Open Chronicles Festival of Lights: Illun Serath

[Arbok]

Arbok blushed, not from the nakedness but from her own reserved state of dress.
"My lips are sealed."
She gave Lorinna a hopeful smile and took another sip of her spiced hot chocolate.
As she watched Lorinna go over the edge she breathed a sigh of relief tinged with regret.
Maybe she just let her best chance to go over the edge with people get away but then again she would have felt like she was intruding.
Breathing mist from her lips she looked forlorn at the edge of the falls.
"Ho, what am I doing?"
She said to herself unsure of whether she should just go now or wait.
"Wait for who?"
She wondered out loud and the thought made her heart sink a bit. Recovery was bad enough without self pity.
Arbok took another sip and scolded herself for a fool.

 

[Aarno]

The question caught him off guard, confusion visible on his face as he blinked blankly at the kid. What a complicated thing to inquire upon.

“ What — Yes, of course. “ He stated outright, flashing a grin in feigned cheer and waving a hand like it was to swat the concern away. “ One’s mind wanders, is all. Old fibers fray. “

With that he begun away a touch awkwardly, finally making his way towards the indoors like he’d meant for some time now. As the door opened he braced against the draft, the suddenly warm air like its own realm to be stepped into, coloured by the intermingling scents of food and drink. After the crisp outside, it was almost overwhelming.

Beneath the murmur of multiple conversations, someone was singing and plucking a harp. Tableware clattered and steam rose from mugs and something fresh baked. But he’d barely notice any of it after something truly meaningful had caught his attention, dangled in a cheerful little sign upon entry.

Tea was on the house for tonight. And he was no idiot. It was a self-service set on an enchanted little kettle and pots at the corner of the room, to which he beelined like his life depended on it. As he picked up one of the teapots, he gave it but a cursory swirl to try the weight, lest he try and pour from something empty.

Whatever the brew in it, mattered little at this hour.

Nacht

 

[Alouette]

“You’re not cold, Arbok?” Alouette was grateful to be here, really, she was, but even with her many layers she still felt cold. It reminded her of the hard winters, the ones that always had someone buried before spring could even begin to thaw the ice. She brought her hands up to her mouth, blowing a warm breath into her cupped hands and shivered.

“I didn’t have enough time to knit another Hearth Scarf so I feel like I’m freezing.” She smiled as she said this, very much aware of how silly she sounded when so many others were jumping into the icy water. If they could do it, and not freeze to death, then there was no reason to act like she was colder than them. She was in layers, and they were half-naked.

Arbok

 

[Nacht]

Nacht visibly relaxed, deciding to give his new acquaintance the benefit of the doubt. Snickering a bit at the older knight's explanation for the pause, he finally got in that pet he had been wanting to give. After nodding respectfully. He waited a little as Aarno somewhat awkwardly moved away, wondering what to do. Would the elf appreciate his company? Ever the optimist, he decided to try and continue interacting.

Stepping into the indoor portion of the festival area shortly after Ol' Thread (A nickname he had determined was never to be used anywhere near the person it referred to out of respect), he'd stand frozen for a second, just appreciating the warmth caressing his body as his aura was momentarily lowered. "This is what I'm talking about..." He'd say, a tinge excited about the possibility of a warm drink. Noticing others beginning to watch him, he moved along, ready to relax.

Humming along with the notes of the harp, he'd smell the food around and drink their scent in, now fully warmed up despite their entrance only seconds earlier. Shade's paw would begin to tap his head, and Nacht immediately guessed what her latest demand would be. "Fine. I'm sure they have something small enough for a quick bite." He'd mutter, inwardly at ease with his pampering of the feline resting atop him.

Just then, he noticed a sign and scanned to find the offered tea, deciding that the beverage would be an appropriately adult substitute for terrible tasting alcohol. He sidled up next to Aarno, taking two cups. One he filled with cream, and the other with whatever tea was resting within the mysterious pots. Arms now fully occupied, he'd turn to the elder knight, eager to speak.

"Would you perhaps be alright with some company where you sit? It's awfully boring for me to just exist somewhere and...well, I kind of want to put these down sooner than later." He'd pause, as though remembering something. "Oh, yeah, no hard feelings if not. I have my cat." That sentence, delivered so seriously, succeeding in breaking his respectful facade and eliciting a childish grin and tiny laugh.

Aarno

 

[Arbok]

Alouette had come from nowhere.
"AAGH!"
Arbok's sharp cry belied her size and once she got over the shock she put a hand to her chest as if to steady her heart with it. Though through the thick layers of her fine furred coat she could barely feel it.
"Raven's lies Alouette. I didn't even hear you approach."
The other girls words had shaken her out of her trance now back in the world she said.
"Here, this should help with the cold."
And passed the cup of still steaming, spiced hot chocolate to Alouette.
It was a shame about the hearth scarf.
"You should have kept a scarf for yourself. Though if you're up here I suspect you might loose it."
She pointed to the discarded bundles of clothes left behind by Hector and Larinna and half a dozen other groups of various sizes.

Alouette

 

[Aarno]

As he watched the tea flow into a cup, steam swirling, the strangest feeling of familiarity came upon him. It elicited a shudder like from the cold, his shoulders rolling as he willed the sensation away. The teapot clicked as he put it back to its perch, the lot of him flinching to attention at the realization he had been followed.

His look regarded the young squire sidelong as he listened, first the words and then the laughter. A part of him was of the mind to ask wouldn’t the lad rather seek out more exciting company, like their peers, but at worst that would’ve been a cruel thing to say. The kid was yet new amongst the lot — what if he’d yet to find comfort and connection with them, let alone that their interests for leisure aligned.

The kid might’ve always had his cat, for sure, but—

“ It is a festival, the spirit of which is to bring us together. One hardly attends one in the interest of being in his lonesome, wouldn’t you agree? “ He mustered a smile and nodded once, picking up his cup and rotating to face the room. The light was a little dim, half for atmosphere no doubt, but it did make it harder for him to see, melting details together.

“ Your eye is probably sharper than mine, so why don't you pick us a spot to sit at? I’ve no preference, personally. “

Nacht

 

[Gruki]

'What are you screaming for?' Gruki asked, sidling up beside Arbok so that she was sandwiched between her and Alouette. 'Did something bad happen?' Wrapped from head to heel in warm furs, the she-orc looked down into the cold waters below. Bodies, naked or semi-naked, flailed around like landed fish. Gruki heard laughter, usually preceded by splashing sounds.

'Are we taking the plunge?' she asked the two squires, tugging her scarf down so that there was no possibility of being misheard. 'How about it? Lou? Arbok?'

Peeling off her gloves, Gruki unwound her scarf. A shock of red hair spilled free to adorn her shoulders, shoulders she quickly exposed to the frigid night air. 'Ah,' she sighed, her breath a fine mist in front of her. 'Tis a bit brisk out here. No wonder so many people have thrown themselves in.'

Smiling, her cheeks ruddy with cold, Gruki stooped to pull off her boots.

'Come on!' She encouraged her two friends. 'Everyone else is doing it. Sides, once we're in, I'm sure it won't be half as bad as we think it is.' The fish-people certainly seemed to be having a good time. A few boats bobbed along across the lake, pulling pale figures from the water left, right and centre. Most were still moving of their own volition.

'We can jump in together, if you like,' she grinned at Lou and Arbok, an expectant glimmer in her eye.

Alouette Arbok

 

[Nacht]

Nacht's eyes brightened a bit at the older knight's willingness to have company. This situation was certainly better than how he had spent most of the last few winters, off by himself practicing his shadow control and the like. In truth, he hadn't had many friends before this, and the boy was shocked at how easily he had made his first one. "I agree, but I thought it considerate to ask. After all, some people prefer solitude with their tea, I wager."

The boy turned alongside Aarno, considering the knight's request to find a table with the utmost sincerity. "Yeah, sure. Sounds good." Turning away, the boy had an ominous feeling, a thought that something felt completely...off. Just then, Nacht jolted as he realized that his cat's tail was no longer touching him, which meant that she was gone.

Spinning around, uncaring of the fact that the cream and tea cups both lost a bit of their quarry, Nacht searched the room before finally spotting Shade resting on a chair at a table near the fireplace. As it turned out, the chair belonged to a table, and the table had another chair as well. "I found our spot, or more accurately, Shade did." Nacht smiled, inwardly amazed at how clever his feline friend was.

Arriving at the table, he'd sit down and tap the table, signalling to Shade to hop up on the table and clear the chair for Aarno. He laid down the cup of cream and sipped from his tea, watching his feline friend enjoy the little treat. "So...How's the festival treating you so far?" It was an idle question, the most ideal type of conversation starter. Hopefully, he could get some stories out of his new friend, especially stuff about the Knights.

Aarno

 

[Alouette]

“Oh, no, it’s…” but the cup was already thrust into her shaking hands and so the only polite thing to say was a quiet, “thank you.” It did make her fingers better, even as she shivered. She watched Gruki undress, rather impressed by the display of strength. No, it wasn’t strength, it was will— it had to be crazy, stubborn will to undress while temperatures continued to drop.

“I don’t think the water is warm,” Lou said slowly, looking up at Arbok for support. “It has to be colder, right, Arbok? A lot colder.”

Arbok Gruki

 

[Hector]

Water crashed all around, filled his ears up with sound. The cold sank in. Sharp and quick as a knife to the bones.

A stroke, a kick, pulled him up and up from the dark drink and out through the surface. A loud shout, more like a yelp. He heard the second splash come behind him.

Lori, for sure. But it was too cold to wait.

"F-f-fuck the rocks!" he said through a laugh, and swam fast for one of the barges. Reached out to the blue hand that pulled him up, oddly grippy. A familiar Kivrin, and

A towel was handed to him quick, and he wrapped it around himself as his teeth clattered and he smiled and looked back, shimmied and shook with the cold.

He tried to fine Lori in the water, scanned up to the top of the falls.

Lorinna Astarel

 

[Arbok]

"Yeah."
Arbok said to Alouette as she took off her hat and dropped it on the snow then began at her coat buttons.
"It's cold as death down there. That's the point."
Her coat flumped in a heap and her tunic followed. She was just a bit behind Gruki in preparation.
"You jump in, face death, get out and feel alive. More alive than ever maybe."
She smiled at them both.
"My people believe that it cleans your soul. Makes all the bad leave."
She undid her belt.
"So for me, this is basically religious experience"
She kicked off the last of her layers and was ready in her relatively modest underclothes. Glad that at least some of the myriad scars from her warped transformation were covered. Her arms, legs and face were still a mesh of closed flesh.
It was hellishly cold but for Arbok she felt she shouldn't show how much if bothered her. It would be bad for the Nordenfiir image. She covered her arms with her hands best she could and tried to make it look casual.
"You don't have to Alouette but... I'd like you to join us."

Gruki Alouette

 

[Nere Ashorn]

A goofy grin spread across Nere's face, the same way it always did when she found Alex teasing her. "That would be a much more engaging point, if I knew what a penguin was." The ice slicked under her blades in slippery slices. Every few feet, she teetered dangerously, swimming out her arms in wide sweeps to recover her balance. It was harder to go slow and precise, than it had been to rush forward across the middle of the lake. "Are they like mudskippers, but for the ice?"

Alex's eyes were such a wild shade of brown. With a yellow scarf wrapped so tightly round her neck, they looked almost golden, but the cool reflection of the ice pulled the green out of them, like wet moss. No, that wasn't right, they were like a pine forest. No, that didn't do it justice either--

"Watch out for the blind woman there,"

"The who?" Turning around to look was the wrong call. Spinning so unexpectedly on the blades was what had Nere lose her balance. She rammed into the person innocently skating towards her, shouldering the poor woman with her whole side.

Flakes of ice sprayed out. Nere landed hard on her ass, all tangled up with whoever she had just taken down with her.

Noa Alexandra Alcantos

 

[Flynbul Tosstopple]

He looked up from the elven child and caught eye of a more peculiar figure across the frozen lake. The shimmering robes danced with elegance as the creature performed arcane rites. The surrounding skaters were captivated by the dazzling display. As was Flynn. Everyone here on the ice subscribed to a more traditional approach that he hadn't even thought of using magic. Were they swapping skates for a crystal ball? What fun! His eyes widened with remembrance and glee as he dumped the contents of his component bag onto the bench next to him. "Doot, doot, doot-dada-doot, doot doot, da doot, there ya are! This may be a gross misuse of such a rarity... Hm.. What the heck, I can always make more." He shrugged as he scooped up the tiny vial of scintillating blue liquid, popped the cork, and down the hatch. A nerve-pinching stinging sensation took hold of the left side of his jaw as the minty liquid kissed the inside of his cheek. His face contorted, and a full-body shiver followed. "Gods! Yuck!" He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Dreadful."

Shaking off the assault on his well being he took a skeptical step out onto the ice. Nothing. The other foot followed. His balance wasn't in question, the tonic was. His worry quelled as the ice slowly crept up onto the soles of his boots, like mold to food, until his shoes were completely encased. "Ha! The water walking does work this way? Interesting." Time to test these babies out. With little effort and maybe too much speed, he was off to make a new friend.

Sam Fairbridge

 

[Syr Cydonia]

Petra wasted no time in shifting her attentions to Cydonia, cooing over her. The compliments plied would have sat better with Cyd, had she been the one to pick out her ensemble. As it stood, she faltered under Petra's enthusiasm, eyes hardening even as she kept her smile up. Tradition dictated the fold of her robes, the weave of the fabric, the color of her face paint. There was not much left of her own mark to be proud of.

"Yes, well," she said, hoping to pass off the feeling as mere shyness. "When one's a duck out of the pond, may as well have some fine feathers."

"And please tell me you still have my sash?" The last said with a conspiratorial wink.

The wink was easier to respond to. Cyd regained her composure, placing a gloved hand upon her chest, proud of posture. "Of course, I would never lose a lady's favor, I am a respectable knight after all." Her face fell once more, and she held out her arms apologetically. "Er, it is back at home, though. This is a diplomatic mission, for me. I had to pack lightly."

In his usual dour way, Faramund joined in. "No snacks?" Cyd teased. Eyes closing blissfully for a moment, she took in a deep inhale. "That's too bad, something around here smells delicious. And I'm going to find it."

Petra Darthinian Faramund

 

[Gruki]

'I, too, would like for you to join us,' Gruki admitted, limbering up the for Fall. The water was bound to be cold as Hell, but that hadn't stopped the others from committing. Besides, the young Moon Elves did it every year, without fail. If fatalities were a common occurrence, Gruki was sure the authorities around here would have shut the show down long ago.

Or maybe they just didn't mind culling the weak from their ranks?

Who can say! Slipping around behind Arbok, Gruki stepped up behind Lou. Both of the squires made for convenient windbreaks, but Lou's fur-clad form was a lot warmer. 'You can go in like that, if you want,' the she-orc said, her voice light and teasing. 'Or you can stay and watch our stuff.'

Grinning, Gruki gave Lou a lingering hug.

'We're not gonna force you to do anything you don't wanna,' she whispered, 'and I'd rather not have to help you undress in front of everybody. Well, not unless you needed it.' Gruki paused, her expression growing concerned.

'Do you need help?'

Alouette Arbok

 

[Alouette]

The way Arbok spoke about it jumping into freezing water was rather romantic. Alouette liked how someone as big and strong as Arbok could still be romantic. Just like how she liked that someone as big and strong as Gruki could give soft hugs. It was like how touching ice hurt so much it felt like she had touched fire instead, but less painful and more comforting.

“I’ve already faced death,” she said, very, very quietly. “And failed.” This was said even quieter, if such a thing were possible, but it was as her lips moved and little sound came out. Her hold tightened around the cup, beginning to crinkle it inwards. She stared hard at the water, at the moon elves hollering and whooping, at others joining in for the test of courage.

“I’ll watch your guy’s stuff.” Lou said finally, raising her voice loud enough to be heard. Her pink cheeks weren’t just from the cold. “And I don’t need help taking off my clothes.” First Ketyl, now Gruki, what was with everyone wanting her to take her clothes off? Was it because of how much time she spent weaving and knitting and stitching and sewing?

Arbok Gruki

 

[Noa]

Blindness wasn’t a struggle for Noa. Sure, she was unable to see color, to see how someone’s face could soften, or to experience blurry, black spots when looking directly at the sun for too long. It did little to hinder her enjoyment of life, to experience fun and laughter and sadness and tears and everything else in between. So many things could be felt, could be heard, could even be tasted.

Her body compensated the homely darkness with her exceptional hearing and smell— hell, Noa would argue she had a god’s tongue. Of course, it was hard to feel blind when there was Ne who helped to direct her away from tripping hazards when she walked. Because of Ne, Noa bet she tripped even less than someone with the best eyesight known to Arethil-kind.

Her feet moved over easily on the ice, letting one foot glide before using the other to keep the momentum. But she didn’t need Ne right now, or Syr Cymbeline. She could listen better than they could and already she was noticing the sounds made on the ice. Like how the sharp hiss softened at a turn, or a crackly pop meant someone was slowing down. She was overconfident in her ability to listen: there were many blades on the ice, many voices bubbling alongside the hiss of steel and ice.

Why, she could still hear Cymbeline calling after her and a roar from Ne back in the distance as she meant to go left, but maybe she hadn’t go left enough— or was she supposed to go right? Regardless of what she was supposed to do, Noa felt the wind leaving her lungs.

“Shit,” She gasped as she felt her balance tip and topple, ankle twisting, back arching, core softening. She put her hands out in front of her as was instinct but it did little as she fell to her side, her elbow jabbing into the person she had crashed into. “Shit.” She wheezed, a sharp pain radiating from her knee that she had landed too hard on. Well at least she hadn’t crashed into the ice face first so she was missing her two front teeth.

“Sorry.” Noa tried laughing but winced instead, finding all new sorts of pains prickle under her skin. She was staring straight in front of herself, slowly trying to move off of the person while also not accidentally whacking her with a hand or a foot. The foot would be especially bad with a blade on the underside. “Not as limber as I used to be. The woes of turning thirty when you still think you’re twenty.” That midlife crisis was going to hit hard— harder than this stranger had.

Alexandra Alcantos Nere Ashorn

 

[Arbok]

Arbok crossed her arms and looked at Alouette with a somewhat critical eye.
"You don't have to jump but if you stay, don't regret it. Our stuff will be fine either way."
With that she threw Alouette a winning smile and hip checked Gruki.
"You, are undressing nobody while I'm here."
Gruki was maybe the only person Arbok knew she could get a bit rough with like that.
She was beginning to shiver as she walked over to the edge, her feet leaving fresh tracks in the snow.
"Come on Gruki, it's not getting any warmer and I still want you to jump Alouette."
The edge beckoned. The sudden appearance of the others helped but she knew already she was going to jump. Alouette didn't have to and that was fine.

Gruki Alouette

 

[Aarno]

The kid appeared to scatter a little, stricken of a sudden and spinning around. Face betraying nothing, Aarno took a sip of his tea and scanned the room in tune, until yet again the lad spoke. Progress, brought on by a feline.

“ Very good. “ He responded tonelessly, moving in the squire’s wake to where his shadow of a friend already waited. With the cat on the table and his seat clear, he drew it out in an angle and lowered himself down carefully. Sinking against the back of the chair, elbow on the table, he stretched out one leg where it wouldn’t trip anyone. Lest it lock up.

He kept to himself a second longer, allowing Nacht’s casual question hang in the air as he enjoyed his tea, look fixed to passing air. How indeed.

“Fairly. “ Came his initial thought, half muttered into his cup. “ Though I suppose the sentiment bears upgrading about now, taking into account errant generosity. “ A lopsided smile took him out of impassivity, if only until the finish of his sentence.

“ My festival-going has been a rare occurrence these past years, I’ll admit. The monastery and duties therein keep a man busy, should he allow it. “ A half a lie, as far as purpose for not attending went. Public merriment, while exhilarating, had the awful habit of hearkening back to a time in the past, unbidden. His distance to it wasn’t great enough yet for it to not sour his mood, ever so slightly.

“ Speaking of — “ His head tilted, careful curiosity in his frown.

“ How have you been settling in? “

Nacht

 

[Sam Fairbridge]

Gloves wove about them the tendrils of magic as a crystal plucked from satchel did grasp and retain the arcane concepts. A recently acquired and mastered cantrip of hydrophobic shield was the lattice to which the rest of the magic laid upon, the other concerns such as momentum were woven upon the loom of invention. Bright white dots for eyes looked to their gloves in contentment as they worked.

A faint hiss emanated from the crystal Sam applied their wit, as if the azure rock was gaining pressure within as the mage made manifest the destiny of infinite possibility.

Blades scraped across the ice as he did his toil, reminding Sam of the element of friction to bless the pragmatics.

A faint blue glow shimmered across their robes which signalled the integrity the crafting had come to form within. A clasping sound did faintly issue from the crystal, signalling that all was well, all hissing ceasing as its lost maverick will to unbind.

“Goodly,” Sam said, snatching upon the crystal as if it might flee at any moment, and affixed it to their belt with a intricate knot.

So affixed, Sam loomed over the ice, trepidation of balance blending with their quiet confidence in their crafting. They looked up to see the sliding folk, and saw another who had taken a wizard's approach in navigating the frozen sheet. Back down to the ice which a boot did hesitate to tread upon, hovering.

“Nothing for it but to venture,” Sam said quietly to themselves and realised that these were the same words they had first said when pushing the boundaries of existence beyond the hermetically sealed laboratory. Although back then the nerves of being masterless had shook them so, orderless and directionless aside from the drive curiosity to guide them, and with this landmark in mind, Sam placed boot upon the ice and just like then, hoped for the best.

The best revealed itself as pale blue light did trail about the boot, friction gripping, the other boot following. Stillness for a moment, and then Sam did think, forward it is then. And from this impulse, slowly did the mage did start to move as Sam began to learn how to gesture with the mind to will themselves on.

Motion from the legs soon followed, rising and falling, pushing the ice away as Sam gained some modicum of speed, white eyes darting from boot to in front of themselves to make sure collision was not imminent.

Another fellow approached, the same who made magic a method to indulge the ice. Sam looked at them with arcane wit born from mysterious eyes.

“Make sure your alchemy doesn't run out mid-journey,” Sam said with some mild concern to Flynbul as they grew close enough to speak. Sam themselves didn't have the physical capacity to imbibe much of anything, so was naturally cautious to matters of the stomach fuelling arcane matters.

Sam moved with awkward pulses, instincts to balance and drive firmly lacking, yet gliding across with glowing boots did Sam move adequately enough to become another on the ice, trails of white lingering light wide and bold for precious moments before fading in their wake.

Flynbul Tosstopple

 

[Nacht]

"Good to hear." Nacht would say after listening to Aarno's assessment of his enjoyment of the festival. At his next comment, the boy would return the smile with a grin of his own, but inwardly set to wondering exactly what he meant. The boy thought he hadn't exactly done anything special or generous, so he resolved that the elder knight had perhaps had a pleasant interaction before theirs. After all, offering company was a regular thing to do. Right? Right?! Is this weird? Am I weird? Nacht took a long, deep breath and refocused, forcefully ending the minor panic attack.

"Well, I'm glad you came to this one. Honestly, I'd be too intimidated to start a conversation with you like this at the Monastery." He'd reply, speaking somewhat frankly. Still, though, it wasn't a lie. Aarno was busy given his rank within the Knights, and Nacht would never dare distract him in any way, shape, or form, just as he would extend that courtesy to every other knight. Looking out of the big window at the end of the hall, he'd momentarily reminisce on winters back in the town of Astenvale, back with his family. It made him a little bit sad, but he knew he could protect them better if he learned as much as he could.

God willing, his classmates and teachers warmed up to him enough that he'd also have a family (in the platonic sense) at the Monastery. "Speaking of - How have you been settling in?" His ears perked up as Aarno continued talking, listening closely and considering the question. "It's been great. Everyone is very accepting of me, and that's a rarity. Turns out when you need to use a black aura to survive in daylight, people think you're evil and weird and stuff. It's crazy how fast it happens." He'd chuckle in a slightly sarcastic manner, continuing to speak.

"I'm just grateful you guys took in a little kid who knew nothing and gave me a chance, frankly." He'd grin, feeling his mood getting a bit lighter. "Speaking of the knights, what was it like for you as a squire? Surely you have some stories, right?"

 

[Gruki]

Gruki had to lean a little closer to make out Alouette's words. She wasn't sure how one could face death, fail and still be around to tell about it. But then Lou had always been smarter than her. And tougher than she gives herself credit for, the big orc thought, giving Lou a reassuring squeeze.

'You don't? Are you sure?'

Smiling now, Gruki let go of Alouette, turned her attention to Arbok. Few had the nerve to hip-bump her, cause of her size. Arbok was different. Taller. 'I didn't-' Gruki stuttered, sensing an implication in the bear-squire's words. 'I wasn't trying to... I would never undress Lou! Not unless she wanted me to, w-which she never would, obviously!'

Tripping over herself in order to get away from explaining why her face was so red, Gruki wandered on over to the ledge. The drop looked scarier up close, but she knew it was only a matter of perspective. The water's deep enough, surely. Glancing over at Arbok, Gruki gulped, grinned.

'We doing this or what?'

Alouette Arbok

 

[Alouette]

Less certain now in her decision to not jump, and if she were being cowardly or steadfast, Alouette looked down into the rich brown liquid in the cup. It was the same color as her mother’s hair, a mousy brown that was just a shade or two warmer than it should have been. A few birds shared the same color, as did dried pottery because upon staring hard enough into the cup, she noticed the brown held a hint of red. It was a warm, comforting brown, the sort she would like to wear. She should try recreating the color, maybe with tea or maybe with aspects of the drink itself.

With Arbok and Gruki heading off without her, Lou took a quick, conspiratorial sip of the spiced chocolate. It didn’t burn her tongue but as it slid down her throat, there was an unmistakable warmth. Not just because the liquid was warm, but the spices seemed to warm her up from the inside as well. She wasn’t sure what it was spiced with, but she could ask the vendor. Maybe she could even try recreating it at the Monastery although she wasn’t sure how she’d be able to get so much chocolate. But wouldn’t it be nice to make this and share this with someone when they felt chilly?

She made up her mind at that moment. Setting down the cup, Alouette was quick in taking off her boots. She undid the laces just enough so she could shimmy out of them, swiping her thick wool socks down her ankles and off her feet. She threw them onto her boots in triumph, went to unwrap her scarf that was so tight against her neck it might as well have been a collar. Thumbs hooked into the top of her pants, cotton long Johns and all, pushing them down over her hips so she could wiggle out of them. Shuffling out of her coat, she saved the easiest for last, pulling her tunic and thermals over her head and throwing them onto the ground.

Alouette felt the heat she had worked so hard to contain dissipate into the frigid cold, left in nothing but cotton shorts and tank top, but that didn’t matter because before Arbok and Gruki could jump without her, she ran with all her might to the edge. She kept her green gaze straight ahead of her, not letting her legs slow down even as the rational voice inside her head told her to stop, to slow down, to wait and think. From her peripheral, she saw that she had passed the two imposing beacons of courage that were Arbok and Gruki. She hadn’t realized she had jumped.

The Squire looked down. Nothing but air. Cold, cold air.

She screamed as wintery wind buffeted her face, brown hair flying all around and obscuring her vision. And she kept screaming until she fell into the water and it was wiser to not keep her mouth wide open.

Arbok Gruki

 

[Arbok]

"Come ON!"
She told Gruki, laughing and slapping her friends strong arm.
Arbok jumped right after Alouette and cried out all the way down.
The infinite moments of downward held her, lifted her spirit to maddening heights and as she was ched the unrelenting waters gather up to greet her she straightened and cut in through the surface like a dagger.

The water was cold, so cold it hurt her lungs to keep her breath in so she screamed into the dark cold and let all her shame and anger at herself. Bubbles of sound tumbled upward to the surface. She clenched her whole being to force it all out and when she was done she climbed languidly to the surface, her head breached and she let the freezing air in. Steamed breath left her lips.

It was over.
She was whole again.

Gruki Alouette

 

[Lorinna Astarel]

"No, fuck no, no, fuck, no fuckno."

Before Arbok Alouette and Gruki had taken a run at the falls, Lorinna had padded around on bare feet on a cold rock near the edge.

The air itself was cold enough that the slightest breeze cut right through her small things but that wasn't the problem. It was the height.

On the scale of things it wasn't really that great. She'd been in Kearth tower of the agle riders.

She swore once more, dropped her forearm thad had been covering cold peaks and took a short run.

Lorinna was silent on the way down, hitting the water with a soft splash.

She was not quiet when she broke the surface. Cursing and spitting as she started to swim for the rocks after Hector. Moving helped a little. She didn't head up onto the rocks with him and Syr Guernot but continued kicking and swimming. She laughed softly as behind her Lou screamed all the way down.