[Stormhold Beach] The Midwinter Fire Festival (Open)

[Sondra]

Sondra had been chanced upon by the belle of the ball. In one friendly tangle, she had been welcomed, encouraged to meet people and fed. The dark haired woman began to orbit guests around her, momentarily flitting from one to another, clasping hands and making introductions.

It felt like years since Gregoire's feasts and her pedestal at them. She gave her attempt at a smile when eyes passed over her face. So far, she wasn't remembering how to endear herself to a crowd.

"Fletch this," she murmured in Kontinese, "I need a round."

Sondra weaved back on her path past the donation table. She absently watched a young man deliver a hand painted teapot, then glanced at the other contributions, until the pot's design violently seized her eyes.

"What in the...? Avalisss..."
Who would paint grandma's house burning down on a teapot? Real charming scene, she wondered if the matching teacups featured hangings.

Sondra shook her head, comforted in the fact there were people more inappropriate than her. From there she made no pretense of meandering, it was straight to the ale cask. On second reflection, maybe it was a wine night.

She had barely left the line before half her cup was gone. The attendant at the kegs felt obliged to inform her the wine wasn't watered down. Her answer was a mumbled,
"Thanks, Mother."

A dose of liquid courage later she was hovering on the edge of the rotating circle Nya had gathered around herself. They had moved position towards a girl toting a large fish with her bare hands. Suddenly, her party contribution seemed strange in its normalcy.

"I hope you intend to wash your hands," she remarked towards Avi, breaking the convivial flow of existing conversation.

The comment was out in all its awkward glory before she could stop it. Sondra mentally cringed and lamely added something about getting more food before reactions could dawn on the group.

Sondra was back at the buffet again, not feeling especially hungry. Regardless, she was stabbing at some dish in front of Terminus.

"I hate festivals, and yet I keep ending up at them," she said to no one in particular, "I think I'm punishing myself."

[Avi]

Avi had been determinedly making her way towards Nya with her bounty, her fingers hidden to the knuckles inside the massive silvery fish's gills. Once she showed it to Nya, a fellow fish aficionado, she could find out where Nya wanted her to cook it. There were plenty of fires, and the young Kelvic wasn't sure which set of ashes she could bury the treat in. While she liked it raw, she understood that not everyone shared her tastes - but they had this great way of smoking fish back at home, and surely she could replicate it here. She stopped after a few more steps to adjust the fish over her shoulder, jerking her body a little and twisting, bracing it a little against her neck before straightening, and beginning to start again. Only several more yards to go...

She didn't get far, though. At Stitch's approach, she beamed goodwill up at him. She was pleasantly surprised, to say the least, at being called 'milady' - no one had ever called her that before, but the Kelvic didn't seem to mind at all. Her eyes went from ruby to a luminescent mixture of violet and silver, and despite the fish, she tried to right herself to a proper stance instead of the somewhat tilted posture she had adopted in the interests of carting her prize around. Her eyes widened at Stitch's offer, and just when it looked like her grin couldn't get any bigger, it did. He wasn't out to take her fish, after all, he just wanted to help her carry it. She was thrilled. "Thankyabigbig," she let him take the tail. "If you grab that end, that would be great. I'm Avi. What's your name? Why are your eyes covered in cloth? Are you training?" Her own eyes widened at the prospect - back at home, some of them trained with a blindfold over their eyes to help their senses. Sometimes in Avanthal, you couldn't see very well with a snowstorm going on, so you trained your other senses too. Maybe she should try this. Although she liked seeing things far too much... "Do you like fish?" she had to ask him. Anyone who liked fish was good in her books, after all.

And then Nya was there, then, towing her bondmate along. Avi was thrilled - she hadn't been sure if the other Kelvic had seen her at first, but she had. "I brought a fish," she informed Nya, her eyes changing once more from silver and violet to a brilliant amber. "At home, I always bring something to a gathering, and I didn't know how many would come, so I brought the biggest I could catch on my way back," she aimed her enormous grin at Abashai. "Hihi, nice to meet you," she almost let go of the fish's gills to offer her hand to clasp. "I'm Avi. And this is... well, I just met him, and he's helping me carry the fish. Where do you want it? I brought leaves to wrap it in, like we do sometimes at home. Where do you want me to put it?" she beamed at them. "This is Nya," she told Stitch. He'd heard Abashai's name, after all.

She opened her mouth to keep going, only to close it at Sondra's remark of washing her hands. One eye stayed amber, and the other went blue, giving her a rather surreal look as she tilted her head at the Konti. "I will," she told her brightly. "There's water over there," she jerked her head in the direction of the water as the waves lapped at the beach. "Do you like fish?" she wanted to know, then, "It's good fish," she assured the white-haired woman. "Very very very fresh. I just caught it." Well. Some hours ago. But it wasn't like it had been warm enough to bother the fish...

[Stitch]

Right as Avi's smile blossomed into something much bigger than the last gleeful smile had been, Stitch let his own lips curl in a full-out grin, the earlier shyness quickly gone and gotten over. Allowing his hands to continue forward, he caught the tail end of the fish, and slid his shoulder under it, assuming the same stance the Kelvic woman was currently in. As he felt some of the weight shift to him, he raised one eyebrow underneath the white bandages wrapped around his eyes, a bit surprised. It was a nice-sized fish, his Auristics hadn't failed him, and he was surprised she had gotten this far with it. She was either quite strong, or very determined, or maybe both; either quality was really a nice one to have. Stitch's own slim muscles bulged a bit under the weight of the fish, as he tried to position himself in such a way that he took most the weight off of Avi. This really involved him shuffling about uncomfortably, adjusting the fish every half step or so.

Fighting back a chuckle at her quick words, he nodded, still smiling happily in her direction. He didn't know if she was contagious, or if it was his Auristics. She was glowing brightly, and what Stitch could only describe as an aura of happiness was bouncing off of her in waves, and gently caressing his own aura. "Not a problem, milady. This one is quite happy to help.” The way he referred to himself, 'this one', was slightly odd, but every time he said it, it echoed out in a somewhat humble manner. It was a habit he had long since picked up, referring to all those around him as milady and milord, and to himself as 'this one'. At her next question, his smile didn't falter, he merely answered in the shame cheery voice as always. He wasn't flustered by it, or even put off in the slightest. Her happiness was too infectious to allow him any other emotion, and he was quite used to the question by now.

"No, no training here. This one is just blind, and these eyes are a little scarred. This one tries to keep them protected from the elements, you see. No use in messing them up any more than they already are." He said it quite casually; very naturally, his slight joke on the subject usually managing to off put any awkwardness felt by the sudden revelation to the surrounding people that they were dealing with a blind man.

As auras came and went, surrounding him in great displays of shining light, he had to tilt his head, glance away, to keep a headache from blossoming. As if from a distance, he heard one of the nearby lights ask of him, and then his new-found friend, Avi, introducing him, in a way, and chattering on. Taking the few moments she allowed him, he let his sight drift around, searching for the incredibly familiar aura of a certain little girl. There she was, Fentya, bustling around the pig roasting pit, what looked to be an air of all-too familiar bravado shooting off her body. Shaking his head, smiling, he returned his attention to the conversation at hand, right in time to introduce himself.

This one is Stitch, very nice to meet you all. Thise one apologizes if he has seen you before, and does not remember, this one is not very good with faces, or names." He chuckled a bit, holding out his hand. Due to the proximity of the multiple colors, the way the emotions clouded together, and the general brightness of it all, his hand went a bit awry. He ended up offering his handshake right between Abashai and Nya, but not particularly realizing it, that all-too infectious smile still shining brightly on his face.

[Abashai]

Abashai reached for Stitches hand a gave it a firm shake, curious about the blind man's comment about seeing them before. Maybe it was just a saying, for obviously he could not see. "I am glad to meet you. I hear you run the children's home. I would very much like to visit sometime to see how I may be able to help. At the least, I would like to spend some time with the children. I miss playing with kids." In fact, one of Abashai's favorite things to do when he lived in the desert was to play with the children. It brought out a playfulness he now rarely showed, and that only with his bondmate. Maybe Nya would like to visit the orphans too. It might be fun for them to take some of the kids out to ride Sus, or to have a picnic when the weather warms.

His gaze returned to Avi, whose eyes had once again shifted color. Their hue transitioned often, from silver to blue to amber and back, even changing separately at the passing Konti's comment. The sight was beautiful and a bit distracting. He would have to find out what caused them to change so.

[Nya Winters]

Nya was a little distracted by Stitch. The thought of someone blind moving about freely with very little hinderence was astonishing to her. It seemed a little unnatural too her because weakness like that rarely survived in the wilds. A blind animal would be the first to fall prey to something larger and stronger than itself. And to find one thriving was astonishing. And that fact even redoubled at the thought of the damaged person taking care of the orphans. It seemed... Nya couldn't put her finger on it... but it disturbed her in a way that it probably shouldn't. She stared, tense, for a few moments before she realized something else. The blind man was acting kindly towards Avi, and there was a warmth there - an acceptance of her from him that reminded Nya a little of Terminus' acceptance of her own self. It confused her slightly, and she wondered if Avi felt how strange it was to see a blind human around herself.

Nya glanced at Abashai, uncertain how to behave around the wounded man, and yet wanting to see his naked eyes without the cloth. She wondered what they looked like and if they were really damaged and sensitive, or if his eyes were just sockets. Eyes were sometimes her favorite parts of a kill along with the heart and liver. They were succulent, delicious, and always held nutritious fluid. Her own eyes, perfectly functional, swept over Abashai taking her cues from her bondmate on how to behave. Seasons before she'd have probably demanded instantly to see Stitche's face, but now she held back, watching. It startled her that her bondmate treated the blind man as if nothing was wrong with Stitch. Nya wanted to lift her hand, wave it in front of the man's face, and see if he flinched.

Humans. Nya never knew how they were going to act. Pretending nothing was wrong when something was... that was a new one on Nya.

So instead of potentially embarrassing Abashai by demanding Stitch reveal his damaged eyes, she glanced at Avi whom she knew was unbonded and a little rough around the edges - very owl-like - and waited to see her reaction. Avi was a good distraction. As she did so, Nya leaned against Abashai even as he took Stitch's hand to shake it... and lifted her head slightly as well as her whole carriage on her toes, placing her lips next to her bondmate's left ear and whispered quietly, in the guise of a nuzzle. "Talderian Eagle-Owl." She said and nipped Abashai's earlobe mischievously and because she was suddenly hungry (thinking about eyes) and he smelled very good. Nya was about to say something else when they were jostled from behind by someone else that was inadvertently displaced by Leo Varniak's passage. Nya stepped away from her bondmate, scanned the crowd, and sought the source of the distraction.

Leo was looking for something or someone. Probably Terminus. Nya knew Terminus wanted to meet him. He'd been quite open about wishing to know the other followers of Ivak. Nya would go visit him later and see how he was doing - make him eat for he looked thin - but not until he'd had a chance to talk with Terminus and the two had settled together someplace to talk. Then she'd bring him a plate. Stupid vigilantes. They never took care of themselves, only others.

Had Nya known Sonya's thoughts, she would have been horrified. This party wasn't for her, not at all, it was to help her bondmate on multiple levels. She wanted him to mingle and meet a few of her friends. She wanted him to relax because he was always busy doing this or that or fixing this, solving that... not taking a lot of time for himself or for fun. And the Cultural Council needed some supplies and funds to help families. One miza a person might not have been a lot - her own coin seemed small in the pot to start the party out - but with everyone else dropping one in, it might mean the difference between a new family having winter blankets to sleep under or going cold. Nya just felt a sense of responsibility, probably stemming from her more human side, to make sure everyone had fun, everyone ate, and that the event was a success. Moss green eyes scanned the firepits, the pot-luck buffet, the musicians who were already trading out on the stage and decided she really wasn't needed. The Widows were everywhere, fussing, fiddling, feeding folks (one would probably even force a plate on Leo if Nya didn't get there first), and gossiping. They were in their element, which made things easier for the Forest Cat who truthfully had no experience in this sort of thing. Matilda never steered her wrong, and suggesting she ask the Widows to help for the charity event was a great idea. It looked as if they needed to get out themselves.

She turned her attention back to the group in front of them. Nya smiled at Avi. They needed to deal with the fish. "We can go use the firepits. They have good coals from cooking all day... over with the pigs. We can show you." She said, knowing there was a shovel over there as well that she could use to clear out space enough for the fish to bake wrapped in leaves. "That's a big catch, thank you for bringing it." She said, leading the little group over to the firepit where she captured the shovel and at Avi's direction already began clearing out a space for it. "Is it cleaned? They don't like fish insides... not like we do." Nya said, glancing knowingly at Avi. It seemed to be some sort of inside joke between the two of them. "To eat I mean, not to wear." Amusement flashed across her face, though she didn't laugh. The blind man made her a little nervous for some reason... he was just different and she wanted badly to see his eyes. But no one else was mentioning it, as if they completely ignored the defect. It was strange... very strange... but Nya was too polite to ask. Not now anyhow.

[Leo Varniak]

At last, the crowd seemed to offer less resistance and larger gaps, large enough that Leo did not need his hands to open the way. He was relieved. He saw daggers everywhere these days, and the lack of elbow room made him feel nervous and trapped. He was not actively paying attention to where he was going, though, and the buffet table caught him by surprise. He almost slammed into it before stopping just in time. Turning it over would have been quite bad, since he was not rich enough to refund the organizers.

He ended up beside Sondra as she voiced her feelings of frustration. "My thoughts exactly," Leo said, "they all sound like they are laughing at your being unable to laugh." He scrutinized the young Konti. She was plain, though Leo's previous dealings with her race had quickly dispelled the myth that all Konti were so-beautiful-it-was-a-curse. She also smelled like alcohol - the weak man's defense. He had smelled it many times before on his abusive imposter of a father and it made Leo slightly nauseous. He abhorred the drink, and the only good thing about it was that it had made the man easier to ignite.

He had an overall positive impression of the girl in spite of it, and made a note to try and talk her out of the habit later - indeed, he might even need a Konti's services in the future. Right now the signal of Ivak's mark was too clear to ignore, and as soon as he moved his eyes past Sondra's figure he found himself staring at Terminus, the only real reason he was here tonight. The armband with the flaming bird gave him away to the point that Leo decided to openly address him.

"I believe we were destined to meet, sir," he said, not deeming Sondra a threat worth hiding from. "My name is Leo Varniak... or Zaital, if that rings a bell." His black eyes narrowed, judging the man. Leo was a judge at heart, always had been. Right now he was trying to decide if this short man was really as strong as Glav had said he was. Only time would tell.

[Terminus Norin]

Terminus was extremely distracted with all the strong emotions in the area, This person was newly in love, that one hated something and yet another was profoundly saddened. However after a point he learned to filter out the feelings that assaulted him and concentrate on his work. The buffet was going as well as expected and more, the Widows were a perfect addtion to the feast as they supervised the various tasks. He busied himself to stay focused.

His focus was disturbed by Sondra's return to the table and her comment, which was to no one in particular. However he had a response

Sometimes we punish ourselves deliberately. For what reason we do that...only the gods know.

He then was distracted by Avi and Nya and company dragging the enormous fish toward the pits. it was clear that Avi had caught the fish and therefore he surmised she was a Kelvic as well...what animal she was under the human form he did not yet know, but something about her intregued him, perhaps it was the exotic features or the eyes thatseemed to change colors, but it was something. He chuckled when he heard Nya say something about cleaning the fish .

Don't worry Nya I have plenty of volunteers to gut and clean it, we are gratefull for any contribution he leaned in and whispered consipititorialy
I will save the insides for you and your friend to consume when its appropriate.

he said louder as he extended a hand toward Abashai, [You must be Abashai, Nya has spoken highly of you, Im Terminus He turned to Nya and Avi
Nya who is your friend?

A little later he was alerted by the call again, the burning was clearly a signal of a fellow Azenth nearby. It was confirmed when he heard the man who had approached him speak to him. He knew of Leo from Nya, but he did not realize the depth of this man's emotions there were several, but tightly focused. He met Leo's gaze with his own blue eyes, which were clear and equally as focused.

So you are the one I have been sensing,I felt the call some time ago. I know of you as we have a mutual aquaintance...Nya is her name. the feeling he had been having all day was now stronger, the mark burned with an urgency. I would agree with you as the one we serve has been calling me all day, your being here cannot be coincidence, Im Terminus of family Norin. Im a mixed blood myself. He felt no need to be closed to Leo, however here was not a good place to discuss Ivak he hoped they could retire to a less public place to speak of the matters that were yet unspoken

[Sondra]

Sondra huffed a mirthless laugh at Leo's commentary. She was still aimlessly stabbing at the dish in front of her.
"And I'm too sober to fake understanding."

Teminus then added his observations. Sondra's responding grin was vulpine.
"The gods may know, but I can hazard a guess."

She paused, amused by the idea. This event was likely a part of some personal campaign that mingled self-loathing with self-awareness. She didn't think well of herself, but she thought of herself often.

Sondra looked to her side, recognizing Leo.
"Ah, the fellow with the charming teapot." She smiled, "Lovely choice, I wager the poor appreciate a reminder to count their blessings. They may be struggling, but things could be worse, their house could be on fire."

Terminus had returned and the pair was on to bigger and better things than listening to her wry asides. They greeted one another with an ominous knowing, throwing out hefty words like destiny and calling. The only thing she had felt called toward lately was food and drink, nothing as high-minded as their mutual purposes.

Despite the seriousness of Leo and Terminus's meeting, she tried to wedge in an introduction.
"I have a sneaky feeling there's a special handshake, I'm missing, but I'm Sondra."
She didn't extend a hand. Sondra hated touching strangers.

Feeling a trace guilty for being snarky she added, "Believe it or not, this is me trying to be friendly."

[Abashai]

As Nya lead Avi, Stitch and the scaly catch to the firepits, Abashai followed behind. He rubbed his earlobe, though Nya's nip wasn't really painful. In fact, he found the forest cat's soft voice in his ear and her playfulness a bit thrilling. He watched as his bondmate boldly led the fish team through the crowd. Her brindled hair fell over the green cloak, the fresh curls bouncing only slightly as she moved with feline grace across the sand. In spite of the two truly interesting people he had just met, he still found himself distracted by her. There was no doubt that he liked being near Nya, and since the incident at the ruins, he was gradually allowed her to get closer. He not only found it harder to prevent the forest cat from encroaching on his personal space, he found less and less desire to resist. Their bond was growing and taking on a life of its own.

The benshiran set his eyes again on Avi, Nya's clue that she was a Talderian Eagle-Owl explained the large dark feathers in the girl's black braid. He didn't know exactly what an eagle-owl was, but the name gave him a good idea. Abashai wondered if Avi was as large as Nya, but the size of the fish they were hauling answered that question as well. Avi seemed even more cheery and vibrant than Nya, her huge smile and quirky speech was rather endearing. Apparently the eagle-owl wasn't bonded, which disappointed Abashai a bit. He had hoped maybe there was someone who could understand what he was feeling, learn about someone else's bonding experience.

Then there was Stitch. When the blind man introduced himself, Abashai had seen the curiosity on Nya's face, the questions churning in her feline mind. He was proud of how she restrained herself. later, he would have to tell her that, truthfully, he himself wanted to see his eyes, and explain why he didn't ask. Behind human civility lay a morbid curiosity almost as strong, but not as free, as a cat's. Abashai did find it quite interesting how Stitch was able to move through the crowd, as if he could see the people around him. There definitely was more to the man than a simple orphanage owner.

They arrived at the firepits and, as Nya and Avi prepared a place to cook the fish, Abashai scanned the crowd. Everything was in motion now, everyone doing their job. He relaxed a bit and, intent to have some fun himself at the event, turned in time to see a man whispering to Nya.

Abashai's guessed that it was Terminus, which was confirmed when the firedancer turned to introduce himself. Terminus was a good half-foot shorter than Abashai , but as muscular or more so, and darker skinned. The benshiran grasp the offered hand with a firm grip. "It is indeed a pleasure to finally meet you, Terminus." As Terminus moved on to ask about Avi, Abashai had the sense that the man was preoccupied with something. maybe it was just the weight of his responsibilities at the festival, though the fires and food seemed to be well under control. Maybe it was his performance scheduled later in the evening. Anyway, Abashai hoped he'd have the chance to get to know Terminus, maybe after his firedance.

[Avi]

Avi hadn't quite understood the importance of Stitch calling himself 'this one', and she was wondering if that was his name. With his help, after all, she was able to stand up properly, still gripping the fish as to make sure that they didn't drop it, and that she was going to carry her own weight. This one, she felt, was a strange name, and she was getting ready to call him that when he explained why his eyes were covered. Her own popped and went orange with surprise. She would have turned around for a better look at him and them, but it was just not doable with the way that they were carrying the fish. And she could not, and would not, drop that fish. She craned her neck anyway to get another good look at him. Blind?

But... but...

Her mind went to work on this. He realized she was female, and he had called her milady, and he had realized that she was carrying a fish. So maybe... "Are they scratched?" she asked before she could help herself. "Do they hurt? Does the light make them hurt? The smoke from the fires? Were you always blind? How did you see me?" the questions came out one after another even as he was shaking Abashai's hand.

"Stitch," she repeated his name to herself. She found she liked it much better than 'this one', and wondered how he'd gotten that name, because she immediately thought of sewing and leatherworking, and the stitchwork she did there. "I like your name," she told him cheerfully as they worked on getting the fish over towards the firepit. The prospect of putting the fish down and getting started on it calmed her down enough, apparently, that her eyes had settled to a much more muted, rusty orange. "Thankyabigbig for helping me," she beamed at everyone, Stitch, Abashai, and Nya, now that they had the fish over to the pits. She helped Nya with the shovel and moving the ash, and set her backpack down, crouching in front of the expanse of scales, and opened her bag. She began to pull out some enormous leaves - clearly, she intended to cook the fish in that.

Avi paused in mid-motion at Nya's question about whether or not the fish had been cleaned. "Nooooo," she admitted, building up the pile of leaves -- just how many had she stuffed into that backpack!? -- "but I'll do it now," she volunteered happily. She burst out laughing at Nya's comment about wearing fish guts, and recalled their first meeting last season. Avi had stopped to eat her snack, a fish that had been somewhat smaller than this one, and, well, she'd gotten enthusiastic about it and dropped some pieces. And some of them, including the head, had landed on the prowling Forest Cat below. She shifted a little, and ran her finger along the belly of the big fish, clearly planning how to start cleaning it. She could put the good parts aside and she and Nya could have a snack. Avi would happily disappear into the trees for a bit if she had to to eat it raw, but...

Her head snapped up with alarm at Terminus' suggestion of other volunteers that could clean it, the movement sharp enough to swing the enormous, heavy braid over her shoulder to thump soundly against her back. Her eyes went from the calmer orange to a lemon to ruby with flecks of sapphire, the change so quick and sudden that if they weren't paying attention, they likely missed it. She hesitated, having lost the beaming grin. Clearly, she wanted to do it herself and keep an eye on it and make sure that she was going to get the guts and other treats. Her mouth opened and she licked her lips and bit down on her lower one, staring at the fish in front of her as her fingers stroked its belly while she thought it over. At home, she generally wasn't expected to clean and cook anything right yet. She brought meat in, and her mother or her aunts or her grandmothers or some of the others would prepare it, and they always saved the parts she liked for her. And to make matters worse, she didn't have the proper knives for gutting this baby right here. She could always shift and use her beak and talons, but the others...

Would probably be turned off of the fish by watching a giant bird butcher it.

She released a long breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding, and removed her hand from the fish, making a fist as she backed off a little, almost hopping back before standing. "Okay," Avi wasn't happy about it, but... but she'd let them clean it. She straightened, and brought her scale covered hands to her face, looking at them for a moment before cleaning her fingers with her mouth and tongue. She brightened suddenly as a thought struck her. If they all liked fish guts, well, she could go and get herself another fish, and she'd have that one all for herself and Nya. That put the smile back on her face. More fish! Terminus asked a question, then, and Avi, clearly over her uncertainty regarding the fish, was back to her usual good cheer. "I'm Avi, and this is Stitch. He runs the children's home." Clearly, she had been listening when Abashai had talked.

She considered jumping on Nya, then, and giving her a hug, but remembered what Sondra had said about washing her hands. She stared at them. They were clean enough now? But there was water over there, so maybe just to be sure... she picked a few more remaining scales off of the cotton vest she wore, and looked like she was going to pounce on Nya for a moment before hesitating again. Seal blood was different from fish scales, but... but... well, maybe if she went to get changed. Then she could claim a hug or five. She sighed, and leaned in on tiptoe to whisper in Nya's ear, "Do I need to go get changed?" As far as she was concerned, Nya was the authority on human behaviour here, and Avi trusted her judgment.