#nprpwinterfest

[danixkane-blog]

The first day of the festival was the perfect opportunity for Dani to get a better footing in her new home, and she took it in stride. The Town Gardens were swamped with people, the hustle and bustle from the skating rink and garden creating the perfect working conditions. Dani moved effortlessly through the crowd, her hand slipping, undetected, into numerous pockets and purses, stashing the cash before returning the item. After getting a heavy pocket of earnings she slipped to the outer corners of the crowd, lifting a coffee that had been sitting unsupervised before she propped herself against a wall, turning her head to the person beside her, “I’m not the only one who finds this whole thing, kind of, obnoxious am I? I mean,” she took a sip from the cup, “It’s kind of super cheesy, right?”

[olivvrking-blog]

"Oh for fuck's ----" Oliver cut himself off, casting a glance around for children, certain that any complaints of the Seawolves' bad behavior would make its way back to the administration. "Does anyone know how to do this?" Around his group and the second Seawolves group set up around a block of ice next to them, people were chipping away happily at their creations. "How do you even start?"

[northpoint-me]

The night smells like salt and sulfur, and the waves crash like the ocean is trying to swallow the world whole. Your ears are still echoing with the last explosion, the light and color still dancing beneath your eyelids. You see two worlds: fireworks blossoming above; the sparks falling like decaying leaves into the ocean below. The fuses shriek when they light, and whir into the darkness leaving trails like the ancient cracks of a marble statue. You think you feel the ground shake. The night sky is cracking open ---- something desperately wants in. Another shriek; another deafening boom, another explosion of color. Another shriek - closer. Another shriek, louder. Another shriek, another ------------

“Something has happened,” your neighbor says, peering into the screaming, hungry darkness like it may whisper the truth. And perhaps it will. “Something bad.” 

Saltwater and time have worn at the body, but not at the rope: it has remained looped around James Buchanan’s wrists and ankles. The rope securing him to one of the so-called Siren Boulders did neither fray nor break, not even when curiosity pulled the rope taught and reeled the body back to shore, breaking from the froth like something terribly old and terribly wonderful - an ancient god, making his long awaited reappearance. Things move quick, after that. Without anyone to signal to the firemen lighting the fuses, the fireworks continue. Each flash reveals the blanched face of another attendee - they are not allowed to leave yet, but each ꜰʟᴀsʜ and ʙᴏᴏᴍ makes the crowd feel sick. What had they been missing, beneath the echoing noise and blinding light? On the ground, the police sirens roar and their lights flash a mottled, red and blue morse code into the darkness ----- SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS SOS DETAILS : James Buchanan was a student at Winthrop, and a familiar face around town. He was last seen at the ball's after party late Thursday night, surrounded with friends and strangers alike at Banshee. We are still awaiting the coroner's report.

[dahliaswanson-blog]

When was the last time Dahlia had put on a pair of ice skates? She couldn’t even remember. Must have been a long time ago. She tentatively took a step out onto the ice and held her breath as she put her other foot out. Dahlia gripped the railing of the rink and used it to support her as she slowly made her way around. After a few bouts, she felt more confident and stepped away from the rail. Big mistake. The first corner she turned, a small kid zoomed past and knocked her off balance. In one swift motion, she was on the cold ice and couldn’t find her way back up again.

[verityunfairchild-blog]

Verity’s nickname in high school- well, more accurately middle school up until the present- was Ice Queen and it was a title she wore with pride. She, like her mother, was cold and hardened, so it didn’t come as a shock to her with the label started to become synonymous with her name. But her attachment to the moniker ran deeper than that. Winter was always her favorite season, and the thing she loved most about it was the ice. It was perfect, crystalline and beautiful. It gave the illusion of delicacy but it could be lethal within it’s own right; she loved being compared to it. Of course, ice could melt, but the sliver of ice in her didn’t give any signs of melting anytime soon so she had chosen to ignore that fact. 

Walking along the Sculpture Garden, her Vuitton boots click-clacking on the pavement, Verity felt at peace. It was rare for her mind to cease it’s constant racing and her pulse to dull enough to be considered normal rather than panicked; but she always felt oddly at ease during the festival. Of course, social gatherings were something that was bred into her Fairchild DNA so it made sense that she was at ease around natives and newcomers of the town she had called home for years. Stopping to glanced up at the sculpture at the far end of the column, she smiled briefly, thinking of the many times her father and brother had competed in the contest. And people thought she was competitive, she thought to herself, a chuckle bubbling at her lips. Feeling a presence behind her, Verity turned towards the newcomer, smile still fresh on her frost bitten lips. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t see you there. Am I in your way?” She asked, the question on the verge of being a challenge as her gaze finally settled on the person. 

[maevedalton-blog]

It had returned yet again for another year, The Winter Festival. All of the memories from years ago became to flood back to her and her first festival here in Northpoint. How quickly time goes by when you are settled and enjoying life. Maeve was one to reflect upon nostalgia moments quite often. Walking around Town Gardens, her gloved hands wrapped around a cup of hot chocolate with her scattering eyes glancing around of the beautiful surroundings. To see how many people were around here with their beloved friends and family, even her own father had made it out from his busy working weekends. Finally finding a place to stand still to admire all of the sight, her body posture had softened from the maneuvering through the bodies. “How beautiful,” she mumbled to no one in particular while her never ending expressive smile ate up her face. Feeling the warmth of the hot chocolate while stunned in the moment.