"Do for me? You can catch a thief, is what you can do!" the fae noble somehow managed to loom over the man, despite the fact that they were about the same height.

The man's eyebrows lifted in surprise, "Someone stole something? From you?"

"The absolute GALL," Samthann fumed, furious. Despite the fact that the air around her was practically charged with magic, small bursts of it playing along her skin, the salt-and-pepper haired gentleman seemed unfazed by the display.

He pulled small notepad and pen from where it was tucked inside of his jacket pocket, "Alright. What was taken? And, when did you notice it was missing?"

"My Oracular Mirror. It looks like so," Samthann waved her hand and an illusory image of a small, silver mirror encased in a framework of fine filigree appeared above her hand. "I went looking for it this afternoon to touch up my hair and found it was gone. Gone! Out of my home! What churlish, brazen lout would DARE to invade my privacy? My sanctum!" She lifted a finger and waved it under the man's nose threateningly, "You had best hope that you find them first, Lieutenant. Because, I don't care if they are of my Realm or not, they took what is mine and they will pay my Realm's price if I catch them. I am only informing you out of courtesy."

The lieutenant nodded calmly, jotting notes in his book, "Alright. I'll have someone from MA get on this. We'll contact you as soon as we hear anything."

Solstice quickly moved away as the Fae noble walked past. His wings laid flat with his fear. He couldn't help but watch in concerned awe as the noble told her tale. "A realm hopping thief...? Sounds like something we all need to worry about." He mumbled.

"More than that," Iris shook her head in disbelief. "It's somebody with a giant set of balls."

"A long time ago, someone stole from Samthann. She caught them. It weren't pretty," Q spoke softly, grimacing at a memory.

Solstice had a very sudden idea, his wings shooting up with sudden alertness. "Wait a moment. I just had a thought." He turned towards the doctor and the pixies. "What of that man that was caught stealing earlier also took her item." He proposed.

Novin raised a perplexed brow. "That's outlandish. There's no way a common thief broke into the home of someone like her."

Solstice visibly deflated. "You're right... That was stupid of me to say."

Novin frowned. "No. You're far from stupid."

The lieutenant spoke calmly with Samthann, going through some more questions and answers, his low voice soothing. Eventually, the magical sparks around Samthann died down, and she seemed somewhat mollified by his words and reassurances. However, she still made it quite clear that she was not pleased and would cause great bodily harm to the thief if she caught them. Finally, she drifted away from the police officer and seemed as though she might join the revelers who were starting to wander towards booths of games and food. But, arms crossed, she seemed to think better of it and left. Though, this time, without the theatrics.

With a deep sigh, the lieutenant pulled out his phone and dialed a number. As he waited for the person to pick up, he rubbed at the bridge of his nose as though fighting off the beginnings if a headache. Clearly, this was not the first time he has dealt with one of the High Court.

"Johnson. Hey. Yeah, I've got a job for you," he said as he wandered towards a nearby park bench to sit down. "Samthann just showed up at the park. Apparently, someone has stolen a magic item from her. I need you to check into this before she goes full 'One Ring Galadriel' on the town."

It was, at that point, that everything stopped. The air in the park seemed to still, the sounds became muted. And then, there was a clap and rumble. An invisible shockwave that was both physical and magical rolled across the land, sending car alarms blaring and any loose paper or napkins flying. To the south, the sound of breaking concrete could be heard and cloud of dust rose into the air.

Solstice let out a horrified shriek at the blast and threw a magic shield up around himself and those around him. It was weak but present.

[OOC: Rolled 1d6 for magic shield. Rolled 2]

Fortunately, while the blast was shocking, the force was not enough to truly injure anyone at the park. Mostly, it was startling. Though, some people did fall over and it was definitely an unhappy surprise for the smaller denizens of the park. Had it not been for Solstice's shield, Q and Iris would've been tossed, as evidenced by the sight of other pixies madly trying to right themselves in the wake of the shockwave.

Dr. Orrus quickly looks around, assessing the situation as he looks for injured people. From where they are standing, no one seems to be suffering from anything more than bruised bottoms. Though, people closer to the epicenter may not have been so lucky...

"Solstice, we should go and check to make sure no one needs help," he says to his companion.

The lieutenant who was sitting on the park bench is already running towards the parking lot near the park, his phone to his ear as he shouts something. Though, now, he is too far away to eavesdrop, anymore.

Solstice nodded, quickly getting into a serious mindset. "Right. They'll need doctors at the blast site." He agreed and quickly moved towards the direction the blast came from, the Doctor not far behind.

[Solstice and Dr Novin leave for the Antique shop]