22 - Harvest Moon Viewing

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Harvest Moon Viewing
When: September 10, 6 PM
Where: The Meeting Hall grounds
Summary: The Heavens are throwing a moon-viewing party!







Party Games

Children are dashing all over the moon-viewing grounds in the early evening, flying kites or playing tag and other games. Many of them are wearing cute seasonal rabbit masks made of paper, or sporting ink curlicues and scribbles drawn over their faces, if they've lost too many games.

Card games and spinning top battles, a few practice archery butts towards the edge of the park, poetry-composing competitions, and even badminton: there's something for everyone, and anyone who doesn't look too busy may find themselves offered a rabbit mask and a game to play. Or perhaps you'd like to try your hand at drawing people into your own game?

Moon Viewing

The moon rises not long after sunset, looming over the garden in hazy golden and red splendor thanks to the volcanic fumes in the atmosphere. The games are winding down as darkness falls, and the faint scent of burning incense fills the air as people settle to view the moon rise. Shinki in their festival best, adorned with Amaterasu's golden chrysanthemum, are serving the guests. They set out trays of fresh seasonal fruit (Japanese pears, persimmons, and chestnuts) and plates of mochi, serve sake, and light portable grills to cook sweet potatoes and skewers of meat.

Mazed & Confused

Part of the grounds have been rearranged into a hedge-maze made of tall, plumed grasses packed close together. A sign at the entrance reads, "Bring back my ribbon from the center of the maze,
and I'll give you a special prize!"

Unfortunately, that's harder than it sounds. The maze is full of dead ends, confusing turns, and twisty little passages, which all look alike. It's almost magical how easy it is to lose your way inside, and the tufted grass will prove to have painfully sharp edges if anyone tries to cheat by pushing their way through the "walls" of the maze.

Those who successfully find their way to the center will find a white ribbon fluttering from the top of a tall pole. If they can climb the pole, pull the ribbon free, and make it back to the entrance, they will hear the sound of a child's laughter, and the ribbon in their hand will disappear to be replaced by a round cake of mochi. Enjoy the prize!

Wild Moon

One of the children participating most energetically in the games of tag and dashing around the party is wearing an oversized gray hoodie with the hood pulled up right to the edges of his happy rabbit mask. He's not being very careful, either: he keeps bumping into other party attendees and barely taking the time to mutter an apology before he sprints away.

Although nothing noticeable happens at the time, anyone who's been tagged or bumped into by that particular child will begin to feel more emotional, quicker to react, and less self-controlled as the night wears on. Those who he only brushed by won't be too powerfully affected, but the more times that he has run into someone, the stronger the effect will grow.

(Note: This won't cause anyone to have emotions that they wouldn't feel otherwise, but both ongoing moods and temporary reactions could be amplified.)

In Summary:

• Play party games
• Relax with snacks
• Try to solve the hedge maze
• Go wild
• Have fun~

Comments

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki permits this. Her chin lowers, but she still doesn't look over. Or turn around.

But her head does turn slightly, as if she's looking away from Lavi and is unconsciously moving more into that.

You'll explain what you're doing here even if she doesn't ask, yes? Then she won't. ]

[lostinshadows]

[He's not sure if he likes this side of her.

Rather, the Hibiki who's dramatic (even if she is right now) and boisterous is one that he'd happily welcome more.]

What's wrong?

1/2

[priforprince]

Khh.

[ What's wrong. She's been trying to hold back what's wrong, over here, as nobly and stoically and gracefully as she can, and yet - ]

2/2

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki's free arm lifts and clutches at her chest, and she exhales from between clenched teeth, hunching over slightly. From the deliberate pace of her breaths, only pride is keeping her from starting to have a panic attack. It feels.....she feels....

This is what it felt like back then. She was forced to remember, and now she's feeling loss.

Hibiki tries to will back the pain, but the memories spool back further, connect in ways she'd been trying to keep them from connecting. Doors are slamming in her head, over and over and over again. ]

[lostinshadows]

Come on.

[He keeps a grip on her as he leads her to sit somewhere - away from the dark and gloomy atmosphere. He keeps his eye on her, watching her carefully. It's not hard to realize she's experiencing something, a sort of pain that he honestly would have never expected from her.]

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki's legs are stiff - all her joints are, actually - but she will be led, focused far more on the inside of her head than outside. She'll even sit. Mechanically.

There is something glinting between the fingers of that hand she still has dramatically gripping her own chest. ]

[lostinshadows]

[If she's stiff, then Lavi will pull a stunt he'd ever rarely do to a woman - much less Hibiki. There's a brief pause before he releases her long enough to swoop down and swing her over his shoulder in a fireman carry. One arm is wrapped around her middle tightly to ensure she doesn't fall or attempt to struggle; though, he's also made sure not to do it erratically enough where she would drop the thing she's holding onto.]

1/2

[priforprince]

[ .....and this, at last, is enough to begin pulling Hibiki out of her own head. ]

Wh---

2/2

[priforprince]

What?!

[ THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED WHILE SHE WAS BROODING BEFORE

THEY'RE OFF-SCRIPT! ]

[lostinshadows]

Oh, good. You've finally snapped out of it.

[Welcome back, Hibiki.

He continues to carry her.]

[priforprince]

What do you think you're doing?! I can walk!

[ She wriggles in Lavi's hold, as if that will make a difference. ]

[lostinshadows]

Yes, and?

[What's the point?

And wriggling definitely doesn't make a difference. He is stronger than Hibiki, after all, so he merely tightens his grip on her just in case she doesn't fall off.]

[priforprince]

Put me dow---

[ Hibiki, in trying to struggle more violently, loosens her grip on whatever she was holding. It flies out of her hand and begins fluttering towards the ground. ]

Ah!

[ On reflex, she reaches out for it. As far as she can go. ]

[lostinshadows]

[At hearing her exclaim aloud, he spins around on his heel and immediately catches the thing she dropped.]

[priforprince]

Don't--

[ Too late. He's looking, isn't he.

He's looking at the crumpled, faded, weatherbeaten Friend Ticket with Fuwari's face on it. Stuck to the back of it is a pink ticket in much better condition. There's a different girl on that one, with way too much green hair, pulled into pigtails.

Hibiki, settling down now that the tickets are safe, sulks.

But looks out of the corner of her eyes at her quarry, as if thinking "Give those back" hard enough will make that happen. ]

[lostinshadows]

Don't look at me like that.

[He recognizes the ticket. He recognizes the girl on it, too. However, he doesn't recognize the other one. It makes him curious.

Lavi can already figure out that the one on the faded Ticket is important to Hibiki, but who's the other one? Instead of asking, he merely shifts her weight on his shoulder and hands her back the ticket.]

Do you miss them?

1/2

[priforprince]

Hhrrk--

[ This expression probably answers that question. It's definitely nervous, maybe even scared.

It looks caught. ]

2/2

[priforprince]

[ Then she's grabbing the tickets and stuffing them back in her pocket, and she doesn't relax until they're safe and secure on her body again. ] Put me down.

[ This "missing people" business is very unpleasant. She's doing all this so she won't have to feel it any more! Therefore, it shouldn't be interfering!

How dare she be unable to quell those emotions tonight?! And how did Lavi know?? ]

[lostinshadows]

I'll drop you if you really want me to.

[Never mind the weird looks they're getting from other people.

But it's only when he sees they're in a quiet enough space that he finally does put her down, setting her down on a bench. Lavi rolls his shoulder, sighing dramatically as if Hibiki weighed a ton.]

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki chooses to ignore that sigh, and indeed to look away from Lavi the entire time. No sooner is she on this bench than both her arms and legs are crossing.

And she just stays like that. Lavi knows. How did he know?

Being cross isn't fun, but it beats being miserable, so she's going to stick with cross for now. ]

[lostinshadows]

There's no shame in missing them, you know.

[He sits beside Hibiki, but he doesn't look at her. If she doesn't want to talk about it, it's fine.

He's always been a nosy sort, but this isn't one of those times.]

[priforprince]

I don't experience such things.

[ Shame, you see. She never has cause for it. This is more...it's...

Ugh. Focus. Break out of this loop of feeling the loss, over and over. Think about something else. Anything else.

Why can't she escape how much it hurts?! She's been fine until tonight!

Her fingers tighten against her arms. ]

[lostinshadows]

You're experiencing it right now.

[Do you really think that would fool him?

He notices the tightening of her fingers, a small breath escaping from him.]

If you don't feel such things, then I can just throw out that ticket, right?

[priforprince]

[ Hibiki snorts. ] Do what you want!

[ It's a little too vehement to be genuine. And yet...

He kept the ticket?

As she tries to figure out what that means - well, she knows what it means, but, does it really...? It can't be! - her shoulders relax just a little.

He...he kept the ticket. ]

[lostinshadows]

I don't think you'd really want me to do that.

[Lavi peers over at her when he notices her relaxing.

He hums softly, looking away.]

Especially because it is important to me, too.