agentlelog | event: a gentle festival

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event: a gentle festival

we're all just working pieces trying to fit somewhere
We wander 'round in circles and we talk in squares

► The OOC plotting post for this event can be found here.

► Direct all questions to the mods at this link.

► All NPCs except for Queen Fayura can be met at this event. Use their top-levels in the plotting post if you'd like a thread with them for this event. For your convenience, you can reach out here: Allairavar, Verim, Loren, Niall, Grejor, and Raya. They may choose to wander into your threads should you not plan anything out with them, too.

PARTY PLANNING
Dawn arrives and brings with it another group of Strangers. Unlike the first group, you wake to a comfortable bed and cheery birdsong. Unlike the second group, you are expected. As you rise, a vase with spring flowers appears on the table beside your bed. Tucked beneath the vase, you find a message of welcome inviting you to join the Queen and her residence for breakfast.

Following directions given by footmen throughout the residence’s winding halls, you make your way toward breakfast, only to find that breakfast is a beautiful disaster.

Maids and footmen rush around you, choreographed by a red haired witch standing on a chair in the middle of the entry hall. She wears an apron and a look of fierce concentration. Beside her, a list floats in the air. Pinned to her hair, her Tiger Eye Jewel flashes and swirls with power. You suspect you should just sneak out, but she’s too observant.

“You there!”

You freeze. Maybe you had a mother with eyes in the back of her head who always knew where you were. Maybe that was a teacher or some other kind of mentor. Regardless, you know this voice. You know this tone. This is a person harried and pressed, and she probably doesn’t care that you haven’t eaten breakfast yet.

“Yes, you! Stranger!”

You turn toward her and abruptly find your arms full of banners. Closer inspection will reveal each flag sewn to the cord bears a different symbol: one for the Guilds (a hexagon with circles at each joint), the Ebon Council (a pair of Jewels side by side), and Fayura’s Court (a strange, spiraling spear against a mountain peak); a sun and a moon; a cloud flush with rain and lightning; and a sprouting plant.

“Make sure those get hung on the eaves outsi—no, I haven’t seen the Lady, Carlisle, but if you—”

A Blood male has distracted her, but you’re left with the distinct impression that if you don’t hang these banners, the Head Housekeeper will hunt you down (you would be correct). Not to worry: you’re not the only Stranger living in the residence, and it takes you little time to locate someone else with an equally bomb-blasted look on their face to help you help the residence prepare for the spring festival! There are flags to be hung, simple breads to be baked, stalls to be built in the Bazaar, and so much more. Your hands work, and so you work.

HOPE BLOOMS ETERNAL
At sundown, the festival begins in earnest: people take to the streets in every section of the city, pouring into the Old Town Bazaar with rosy cheeks and broad smiles. The spring festival will last for the next six days. Three days to celebrate, and three days to work.

All around the city, banners hang from and between homes and businesses. Some fluttering banners bear flags emblazoned with only the Guilds’ symbol or the Council’s or the Court’s, and there are far more Guild banners than any other—a result of the Strangers’ providing support to the Guilds no doubt. But mixed among them are flags bearing both the Queen’s mountain, too, just not as many, and the only place the Council’s flags hang are over Blood homes.

As you make your way through the Bazaar, you hear…

A young landen man: I’ve heard the Queen is going to honor the Earth Mother and Father Sky during planting in a few days, and—
His companion, an older woman: The Blood honor only death and their Darkness. What does she care for our beliefs?

A Blood farmer: …kind of gift. Don’t quite know what to make of a Queen giving anything.
A landen farmer: Anything to help the crops grow. The Guilds mean well, but the land is overworked.

An excited little girl: —ride the unicorn, mommy! There’s a unicorn and a dragon and a centaur and a—

Near the pavilion at the heart of the Bazaar, the landen Guilds have erected technological wonders. A carousel of glittering bronze and metal lights up the night with rainbow colors. Music spills out of it, cheerful and bright as its three rings turn in lazy revolutions. Unicorns and dragons and centaurs and mermaids stand as mounts for the young and old. Nearby, the Elektriline Guild prepares a light show, projecting fantastical shapes in dazzling colors on the sides of buildings and into the night sky itself. Around the park to the south of the Bazaar, the Transport Guild has set up a racing track for unicycles and tricycles.

Booths with games line the streets. Knock down the glass bottles! Throw the ring around the spoke! Win prizes to dazzle your loved ones and delight your children!

While food has certainly been scarce, the bakeries and charcuteries have brought out their best fare at surprisingly reasonable prices. This is a time to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of spring, and celebrate the city will.

While the Blood dress in nice clothes, the landens bring out costumes. As is tradition, some dress as Father Sky, wearing crowns of gold and flowing robes of white. Others cloak themselves in the vestments of Mother Earth: wearing costumes of green and brown, painting vines over their faces to disguise themselves and crowning themselves in garlands of crocuses and tulips. Whispers through the Bazaar say the Queen is among them, disguised as Mother Earth.

SOWING THE FUTURE
The fourth morning of the festival, the entire city rises with the dawn. Over the past three days, a strange rumor wound its way through Draega: Fayura will join the planting to give a gift unique to the Queens of the Blood.

Members of the Ebon Council and the Guilds organize groups, directing the bodies of the entire city to go to this farm or that as they step out from behind Draega’s tall, protective walls. But before you are dismissed to help till the land or plant grain seeds, you join a larger crowd at a nearby farm. The Blood airwalk, standing above the landen crowds to gain a better view.

At the head of a recently tilled field, Queen Fayura stands with a landen farmer. He grasps his hat, wringing it fiercely in his hands as her Steward, Master of the Guard, and Consort stand guard behind her. Dressed in greens and browns, crowned in a garland of crocuses that drips dried stalks of wheat down her hair, she kneels before a bucket. She calls in a knife. When she speaks, she doesn’t raise her voice, but Craft projects it across the assembled onlookers. “Blood sings to blood. This is a gift: freely offered,” she says. “Freely given.” Bright red blood blooms across her palm as she drags the blade through skin. Vanishing the knife, she closes her fist and squeezes, allowing the blood to fall into the bucket of water and mix with it.

Her Consort heals her wound when she holds out her hand, and then he steps back. She rises, picking up the bucket and taking hold of the ladle on the ground beside it. Her voice lifts in song. Though the language is unrecognizable, the melody is beautiful and full of the vibrant hope of spring. She sings as she walks along the furrows, sprinkling bloodied water on the land. Blood and Strangers alike feel the pull of magic as something in the earth itself unfurls, shuddering awake at the call of the Queen’s blood.

For the next three days, nearly every man, woman, and child in Draega assists with the planting. Children do small, simple tasks, and the older children watch over the younger ones. The adults drag plows through the warming land and spread seeds in the furrows the plows create. Queen Fayura visits each field in turn, and planting doesn’t begin until she’s sprinkled her water over the earth. Throughout the day, her vibrant song echoes around the city, and a few Blood girls, too young to yet wear a Jewel, take up the song and hum along with it.

You would do well to help the farmers. You may not have a strong arm or strong back, but there’s planting to be done and people to organize, feed, and care for.

AIR TIME
Whether you catch the news on a Far-caster in the city or you’re spinning the dial on your own device, you’ll hear…

etiquette with evandra and aren
[Evandra's voice is a little bit rough and a little bit husky, the kind of voice that gives bad ideas to young men and headaches to fathers.] …do we make of a Warlord Prince’s reaction to his Queen’s blood?

[Aren, whose voice is typically chipper and bright, sounds today much more seriously than usual.] It’s a dangerous thing. Elemental, you might say. Like a storm. Every Prince is dangerous when his Lady’s blood spills.

[Evandra:] So, are we in danger when the Queen does whatever ritual she’s doing?

[Aren:] No. The Blood put great importance on, well, blood. It’s the memory’s river. Power sings in blood. It carries strength and Craft. I’ve never seen a Queen do anything like this before, but her Princes—and her court—treat it like ceremony. And it probably is.

the weather
[A soft-spoken man’s voice rumbles out of the Far-caster. He’s pleasant to listen to, with a soothing cadence to his voice.] …continued rains with intermittent sunshine over the next few days as the days grow steadily warmer. Remember that rains coming out of Askavi are dangerous to your health, and salves for lesions from exposure can be purchased from the Medicos at…

the news
[Garret speaks at his brisk pace, hurried and harried as though he has too much to say and not enough time to say it.] A new development in the story of the young landen man who shot and killed Councilwoman Vera last month: the Strangers have influenced the Queen to bring together a Tribunal not of other Queens—

[Wilt, as usual, is put upon and nasally.] As though there are many of those to go around.

[Garret, continuing as though Wilt didn’t interrupt him:] —but of the landen man’s peers, both landen and Blood.

[Wilt, sighing:] That’s correct, Garret. It seems this Tribunal of three landens and three Blood will listen to the young man’s account, as well as the stories of other witnesses, and determine a suitable punishment. This will be presented to the Queen, and she will carry out the sentence.

[Garret:] Looking now to the warming weather and what that means for trade with the mercenary settlements outside of Draega—

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Let's be real: Lalli would play, like, three rounds total before he decided that Emil had all of the praise material he could possibly need. He has limits! But that doesn't stop him from offering up both a blink and a light shrug in response to that question, because um, yes, he most certainly... does? Doesn't everyone want their best friend to see just how amazing they are? This is best friendship in its truest form.

Anyway, since this is Lalli, and since Lalli—]

I don't want any more? You can have it.

[His... leftovers... again: this is best friendship. But before Emil, like, huffs and puffs and makes a big deal about this, Lalli sticks his newly freed hand into his pocket and pulls out... a stuffed bear! An admittedly small stuffed bear, but 1) it's the thought that counts and 2) it is, without a doubt, the best prize he won. Much better than those weird-looking dog statuettes, and even though Lalli isn't a stuffed-animal kind of person... it's soft? Emil is soft? Got 'em.]

And this. [A beat, and then, because he CAN'T RESIST:] The man gave it to me because I won so many games.

[It was Lalli's "Thank you, please go away and never return to this booth" prize.]

[Three rounds is a lot of rounds for a simple carnival game, to be fair. But alright! Now Emil has the rest of this... meat... he doesn't want this, either.

Thankfully, the teddy bear is a brilliant distraction. First - how was that in his pocket this whole time? Second - it's a little cursed looking, but it's still cute! This thing he actually wants, for a given degree of "want"— more than the meat-on-a-stick, anyway, and alright... okay... he's a little delighted about this, the very first time a Friend has given him a Gift. Oh boy!!

It's definitely coming through that mental connection, too. Feel and appreciate his teddy bear de-lite.

Ah, but-] Trade me, then.

[The bear for the stick, take it back, throw it away properly!! Give him the BEAR. There's no universe in which Emil lets go of Lalli to solve this problem of not having enough free hands, so. Just take the stick back.]

I like the ribbon.

[It only looked like he reached into his pocket, but Lalli actually pulled that bear out of his Jewel's pocket dimension that I absolutely did not forget about until this very point in time. More cool, impressive magic, courtesy of Lalli! Emil... is welcome.

And Emil is also welcome for this adorably haunted bear, which Lalli was fairly certain he'd appreciate? Maybe? Just because Emil seems to enjoy things that Lalli doesn't understand? Still, the immediate positive feedback flooding his brain is... very nice indeed; like, Lalli is both pleased that he did a best friend thing without being prompted and pleased that Emil likes the bear so very much, which is why his practically non-existent smile goes from smug to... slightly less smug. He did good and he's proud of it, but also, more importantly: he made Emil happy. ...Nice.

So he's possibly... a bit too caught up in that to realize why Emil is holding the snack back his way, but when he does—ah! He will indeed make this trade! As carefully as he possibly can, because he's too caught up in everything to think about using Craft, but it all works out; soon Emil has his bear, Lalli has his snack back, and all is right in the world. He can focus on other things, like... ribbons...]

Aha. [A very knowing aha, because he called it.] One had a red ribbon, but this one is better.

[Because the ribbon, you see, is blue. A familiar shade of blue. Hmm.]

[Don't worry because Emil has definitely forgotten this pocket dimension and so will be holding this bear under his other arm for the rest of the evening, after he looks at it fondly for a little bit. It's haunted, for sure... there's at least three ghosts of tragically departed souls in this bear, ready to skitter around the room at night and ruin Emil's peaceful sleep.

But it's also kind of cute in a weird way and it has a blue ribbon!! Perfect!]

Hmm, well, I think it's... sweet! [haunted] Thank you, Lalli. —Oh, look over there!

[Is it suddenly time for the light show?! It sure is, which means it's time for these two to hustle. This is the first time in Emil's entire life that he's actually wanted to move faster than a leisurely walk, but he's not going to miss this supposedly sick as hell light show, so— a light jog it is.

It's awkward to move quickly while they're stuck together at the elbow like this, though, so here goes: he shifts his arm to take Lalli's hand instead and tug him in the direction of the fancy lights. Much better, for several reasons... Hmm!]

[It is very sweet and Emil is very welcome, but before Lalli can say as much... wait, what is this? Emil wants to pick up the pace? Lalli can see colorful lights begin sweeping across buildings well ahead of them, yes, but it's still a bit of a surprise to be the slow one for, like, all of a second. Fine, fine, he'll pull his arm back to his side and—

—almost stumble over his own feet, actually, because the sudden grip on his hand is enough to throw even his coordinated self for a loop. It shouldn't? It absolutely shouldn't, especially not after they've walked arm-in-arm across this city without a care in the world, but there's something decidedly different about feeling an arm resting against his arm versus feeling a hand wrapped around his hand. It's less, but... more, somehow, because as silly as it may be, this doesn't feel like the type of contact that Lalli can easily pull away from.

And yet Lalli doesn't feel the urge to pull away from this? It's new, it's strange, but as with almost everything involving Emil, Lalli feels—safe. Comfortable, which is why he finds himself lightly curling his fingers around Emil's as he easily matches his pace. Lead the way, Emil... let Lalli silently follow as he processes this new Best Friend Thing.]

[Damn, Emil played himself out of yet another display of good manners. Bad luck. Better luck is Lalli's hand in his, and Lalli not immediately yanking said hand away, looking at him judgmentally, and zooming off ahead. It's factually incorrect to say Emil hadn't meant to do this thing - it is a multi-step process, after all - but it wasn't in the plan for more than ten seconds ahead of time, so! He's glad it's working out!

Anyway, away they go, like this; it doesn't take long to reach a spot that's... good enough to see the lights without being smushed up against the milling crowd, and Emil has not suddenly become so enamored with jogging that he wants to keep doing it, so here's their new spot. Or after Emil looks around briefly and tugs Lalli's hand again, their new spot is even more out of the way, out of the street and away from most of the foot traffic.

Significantly, he doesn't let go of Lalli's hand. Maybe he doesn't want to lose him in the crowd again? Maybe he just wants to do this, hold hands and look at lights in the sky, and he doesn't want to spend all night wondering about the hows and whys of that. He can focus on the here, the now: standing here holding hands feels totally natural, so why not keep doing it?

He glances at Lalli after a moment, just to see if he can make, uh, a judgment here... How are we Feeling...]

[It's amazing what being in a genuinely good mood can do to a person? Emil pulls Lalli to and fro as he searches for the perfect viewing spot, but instead of taking over the operation, Lalli is more or less content to let Emil do as he pleases. He has other things on his mind, you see, like... stealthily dropping his half-finished snack in the lap of a very surprised child as they zip right past him. Emil didn't see that? Emil totally didn't see that.

Things are perfectly fine, then, when Emil finally stops and tilts his head back to look at the sky, and Lalli quickly follows suit. So many bursts of color? So many dazzling patterns? This, apparently, is what a show of light entails, and Lalli is soon too busy tracking all of the movement above him to worry about this lingering contact. Oh, he can feel Emil's hand holding onto his; it's still a new enough sensation for him to be, mmm, hyperaware of it, but the discomfort, the anxious desire to pull away—it hasn't come. It doesn't come, even when he catches Emil glancing over his way. Ah, he wants to know if Lalli is enjoying the show...

...Hmm. Lalli turns his face toward Emil, the corners of his lips turning up of their own accord. Look at that! A smile! An incredibly small one, yes, but it's genuine; there's nothing smug about this smile.]

It's... nice.

[The lights, the contact, the fact that they're just... here. Together. Best friends...]

[Best friends doing best friend things... Emil has seen Lalli smile before (but usually smug, that's true), and yet there's something different about seeing him smile now. Oh, Emil knows why, he's not that dense, but still. This whole festival feels like a kind of a punctuation mark in the tale of what horrible and unfortunate things have been happening to them for months; here it is, the start of Chapter 2: Maybe Things Are Good. Emil no longer wakes up every day immediately lamenting that they aren't back in Iceland-or-preferably-Sweden-if-he-got-to-choose, so, you know. Improvement.

And yes, of course, it's Lalli who's contributed the most to that. Simply being able to talk to him without the looming terror of, uh, death... or being two people in one body... he's very emotional about it! His thoughts on the matter are a mess, but a good mess at this precise moment in time.

They're here together, the lights overhead casting a flickering, oddly mesmerizing glow over everything, including Lalli as Emil just looks at him for a moment. Lalli's hand in his is warm, and he is... happy!! Great!! And since he is the font of emotions between them, Lalli's tiny smile is met with Emil's big, ridiculous grin. Best friend!!!]

It is, isn't it? I knew it would be worth it!

[The light show or the hand holding... perhaps both. Now they can watch these lights in comfortable silence until they're over or they get bored; either way, the next stop on this festival tour is Emil very subtly meandering back to the carousel. Do this fun ride with him...]

[Emil studying him for a few seconds longer than he needs to should feel weird, and yet... it doesn't? Probably because it's, you know, hard to focus on anything other than the bright smile that's directed right at him—that's because of him. Or, well, maybe the light show deserves a bit of the credit here, but Lalli still gets the feeling that he unknowingly said the right thing at the right time. You know, for someone who's never had a friend before, he's so darn good at this best friendship stuff!

So he, too, is... happy, an emotion that all but takes over this mental link of theirs even after he shifts his attention back up to the sky. Do they watch the entire show? Probably not, just because there are so many other things going on around them, but it's fine; the way Lalli feels has less to do with the colorful lights and more to do with the boy holding his hand, so even when said boy pulls him over to the carousel...

...Okay, well, even the happiest frog in the world has his limits. He stops just short of the line, tightening his hold on Emil's hand ever so slightly to ensure that he doesn't, like, continue charging ahead. Hey, listen—]

There? [As in, "We're going there?" Forgive him, Emil, as he looks at the carousel and expresses his uncertainty the best way he knows how:] Mrh...

[This hand-holding thing? Nice. That monstrous machine? He doesn't wanna!]

[Well, they get closer to the carousel than Emil thought they would before Lalli squeezes his hand to hold him back. He stops obligingly to look back at him, completely innocently— Lalli gets sick on, like, boats and so on. This thing just rotates! And he is a big fan of this children's ride after being badgered onto it reluctantly before, so...]

What, you don't want to?

[Well, obviously. But pleeeease?? He's not dying to get on this thing again, but a not-insignificant part of him wants to redo everything he did before, but with Lalli this time. It seems important to do as much as possible while holding onto his hand, for some reason. Hmm!]

Mnnn— just for a little bit? We'll do something you want to do after.

[And if the carousel is truly the worst thing in the world, he will personally carry Lalli to safety and get him some nice water to drink.]

[There are so many things he would rather do than suffer through this thing again? It took him, like, a solid fifteen minutes to recover the last time he stumbled off of it, and then Dr. Weirdo came by and touched his forehead and just... ugh. Ugh!

But here's the (unfortunate) truth: Lalli likes doing things with Emil, even when things involve lots of spinning around and around. Plus the carousel seems to make everyone else happy? Like, when he was crouched on the floor like an idiot, he could hear the people—well, kids—around him having the time of their lives. And if Emil is the same way... if riding this thing makes Emil happy, even though Lalli has no idea HOW that's possible...]

...Hrmh.

[Monosyllables are in, apparently, because does Lalli look happy about this? No, but he still takes the smallest possible step forward. Just drag him, Emil, it's fine. Lead him to the dumbest animal on the carousel.]

[The ride is IN!! Emil accepts this as conceding to his very reasonable request and does indeed tug Lalli the rest of the way to the carousel. You know those bench seat options for people with small babies who can't ride on the mounts that bob up and down? They're getting one of those, but it's shaped like a very big turtle with a bench in its shell.

So there's that? It won't move any more than around in a circle, and they don't have to stop holding hands to ride. Emil is thrilled; best friend activities!!]

Just close your eyes if it's too much, but I think you'll be fine here.

[Here in the turtle seat... Away (around?) they go...]

[This is, without a doubt, the dumbest thing they've done so far, but after allowing Emil to pull him up on the carousel and over to this stupid-looking turtle—well, it's a little too late to dig in those heels. ...Still, he gives it a very suspicious Look, like he just knows that everything to come will be its fault, before he drops onto the bench and watches everything going on around them. Kids climbing atop weird animals... parents yelling at said kids from the sidelines... uggggh...

And away they go, indeed. It's... fine, at first? Like, it's not the best thing in the world, but Lalli doesn't feel his stomach go for an immediate flip; he's able to watch a child almost slide off a rabbit (heh) and chance a quick glance over at Emil's smiling face before everything starts to catch up to him, and when that happens... mmph. He does indeed close his eyes, wondering why it feels worse when he can't see anything at all, but it's fine! He's fine! It's not as bad as it could be and he's surely made it halfway through this stupid cycle, so he will sit here and try to tough through the rest of it.

Near the end, though, he is... struggling, which is why he unconsciously tightens his grip on Emil's hand. Is it over? Please say this thing is almost over.]

[This may be the dumbest thing Lalli has done, getting on a carousel just because Emil looked at him and said nice words, but Emil is having an alright time! Sure, this isn't as exciting as being on the cool, uh, unicorns or anything, but it's something...

He has a good time right up until the very end, when Lalli squeezes his hand and looks very sick and tragic. Oh—]

Oh, Lalli— [Please don't throw up the whole charcuterie stick, but for once Emil isn't lurching away from Lalli looking like he's going to hurl. Lalli got on this thing for his sake, so...! He turns toward him on this turtle bench and reaches up with his free hand to smooth his hair a little. Please don't throw up, gotta emphasize that again... Not right here on the ride, anyway.]

It's slowing down. We'll be off really soon!

[This isn't quite as bad as, say, being stuck on a boat in stormy weather, but it's still unfortunate. That touch, however... helps? Maybe? ...Well, not really, but it at least gives Lalli something to think about other than his roiling stomach; he even cracks open one eye, looking back at the dumb boy worriedly watching him like this is the first time something like this has happened. Pfft...

But yes, of course he manages to hold himself together while this ride slows to a crawl, because he doesn't want to hurl; he just wants to go sit somewhere that isn't moving, so when the music stops and the kids around them slide to their feet—yep, up he goes! Probably a bit, like, too quickly, if that quiet hiccup is anything to go by, but don't worry about it. Just let him stand here for a second... let him get his bearings before he tries to slowly trudge over toward the exit without a) opening his eyes more than is absolutely necessary or b) letting go of Emil's hand...]

[He's very concerned for, like, his shoes staying vom-free, don't get him wrong... Nah, it sucks that even something like this is too much for Lalli, but since they can't just dive off mid-ride (they could, but no), he's doing the best he can in the meantime. At least they are't being menaced by small children right now? That's a plus.

Anyway, here they go the second the ride is over— Emil is already scanning the area for a nice, non-turtle, stationary bench to sit on, so let him gently take over leading again to get to one of those and make sure Lalli gets there without just puking and hitting the ground. Gross...]

...Do you want to hold this? [The cursed teddy bear; look, it's not medicine or anything, but if Emil were the sick one he would want to hold this bear... endure. Or,] I can get you some water?

[Look at Lalli drop into this bench like the noodle that he absolutely is, Emil. He knows that his stomach will slowly settle as he stays on this blessedly stationary bench, but for now—ugh, he's out of it, which is why he meets the offer of that bear with a blank sort of look. The prize? Why... like, at least water is helpful, so...]

Wa— [HicCUP! Okay, let him just c a r e f u l l y nod.] ...Mhm.

[Water... would be nice, so Lalli (reluctantly?) releases Emil's hand. How long have they been like that, anyway? After the initial weirdness wore off, it just wasn't something he thought much about, so... hmm! Whatever! As soon as Emil wanders away, he's stretching out on this bench, pressing both hands to his cheeks, and focusing on how still the world currently is instead of how one hand is obviously so much warmer than the other.]

[The bear is soft and comforting, obviously!! No one can say Emil didn't try. He's still trying right now, patting Lalli on the shoulder with his newly freed hand before he heads off to find water. Thankfully that doesn't take more than a few minutes, most of which is spent idling in a line at the nearest food stall that's also handing out water... he's getting impatient...

But!! He's back soon with a cup of water, stopping to look down at Lalli dying on this bench. Wow... take this water.]

Soooo... do you feel a little better, yet?

[Oh, Emil is back. Good. Lalli blinks up at the familiar face hovering so far above him, managing another small nod before his eyes flick down to the water his friend is holding. Hell... yes. He will happily push himself back into a seated position in order to a) make room for Emil and b) reach out for that cup, even though his stomach performs one last little flip. A final fuck you, if you will. Bleh.

But whatever! It's fine; don't worry about the slight face he makes there.]

Ah—yes? [A pause as he makes sure that everything is 100% under control, and then:] Things are... still now.

[Thank GOD. But he doesn't try to stand, because look, just... let him sit here for a few more minutes. Keep him company.]

[Water delivered, Emil may now sit, and kind of fiddle with the ribbon on his beautiful haunted bear. Now that they're not holding hands, he doesn't know what to do with his. Which is ridiculous, considering how long they've not held hands, but a critical update has caused him to reset all his hand-related thoughts.

Basically: what does he do with his hands! Damn! A minute or so passes in peace and quiet because Emil is going insane about his hands, over here. Hah... he's casual.]

Well, is there anything else you want to look at?

[Feeling sick is the worst, but at least Lalli has that—and this water he's sipping on—to think about instead of what his hand should or should not be doing right about now. He registers Emil's fidgeting out of the corner of his eye, of course, but that's just a normal Emil thing to do, right? Sure. He probably wants to head off to something new, a thought that is seemingly confirmed when he asks that question of his.

...Hmm. Lalli places his half-empty cup down beside him, closing his eyes as he tilts his head back the slightest bit. They can revisit the game he's so amazing at... he saw a booth with flower crowns that Emil would probably like... he still has three different cookies to try...]

Mmm... [He's thinking, he's thinking.] We can look for a new game? For you.

[Is it possible to find a game that Emil isn't bad at? They'll find out soon enough, he supposes, but... hmm. You know, sitting here for a few minutes longer isn't bad? The bench is tucked off to the side; it's relatively quiet; Emil is, you know, close enough to reach out and touch, which Lalli might just do if he keeps fiddling with that dumb ribbon. He won that thing, Emil! It's the only bear with a blue ribbon, and it should be treasured. That aside, though...]

Soon, but not now.

[Ah yes, the elusive game Emil can win... He's looking forward to it. For now he looks sideways at Lalli, a little exasperated, but it's fake. Hey...]

I'm not rushing. We can still sit for a while.

[Sitting is just fine! He even puts the bear down on his other side, because he doesn't want to ruin its beautiful blue ribbon and anger the many ghosts trapped inside, either. This is all very... fine; Lalli is feeling better, slowly, so it's his job to tell Emil when it's time to go do other game things, leaving Emil toooo... sit and think.

Yeah, that doesn't last very long. He's a simple creature with simple wants and introspection isn't one of those things— what he wants is the simple warmth and comfort of physical contact. It was fine before! For a while! So surely it will be fine now, all of which he communicates by pinching Lalli's sleeve for a moment to get his attention, then holding his hand out. Here, take this, thank you.]

[Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful, because even if Lalli's stomach felt perfectly fine—well, he's been running around this crowded festival for a while now? Not that he's had a bad time—far from it, actually—but taking a breather before plunging back into the chaos... seems like an excellent idea. He doesn't mind sitting in silence, letting everything else drain away as he focuses on each breath he takes. Just for now.

Emil, however... might. Does, Lalli thinks when he feels that tug on his sleeve, but a quick glance over Emil's way is all that it takes to let Lalli know that this isn't about Emil wanting to, like, make sure that he's listening; this is about the hand Lalli finds himself blinking down at like an idiot as he puts two and two together, because ah, Emil wants to...

...Ah. His eyes briefly flick up to Emil's face, almost like he's looking for some hint that he's on the right track here, before he slowly reaches out to take Emil's hand in his. Holding hands for a second time! It's fine, really; the first Hand Holding Experience lasted long enough for this to feel normal-ish, even if there's something, oh, slightly odd about actually seeing how easily they actually fit together. Has he ever paid attention to Emil's hands before? Not really, no, but now he finds himself studying the one he's holding, noting the ways it is and is not like his own as he gently tilts their linked hands to the side. Hmm!]

[Hmm, see, studying their hands is making somewhat a larger deal out of this than Emil was aiming for? Lalli takes his hand voluntarily: nice! Emil is content then to briefly acknowledge the little flip his stomach does at the renewed contact and then look elsewhere, maybe squeeze his hand lightly to prove that, yes, this is great, this is what he meant by that gesture. That's the plan, but then Lalli is... just looking at their hands, which means Emil has to keep looking at Lalli, and such a simple gesture is getting away from him entirely.

Maybe he should calm down. He opens his mouth to say something, reconsiders, shuts it again. There's nothing pithy and smart he can say about his hand that he won't immediately feel stupid about, so... here they are. He drums the fingers of his other hand against his knee, then stops. Ah... this boy... doing his mildly eccentric staring thing. Emil can't help but smile slightly, despite his restlessness.]

What? It's fine, you know.

[Because surely Lalli is judging the appropriateness of holding hands on a bench for no reason... surely.]

[That's exactly what this socially inept idiot is doing, Emil. Or not, because even though holding hands while they're just sitting like this is different than holding hands while they're rushing to and fro, he doesn't feel that same... uncertainty he felt after touching Emil's cheek. Emil held his hand out for Lalli to take? He gave Lalli's a squeeze? This is obviously fine for him, and Lalli has decided that this is fine for him, too. That he likes this, so—]

Mhm. I do.

[Which is a strange thing to think about, truth be told, but he focuses less on that and more on flipping Emil's hand palm-up before... pulling his hand away? For the briefest of moments, that is; he soon presses his palm back against Emil's, carefully lining up their fingers as he continues comparing them from this angle. Part of his brain registers there is, mmm, something new and oddly intimate about this, and yet...

...Well, it's interesting! To Lalli, anyway, which is why he glances at Emil to see if he's paying any sort of attention to this scientific study. Should he explain??]

They're... different, [he oh-so helpfully points out, vaguely aware that it sounds dumb but unsure of how to make it sound, um, less dumb.] See? Your hand is bigger.

[It's not a hyuge difference, since they're both small, but! Add it to the list of Things Lalli Never Noticed About Emil (Until Now).]

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no one look at this, it's too gay

mods, ban this filth

harsh!

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