Second Chord

[fair_trouble]

Who: Emery-Apollo, various NPCs, and any party-inclined corsairs.
What: Casual bonfire party with wine and song and maybe women.
Where: Asphodel
When: A week or so after the Vindess Liberation.

At some point after the events at Vindess, Emery gets in touch with Penguin Logistics and has them discreetly send out party invitations to trustworthy corsairs.

Some might say that throwing a party shortly after a dangerous confrontation, during a time and place when and where there’s still much work ahead, is inappropriate. To those people Emery would retort that actually, it’s the most appropriate situation to throw a party in, and then not explain his logic any further as he’s busy going ahead and doing whatever he wants.

Which in this case is throwing a bonfire party in the infant settlement of Asphodel.

It’s not a lavish affair. The primary feature is, of course, a large bonfire in the center of a well-ventilated cavern. An assortment of simple food has been provided, things along the lines of bread, pickles, roasted nuts, grilled fish, and guests have been encouraged to bring along their own dishes to share. And also alcohol. There is a prodigious amount of cheap booze available. Emery himself is providing some entertainment by playing music, to accompany those dancing around the bonfire.

It’s a night intended for chatter and laughter, for levity and light, to soothe the hearts of those who have been displaced and those who are worn from battle. Won't you join in?

[[ooc: A quick, chill lil’ event as we’re going into May, because I imagine the characters could use a breather after the Vindess event. Emery is of course around and will be pestering your characters, and I'll toss up a proper top level in a bit, but this is meant as a mingle thing so please feel free to thread amongst yourselves as well. :>

Anyone who attends the party will be under the protection of Apollo, meaning they’ll be protected from getting set on fire if they decide to mess with the bonfire for whatever reason. I don’t think any of Emery’s other powers are likely to come up but for reference here is his permissions post once again.]]

Comments

Delivery Notice

[theriflespiral]

Well, time to go out among the traveled and the not so traveled, delivering parcels marked with the symbol of a sun.

Rain or shine, sky or sea, Penguin Logistics can get your package where it's going.

assuming they at least know each other's first names by now

[fair_trouble]

It's shining and they're on land- seabound land- when Emery spots Natalia on a delivery. He's busy with errands himself, and is hauling around a crate of extremely dubious wine.

But of course he's not so busy that he doesn't immediately brighten and call out "Natalia!"

Making a beeline for her, Emery adds "Is that one of mine?"

Re: assuming they at least know each other's first names by now

[theriflespiral]

"Emery." Her smile is polite, and doesn't quite reach her eyes. "As a matter of course, I do not share clients' information; however, certain obvious markings may identify senders that wish to be so identified."

All of which to say, there's no one else in Elysium who would mark their parcels with a single, solar emblem and no return information.

[fair_trouble]

"Very professional of you," Emery says. "I am reassured my messages are in good hands."

It's a very stylish emblem! Just the right touch of mysteriousness, at least in Emery's opinion. He doesn't feel ready yet to make big announcements about being a god, but being cryptic is acceptable, isn't it?

"On a related note, will I be seeing you at the event? I'd love to see you dance again."

[theriflespiral]

"You're likely to. I don't know how long I'll stay, but I will be there." She does tend to bounce off of social occasions, for reasons that should remain obvious.

[fair_trouble]

Even if she's not planning to stay the whole time, it's still enough of a commitment to make Emery happy, and he beams at her.

"I'll make sure everyone, including you, enjoys themselves." Hence why he's carrying around a bunch of booze.

[theriflespiral]

"Truly, the leveler of every citizen," Natalia says, looking at the booze. Never mind that joke is probably more Russian than Imperial. "There won't be a dry liver in the house."

[fair_trouble]

Storytime

Music and drunken dancing is the main form of entertainment on offer at the bonfire party, but it’s not the sole form. Telling stories by firelight is a longstanding tradition, and Emery knows more than a few old Pagan tales. So at one point during the night, Emery takes a break from playing the lyre to rest his fingers, gather a few people around the fire, and spin out a story of a man’s ill-fated attempt to save his beloved from the underworld.

The man in the story comes very close. His heartfelt pleas and song move the heart of the god of the dead, and he leads his beloved’s soul almost to the threshold of this world and the underworld, but then he hears her stumble and turns around. The one thing he was not to do until they were both free of the underworld.

Emery finishes off the story by relating how the man was unable to cross the river into the underworld anymore, and he had to go home to live out the rest of his life.

“...And Orpheus never saw Eurydice again. Never.”

Seeing the expressions on a few of the faces listening to him, Emery smoothly continues on “At least, not in this world.”

A Sociable Drunk

Throughout most of the party Emery’s busy performing, but he does take occasional breaks to eat and drink, and as the night goes on he eventually goes officially off-duty, to drink some more.

Which is not great for any wallflowers, because as soon as Emery spots someone who’s sitting by themselves- whether they’re a brooding loner, feeling shy, just naturally introverted, or whoever they were already with happens to be elsewhere for the moment- he will sashay up with a mug of grog in hand and flop down beside them.

“Hee~eey~ You look like you could use some company.”

In case the reddened face and slightly slurred speech weren’t enough to make it obvious, Emery also absolutely reeks of alcohol.

A Sociable Drunk

[spacetogrow]

A god's senses might identify the black and white cat sitting by the fire as the same person as the young elf Emery had given a plant to. Ilphyl wants to be out with people, but is already too tired to fight the curse. And they aren't sure how people react to a cat that is also a person -- people can be weird about physical affection when someone is neither beast nor humanoid.

But Ilphyl offers a sociable meow in response. Yes, they would like company.

[fair_trouble]

Emery doesn't have much experience with cats, as Lord Sommerheim had been more of a dog person and the Academy he'd attended hadn't allowed pets. But he's encountered them enough times to have a vague idea of the protocol, and he holds out his hand for Ilphyl to sniff.

"C'mere, cutie~"

[spacetogrow]

Ilphyl does worry a bit that Emery might be upset if he's not aware that the cat is a person. But, honestly, if Emery doesn't mind, they don't mind.

And, well, things usually smell more interesting when one is an animal. So, Emery's hand is getting sniffed, and then rubbed against, which is a perfectly acceptable feline greeting. (They can't exactly shake hands.)

[fair_trouble]

Emery's hand smells of various things- skin, a bit of sweat, alcohol and some of the various party snacks, wood smoke, and an odd note of... sunlight? Not that sunlight has an established scent, but there's a scent that puts one in mind of a midsummer's day.

Anyway, seeing that his greeting has been accepted, Emery will proceed to start stroking Ilphyl's head and back.

[spacetogrow]

That is interesting. Ilphyl knows drying laundry has a different scent if left outside in sun, but usually not skin or hair itself. And it shouldn't be this strong underground on a spring night.

But this is actually helping their mood, so Ilphyl lets the purr out and just enjoys the attention.

[fair_trouble]

Emery's hands not only smell like sun-warmed skin, but they're noticeably warm to the touch. Not quite to feverish degrees, but as Emery strokes Ilphyl's fur the warmth will gradually soak into Ilphyl's body.

All the while, Emery coos inane things like "Kitty~ Kitty~ You're a kitty~"

[frost_and_shinies]

Kaitlyn Saunders' plans for this little event were simple enough!

Watch for weirdness, wallflower, and, no matter what, don't get too close to the fire. Darkness was cool, cool was her friend, and apparently the bonfire, being blessed by Apollo, counted as Summer-aligned.

Even handling the invitations with a symbol of a sun had left her more than a little sweaty, as the side effect of her Patron being Winter kicked in. So, stay around the edges, keep cool, and try to enjoy! Easy enough.

Hopefully.

[theriflespiral]

Natalia is, similarly, feeling the warmth a bit too keenly, feeling it push-- albeit gently-- against her heart. While she does enjoy dancing, the conflict is tiring, all on its own-- and the stinging feeling of thaw meeting permafrost a strange, new, irritating sensation.

All this leaving aside the bruises from going after Gaurus not all that long ago. The fire, surprisingly, is helping with that, a fact she is paradoxically grateful for-- but healing, too, is exhausting.

So, when she sees Kaitlyn, she pulls up a bit of wall alongside her, and nods. "Anything I can get you?"

[frost_and_shinies]

"Erm. N-no need!", Kaitlyn says. "We've got some drinks, that's all I care about for now I think."

... Yeah, she's visibly sweating, Natalia.

[theriflespiral]

She's not going to push the topic, but also, she's concerned and doesn't want Kaitlyn hurting herself on others' account. "If it comes down to it, I am a decent refrigerator, now. Hand me a full glass, I'll cool it off."

[frost_and_shinies]

"... A neat trick, yeah," Kaitlyn can't help but share with a giggle. "You're getting new abilities, though?"

[theriflespiral]

There's the faintest hint of a smile. "Somewhat. I was focusing so hard on..."

She waves a hand. "The mechanics and trappings, I forgot that it is still my heart."

She sighs. "As little sense as I know that makes."

[fair_trouble]

As the host of this little event, Emery's given himself a number of tasks to handle even apart from arranging the thing. One of them is, in between providing entertainment, keeping an eye on guests and looking for anyone who seems like they might be in some sort of trouble.

Alas(?) for Kaitlyn, a wallflower naturally catches his eye, and she's approached by a blonde young man. Somewhat hesitantly, because he recognizes her and remembers the last time they spoke he was presenting himself as a young woman named Phoebe.

"How are you doing?" he asks. If she recognizes him, well, they can work that out.

[frost_and_shinies]

"I mean, well enough, can't complain," Kaitlyn observed. "It's just, erm. A little hot for my usual tastes."

... It isn't really that warm in the room, so something's definitely going there. Emery may recall Kaitlyn having winter powers, though, which might explain it.

[fair_trouble]

Emery doesn't fully understand what Kaitlyn's situation is, but he does remember things like her not being able to touch the seedlings he'd been handing out. And it is a rather impressive bonfire, if Emery does say so himself.

"Would it help if I brought you some water?" he asks. Not more grog, he's pretty sure that wouldn't help.

[frost_and_shinies]

"... I mean. Yeah. It's... A quirk of my abilities, sadly. 'Summer' as a concept heats me up disproportionate to the actual temperature."

She sighs a bit, her smile a bit less forced. "The things that set this off are... Basically arbitrary. That's probably the worst part of it. I never know for sure until it's become a thing."

[fair_trouble]

Kaitlyn's confession is bewildering. While Emery can't consider himself a true magic scholar by any means, he hasn't heard of a curse that makes people weak to concepts.

"That's quite the nasty quirk," he says. And very unfortunate when she's interacting with someone who's become so utterly linked to summer itself, even if he's trying to keep it subtle.

(He might not be succeeding, but he is trying.)

"I'll go get that water- wait here."