thenearshore | 017 | Earth Turns Slowly

017 | Earth Turns Slowly

Who: Everyone!
What: Firefly viewing
When: Evening July 21
Where: The Near Shore
Summary: A vent is open and the fireflies are beautiful.

There have been so many things happening lately that the Heavens (mostly Amaterasu) have decided that the Far Shore residents deserve something nice to occupy their time. So everyone has been invited to view the fireflies on the Near Shore - a traditional sort of viewing in Japan that usually takes place during the summer, when the fireflies are out in force.

Traditional attire is encouraged, but people are also encouraged to just let themselves be comfortable and drink the night away!

The Viewing

The spread for the viewing is gorgeous. There are some lights strung up the trees, blinking slowly like fireflies as the actual fireflies mingle with each other and the people who have come to see them. Additionally, the Heavens have provided light snacks and an alcoholic drink that is easy to drink and very potent.

Fireflies

The fireflies are very friendly and easy to catch. They will gladly blink up from anyone's palm who happens to hold them. Also, they seem to have no fear of the people here, coming up close to anyone who happens to be nearby. They may even land on you if you stand still enough!

Blights

It will become more and more evident as the night wears on that some of the fireflies look distinctly different from the rest - they are larger and darker in color and more aggressively "friendly" than their fellows. These are the ayakashi disguised as fireflies and wherever they have touched someone, they will have left blighting. And that blight will slowly spread - should anyone else touch the blight, it will spread to them as well. The blight is not unique other than the fact that it doesn't seem to start hurting until after the blighted party has noticed it.

Vent

The opened vent is around a hundred feet from where the party is being held. Ayakashi are still pouring out of it, each of them as small as the firefly-like counterparts. Anyone who approaches the vent will be attacked by a swarm of bug-sized ayakashi. The vent is closing, albeit slowly, and will close more rapidly as more gods and shinki come to keep the ayakashi in check. By midnight, it should be closed completely.

In Summary:

See the fireflies
Fight some ayakashi
Heal some blighting
Help close the vent
Have fun~

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hak has been watching Yona from afar for most of the viewing, wanting to give her some room to enjoy herself without being too overbearing on her. Somehow though, in the span of a few minutes, the little goddess managed to sneak out of his sight while he was preoccupied elsewhere and he'd lost her for a while. It's fine, everything is fine... and he's rather calm as he searches the grounds, aggressively swatting fireflies away from his face when they get too close until he gets tired of doing it and moves on to ignoring them completely.

There's a sigh of relief when he finds her beneath a tree and approaches her from behind, quiet as a cat. Bending down to one knee and leaning over her, he snatches the firefly she's reaching for in his hand before she can catch it.]

Too slow.

[ She gives a quiet squeak of surprise when his hand appears out of nowhere, his reach extending past hers to catch the firefly before it comes within her own range. Cheeks flushed - that's totally from the alcohol, Hak, that's all - she glances up at him with a laugh. ]

I'm not! Your arm is too long.

[He rests his chin atop her head and wraps his arm so that his closed hand is in front of her and slowly, he opens it to release the firefly. It immediately flits around, exploring his fingers before it nearly lands on Yona's nose.]

No, yours are just short like the rest of you.

[Hak leaves himself there a little while longer, peering into the cup she has, and when he catches a whiff of what's in it, he frowns.]

What are you doing all the way out here by yourself?

Edited (Whoops missed a word) 2017-06-06 16:59 (UTC)

I'm not short!

[ Yes, she is, but she can't not object to that, especially when he says it in that tone. She wobbles her head although he still remains firmly settled atop it, so that didn't accomplish anything other than her ending up wiggled back more firmly against his chest. ]

I'm not that far out! There's people everywhere. I just wanted a place that was quieter to watch the fireflies. Besides, this tree was pretty. [ Catching the look he gives her cup, she lifts it up in offering, as it's rather large and she's been taking her time enjoying its contents. ] Want some? There's more. Zeno was passing it out.

[Whatever helps you sleep at night, Yona.

Hak keeps himself there and wrapped around her when she wriggles against his chest, firm and protective, and her offering of the cup doesn't help to wipe the glower from his face. He does reach out for it and begins to wrench it free from her hands, though.]

And he gave you some?

[... At least she didn't steal it???

He's going to have to have Words with that blonde lion-headed boy later.]

Edited (ffffffffuuuu) 2017-06-07 00:43 (UTC)

[ Her fingers tighten reflexively on the glass at his glower, blinking up at him in surprise before grinning brightly at him. ]

Of course! Why wouldn't he? It was provided for anyone that wanted some while they were here to watch the fireflies.

[Nngh. That's... quite the protective grip you have on that glass, Yona. He tries it again, still remaining just as careful not to spill as before. He'd rather they not have to trek all the way back to the temple reeking of alcohol.]

You don't need this to watch the fireflies. [Another tug.] I also don't want to have to carry you over my shoulder all the way back up to your temple when you can't walk straight.

[ That.... was actually a fairly convincing argument and her grip on the cup unconsciously loosens as her cheeks flush faintly, Yona quickly averting her gaze. ]

Ahh... I wouldn't...! You won't have to do that! [ Even though he had before, hadn't he? Wait, she's not bringing that up. ] You don't have to carry me anywhere. I can still teleport us.

[ Because no amount of tipsy could manage to make her one less iota familiar enough with her temple enough to take them there. In fact, that very familiarity might have been part of the reason she might have wanted to indulge in a drink tonight. It's been a complicated week. ]

[He tugs the cup from her fingers and gives it a proper, wary sniff before he shifts to sit beside her with his legs crossed beneath him. The cup is placed down on the blanket on his other side and he adjusts so that he can lean back comfortably on his hands.]

You don't think I can? Just because you can doesn't mean you should, especially after how much you've already had. We could end up anywhere and I'm not willing to take that risk.

[ She blinks at him before shifting and leaning up against his side. It's a move that's familiar to her, but probably isn't as much to him, even if she might have temporarily forgotten that in the pleasantly-tipsy haze she has at the moment. ]

Mmm, but I don't know anywhere else well enough to teleport too, but I know the temple better than anywhere here. I'm pretty certain that's where we'd still end up. But we don't have to go back yet anyway, right?

No... Not yet.

[When she leans towards him, he looks down at the top of her moppy red hair, and he reaches the arm that's cradling her up so that he can rest his hand on her head. His frown falls away to reveal something gentler in his eyes and he turns his gaze to the fireflies that float over the grass.]

You can stay as long as you like.

[But he's just going to keep that drink on the other side of him...]

[ At the moment, she doesn't even care. ]

Good. I'm not ready to go back yet. I like it here. It's peaceful.

[He makes a curt sound in agreement and doesn't say anything for a while, content to sit with her for a moment and watch the tiny lights dance around them, but he does occasionally reach out to swat them away when they come too close to his face.

He shifts a little, as if making a move to get up, and he takes the cup that he set down next to him in his hands and waves it in her face.]

I don't want to be the one to disturb the peace so I'll leave you to it, then. But I'm taking this with me.

[ She blinks out of the contented haze she'd slipped to at his side, lost in her own thoughts, easily lulled there by his steady presence at her side.

At his movement and words, though, she blinks up at him in surprise. ]

You're going?

Hm?

[Using the top of her head as leverage to push himself up off the ground, he pauses halfway up and blinks back down at her with equal surprise.]

Do you need me to stay?

Ahh...

[ She flushes and ducks her head before mustering a bright smile once more and shaking her head. ]

No. Sorry. I didn't mean to keep you.

Yona.

[His voice is quiet and low in his throat as he adjusts himself so that he's kneeling directly in front of her, and leans down so that he can snatch her gaze with his own.

... And then pats her unceremoniously on the head again. Once, twice, and thrice.]

If you want me to stay, just say so.

[ Her name in that tone of voice does things that she's not expecting. Because adjusting to him calling her by her name is somehow immensely more intimate than how he'd used her title back home. She hadn't considered that before this place - she'd had a legitimate reason for requesting that he continue to call her Princess, even when the others did not. But here...

At least the pat on the head is an abrupt enough distraction that she doesn't have to struggle with the sudden surge of butterflies for long as she gives him a scowl, because she's not a child, Hak. ]

Go away, Hak.

[There's a flash of something other than amusement in his eyes and behind the smile he's wearing, but all he's able to do is sigh and push himself to his feet. He isn't going to push her to let him stay or goad her any further. If it's what she wants, then he has no choice but to listen. Just like he promised he would.

He doesn't forget to pick up the cup and what's left of the drink on his way up either.]

You'll know where to find me if you need me, then?

Hak...!

[ Her hand reaches out for him before she even consciously realizes she's doing it. Only then she does and she freezes there, hand hovering between them for a moment before she flushes, flustered, and hastily tucks it back on her lap. ]

Ahhh. I'll be here.

[And it's that hand that he swiftly grabs in a tight hold when he drops to his knees again in front of her, the cup falling into the grass next to the blanket. The sudden movement sends dozens fireflies ascending into the sky in surprise but he disregards them, barely noticing the lights.]

You tell me to go, and then you do something like that. You're frustrating, you know that?

[ Her cheeks are hot when he turns around and grasps her hand, all too aware of the heat of the contact, even as her fingers curl around his much larger grip. She doesn't meet his gaze, eyes pointed down at her lap where she'd intended to hide her involuntary slip. Only this is Hak. Of course he'd caught her out. ]

I'm sorry. I don't mean to be.

So be more clear about what you want.

[He slips his hand away from hers when he feels her fingers grip his to run it through his hair instead.]

If you want me to go, then I will, but don't do that again. It makes me want to stay just to spite you.

[He doesn't want to go. If he's going to be at her side as her shinki, then there's nothing he wants more than to know who it is he serves, but the way she scolded him left a pain in his chest that even he doesn't want to acknowledge.]

Hak...

[ Her voice softens at that as she inwardly curses herself for her slip. Of course he doesn't know what she wants. Of course he can't remember how to take the teasing they'd always seemed to do so easily back home. She lifts a hand, rubbing at her temples, suddenly desperately wishing for another of Zeno's drinks, even if she knew they wouldn't help an ounce in this situation. ]

I'm sorry. [ Because it bears repeating. ] I never want you to go. Not ever. But more importantly than that, I want you to do what you want to do. Not just what you think I want of you. Doing something to spite me, or teasing me... I didn't mean it when I told you to go away, I just didn't know how to take you teasing me. But that doesn't mean I want you to stop. [ She can't even imagine a Hak who didn't tease her so readily, even if it flustered and frustrated her. And in truth, she wouldn't want him any other way. ] I will try to be more clear.

[ Despite her prickling irritation at being treated like a child, she had acted like a child. Something that she still slipped into unconsciously where he was concerned at times. She'd have to be more careful. ]

I don't know what I want.

[He thinks he knows, but it's especially hard when she says something like that. He lets his hand slide down his face, hiding most of it behind his fingers.]

I feel different around you.

[Not even a mutter or beneath his breath, but it's added on with a bit of bite and frustration. He's only been here for a few weeks and already, he feels more at ease in her presence than when he's not. He keeps telling himself that the only reason he sticks so close is to keep an eye on her, but it's becoming more difficult to convince himself of that.]

A 8)

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