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location: Ugly Mug
status: CLOSED ; @oxdendine || from HERE
clover rolled her eyes and tugged the table santi was using away from him. “i have to clean,” she said bluntly. “and you’ve overstayed your welcome yet again. my manager won’t say something because he buys into this bullshit, but I will.”
Santí scrambled to gather his things from the tabletop as it was dragged away from him. God forbid his cards fell to the floor-- Had she no idea how long it took to cleanse them?
Shoving his valuables into his rucksack as quickly as possible, he tried not to listen, but shot her a pointed look the moment she swore.
it had only been a few nights at sam’s and she always fell asleep knowing she was safe, but her own mind betrayed her and in the darkness of sleep nightmares began to tug at her consciousness and rattle her limbs.
and in the midst of a bad one, someone was waking her up.
clover tensed and struck out blindly, a pen in her grip that she sunk into the arm of whoever was shaking her. air forced its way into her lungs and her lids opened: it was sam, bright red blooming on his forearm.
“i–” her throat seized. she dropped the pen, a tremor running through her fingers. “sam–.
Sam stared down at his arm as it began to turn red. He was delirious in his own way, having been up for more than two days, and running on way too much caffeine, and the hole in his arm now wasn’t helping.
“Jesus,” he muttered, stepping backwards. In the panic, he’d forgotten to let go of the blanket he had been trying to cover her up with, and so it hung limp in his hand until he relaxed and let it fall at his side.
“What were you doing holding a pen in your sleep?” he whined when the pain caught up to him.
wrote like 30 disjointed sentences, and realized i can’t write coherently tonight
but i wanted to touch on how festivals are celebrated? and what some people do for them. specifically sylvaranti bc that last ask was n i c e and made me think... what do employees do for their holidays?
- x -
Sylv is so dedicated to the stars. he hears them. claims they speak to him. sees deities that don’t seem to exist. for all of starfall, he offers incredibly valuable things. over the years, he’s given;
a shard of time
a page from an ancient text in the Lightweaver’s library
the blood of a minor deity
bottled abilities of self-proclaimed renaissance men
the voice of a siren
a progression of souls, from least to most valuable
a dais of ice, touched by the Icewarden
a translation of Nadya’s Codex
the memories of an explorer
ashes stained with tears of battle
the blessed manuscript of the Prophet
in tribute to They Who Lurk Behind the Stars. no one has seen them. there’s very little reference to them in old text. most people disregard him and his celebration on the rooftops. Schwartz does not. she has participated in his rituals since his adoption into the company.
for the mistral jamboree, several employees fly kites from their office windows. at night, they light lanterns and let them float into the sky. there’s usually street performances with wind based instruments. it’s a fun, lively time for those originally from the wind district.
the crystalline gala always has a ceremony at SI, specifically because of Mina. she demands an evening for a gala, and Schwartz complies. many political dignitaries and other high resource companies are invited for a night of debauchery with an ice theme. ceilings are enchanted to snow. ice sculptures melt and reform into new positions. there’s a wall of ice you can carve new years resolutions into.
Audrey always demands time off for the greenskeeper gathering. she, Posey, and Clover make arrangements for everyone and deliver them by hand. they’re intimately crafted and all unique - given to express thanks to those in their lives. often, they include cards to explain what each flower means.
rockbreakers is generally reserved for honoring ancestors. spellcrafters make a killing selling enchanted rocks and gems as a gimmick. families make personal shrines in their homes for loved ones who have passed away. otherwise, they give gifts the entire week (usually jewelry) to those they find dear. Jinnoa gets over-excited as resident geologist and can’t stop telling people about the mineral compositions of whatever gift they receive.
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location: post-harvestfest. inspecting black trout river
status: CLOSED ; @oxdendine
The worst part of all of this (besides the missing kids, of course) was the fact that there’d been a ‘no stone left unturned’ policy put in place; which would have been fine if it did not also mean that every lead the station received on Addison or Jacob’s whereabouts was treated like a good one. Even the anonymous and unfounded ones, such as “I found a woman’s tennis shoe by the northeast side of Black Trout River.”
After about an hour and a half of searching, Sam slumped down on the grassy shore and looked out at the lake to wait as that newfound claustophobic feeling that had begun to grab at his thoat subsided. The days were getting harder, but having Clovers company as a n unofficial junior deputy of sorts made them much better than if he’d had to bare them alone.
“So, junior detective,” he starts on a sigh when she joins him, exhaustion thick in his tone. “What do you think’s going on around here? ‘Cause I can’t make any sense of it.”
“What’s up Four Leaf?” Faye called out, voice chipper as she plopped herself down in the seat beside the Ravenclaw. If she was interrupting something, she didn’t really care. She just leaned her elbows atop the table and smiled.
