Light the fires [Mingle]

[ourearth]

Date: 2nd to 5th of November; backdated due to the Halloween mingle being too close by
Characters: Open!

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2nd to 4th

Bonfire night approaches, and like every year, a large bonfire is set up on the Greens, as well as an impressive fireworks display, intended to happen on the 3rd. It's been advertised for a few weeks now, and many families, groups of teenagers, and just regular people are planning on going... And then it's abruptly cancelled at the evening of the 2nd. The official word on it is that some kind of safety regulations weren't met, and as this was discovered at the final security check, there is no time to fix them. Oddly enough, at the same time yellow signs go up near the Greens, reading:

Mossgate POLICE Working for a safer Mossgate
We are appealing for witnesses: Can you help us?
Police incident
An incident occurred in this area between 1pm on the 2/11 and 2pm on the 3/11.
In strictest confidence, plase phone
020787574
Did you see or hear anything?
Please call us
On the number above or at your local police station

...And the perceptive person might notice that there are a few oddities going on around town. For one, there is more police out in the streets than normal, constables nobody has seen before, too, and they are carrying guns. Why are they carrying guns? This is not the airport or central London! This is the first thing that really gets the rumour mill going.

The second thing is that the area that was fenced off so when fireworks and bonfire happened, only those who paid an entrance fee would be able to get close, is still fenced off despite the cancellation. And those who peer into the area will notice more police there.

And then, on the 4th of November, a few nondescript vans and a small nondescript lorry arrive at the parking lot at the bottom of the Greens, and some people get off. All of them wear civilian clothes. A few simply wander off into Mossgate, but the rest goes up onto the Greens. And some of those carry large suitcases that seem to be quite heavy. Too bad there's bushes and trees and it is impossible to see what they're doing at the place where the bonfire and fireworks were set to happen...

[ooc: There are a few dedicated open NPC toplevels below for people to investigate, as well as toplevels aimed at specific characters. If anyone has ideas for investigating that are not covered by the below toplevels and needs input, prod the mod contact thread on the last setting interactions post!]



5th

After the fireworks in Mossgate couldn't happen, it was decided to do them in one of the villages in Mossgate Council. Naturally, Folkton and Moss Manor both clamoured to get them. But after a few young men got into a fistfight about it and a nose was broken, Mayor Gary Russell arrived at the Salomonic decision of having the fireworks happen in Tarwich instead. They have a nice little park there, and the official reason for the decision is that it is closer to Mossgate town so it will be easier for people from there to attend. The real reason is of course to not take any sides in the village rivalry.

Tarwich, by contrast, is too young to truly have rivalries and there are no old families that could bring true patriotic pride into the mix. Nicely bland and harmless. An excellent middle ground.

So on the evening of the fifth, like every year, there are two massive bonfires in Mossgate council, one in Folkton and one in Moss Manor. Little fairgrounds have sprung up next to them - a children's carousel, a kiddie train, an ice cream van, one or two vendors that sell festival foods like candy floss (= cotton candy).

But unlike other years, there's a third event, and most unusually the location is the often-forgotten Tarwich: Carefully timed so that people can first go see the fireworks and then go to whichever bonfire they prefer, there is a very nice 30 minutes long firework taking place in Tarwich, just after nightfall. There are no carousels or ice cream vans here, but festival food is offered, too.

Comments

[vernal_miss]

Letting out a small squawk of noise at the attempt to mess with her neatly done hair, she ducks her head in avoidance. Their mothers might not approve if she starts losing her bun even before the bonfire has started! Nevertheless, she keeps hanging on from behind.

“Then the next day of filming should be easier cause now you kind of know?”

[fairfeste]

They're careful! They won't knock it out.

"Hopefully," he says, grinning, "I'm learning a lot already, at least. How was your day?"

[vernal_miss]

Slowly, she slides her way back up, arms shifting to drape over their shoulders to snuggle in against their back as they talk. She wagers they will have the important parts figured out before the week is over.

“It was pretty good. Got a hundred on my spelling test from last week, and I think I did okay on my math quiz today.”

[fairfeste]

"That's great!" Feste shifts a little to grin back at her. "You've been working hard, huh?" They would probably not get a hundred on a spelling test now... thank god for spell check.

[vernal_miss]

The shift to look more at her leans her to one side, and Nel follows that subtle slide to curl around a shoulder in an angle towards their side, which puts her both in easier reach and a position that might possibly lead to a cuddly lap. Nodding her head at the question, she is happy to reply, “Mhmm! I want to try writing like Skypa one day and I need to be able to spell to do that.”

Math? She has less interest there but she knows she should still learn it as best she can. It is useful for sewing after all.

Another burst of color and sound above draws her attention upwards as the fireworks continue.

[fairfeste]

She can have the cuddly lap if she wants- it's one and there for her to take, and Feste certainly won't stop her. ...They're not totally sure if spelling is actually that important for being an author, but they're not going to tell Nel that. "Good! If you keep working hard I'm sure you'll be able to."

They go quiet for a moment, watching the fireworks. They... do need to tell her about the numbers thing, or else Mum would probably kill them. "After the fireworks are over, do you want to go for a walk before we head to the bonfire?"

[vernal_miss]

“I hope my stories sound as good on paper as in my head.” Bit by bit she creeps her way around that shoulder and looks to Feste for some sign of permission as she reaches one arm across their lap. Once given it in some fashion, she scoots gently to settle right into the middle and snuggle up against their front with a hushed ‘Yay!’ in cheer.

Gaze lingering in the sky at the fireworks, she processes the question after a slight delay, “Hm? Oh, yeah! A walk sounds nice!” Nel has no inclination to why, but a chance to spend more time with her eldest sibling is not going to be missed.

[fairfeste]

Feste will nod at her to let her know she's allowed. She's too cute to deny, honestly. "I'm sure you'll be great," they say encouragingly, wrapping an arm around her to give her a little squeeze.

Ok. Good. They can talk about it then. But for now, fireworks, and they can try and figure out how to do this.

[vernal_miss]

The encouragement stirs a giggle from the girl, and she wraps her arms over their arm to squeeze back in appreciation. Nel allows herself to lean lightly against Feste, head turning in towards their neck to rest while looking upwards so high in the dark sky. The colorful flashes burst into being only to fizzle away, but the sheer number of rockets creates a performance to be enjoyed.

After the loud finale, through which Nel curls a little smaller even as she smiles, the girl will work to extract herself from her sibling's lap to stand. Sharing warmth snuggling has kept her comfortable, and she offers her hands to Feste to help stand should they feel stiff from having supported her through the last portion of the fireworks.

[fairfeste]

They sit together, just enjoying the show until the final rockets go off. It's a nice, quiet moment... or, well. Quiet metaphorically. Not literally. Literally it is quite loud. Maybe 'peaceful' is better than quiet...

Feste grins, taking their sister's hand but not really putting all that much weight onto her. "Thanks." They keep her hand in theirs, starting to walk together just around the area. They wait until they're out of more people's earshot before getting to what this is really about. "So... uh. I should. Tell you something."

[vernal_miss]

Adjusting her grip on their hand once Feste is standing, Nel moves right in alongside them as they begin to walk together to navigate out of the most densely packed portion of the crowd. Now and again she tucks behind them, hand held fast through it. Once at the outskirts, she looks up to Feste as they try to broach a subject. Her eldest sibling seems nervous, so this must be important.

Head tilted curiously, she inquires right out, “Did you meet someone?” That Feste is telling her only eliminates the worst possibilities that spring to mind such as them wanting to leave Mossgate.

[fairfeste]

Aaaaagh. "Uh-- no. No I didn't." Ok. For real this time. "I've got the same Number thing you and Mum do now. So... we still have to keep kind of quiet about it, but. You can talk to me about it too now?"

[vernal_miss]

It was meant as an innocent guess, and she shrugs when the possibility is eliminated. Thankfully, Feste doesn’t delay further.

Nel slows in pace as she processes the revelation, her hand tightening in grip as she tries to sort conflicting feelings. On the one hand, she’s very excited that Feste will have magic too for the sheer possibilities and the chance to share the experience with them. Not having to keep it a secret from them is a selfish relief. Yet, on the other... Is Feste going to be stressed and worried by having a Number that could change them or mean they have to hide something? Will they worry about her like Mum and Grandpa?

Unable to settle, she asks, “When did you start thinking about your Number? Are you scared?” She heard that uncertainty and that has to be understood before she can know whether to allow herself to be happy or worried.

[fairfeste]

Feste will wait. This is kind of why they wanted to have a grip on this first... it's a lot, and they're unhappy that she has to deal with it. And luckily, they did expect her to have questions.

"I guess about a month ago or something? But I only figured it out like. A few days ago." As for whether they're scared, well. That's not quite the right word. Unsettled and distressed by the the fact they know nothing. But that's not what she asked, and she doesn't need to know that. "No. Are you scared?"

[vernal_miss]

A month. That's even before she and Mum got their Numbers a couple weeks ago. Granted Feste isn't always good with tracking time.

Question reflected back to her, Nel inhales to puff up her chest a little as she sets her jaw in determination, "Of course not! Everyone with a Number has been very nice and we're all going to help each other." Including her! So that means that everything is going to work out okay. And if Feste only figured it out a few days ago, then she definitely cannot let on that she does worry about others sometimes.

"I haven't had many Echoes, but one of them changed my hair when I was really little I guess. That's why it grows so fast," she relays. Perhaps Feste has identified an Echo of their own.

[fairfeste]

"That's good. I haven't talked to a lot of people yet." The network was kind of the second discovery, and they wanted to talk to Nel before really doing anything with that. "I'm glad everyone's been nice to you. If anyone's mean or you can tell me or Mum, you know that right?"

Honestly it's kind of like giving her the rules for the internet all over again...

"When you were little?" They... hadn't gotten that part of the explanation yet. "Before you got the actual Number thing?"

[vernal_miss]

"Jim, Walter, and Sadie explained everything to Mum and me," and Grandpa confirmed it all when they talked in person afterwards. Given how Jim apologized over using a curse word on the network where she could see it not even addressing her, she feels confident saying, "That shouldn't be a problem. Chad was even being nice to me! Buuuut if anyone is mean, I'll remember."

Starting to calm, she nods and seizes the opportunity to share some of what she learned, "Mmhmm! The Network started when the aurora happened in the summer, but before that, people that have Numbers were getting Echoes a long time ago. Mum said hers was from twenty years ago."

[fairfeste]

Feste has no idea who anyone of those people but Walter are. They suppose they'll find out.

"...Wow." That's a really long time. Like, how-long-they've-been-alive long. "I hadn't heard about that part yet." Maybe that's good- make Nel feel like she can be helpful in all of this, too, and not just dragged along for the ride. Which is more how Feste feels.

[vernal_miss]

Nel will happily introduce Feste to Sadie after having met her on Halloween and having a nice chat with her in person.

"It's a tad odd, but kind of ace too. That maybe we've had magic a long time and didn't know," she says. Then, figuring other gaps may exist regarding the information Feste has about the Numbers, she proposes an idea, "Maybe we can sit down and you can listen to when Mum and I talked to them on the Network. Then you'll know everything we do."

[fairfeste]

"That's a good idea." They smile down at Nel-- good. This isn't freaking her out, and maybe if they keep up like this her being involved won't be so bad. Maybe if the people on the Network thing are reasonable, they'll even know to keep her out of certain things that she probably shouldn't hear. They can hope, anyway.

[vernal_miss]

"Do you want to listen when we get home tonight? Or maybe tomorrow morning?" Nel would be glad to listen with them now, but she is for once without paper and a pencil on hand. Conditions with fireworks and a bonfire are not particularly good matches to drawing. They could try some other medium, but at home where they feel safe might be better so they can talk freely too.

"And you can ask me questions anyways! I don't mind," she extends in offer, not wanting to shut down the conversation to wait on listening to the audio recorded on the Network. Nel will do her best to answer about the Numbers, and certainly for herself.

[fairfeste]

"Tonight or tomorrow are probably good." Depends on how exhausted everyone is after the bonfire- if their other siblings are tired that might be perfect, but Feste doesn't want Nel to wear herself out either. Mary Ann and Janice are probably both going to be in on it, but Mary Ann did say they should probably leave the rest of their family out of it and Feste agrees, though possibly for different reasons.

"I'm ok for right now. I'm sure listening to those will help a lot."

[vernal_miss]

Nel plans to go home awake tonight...such is not to be however.

"Okay! Whenever you're ready then." It depends more on when Feste feels they are ready to field other possible surprises in her mind as she knows no one else but Mum would hear.

Gently she starts to swing their linked hands, smile strengthening with her optimism beginning to outweigh her caution, "You know, it'll be easier to keep it secret since I can talk to you."

[fairfeste]

Feste smiles, giving her hand a little squeeze. "That's good," they say encouragingly- they don't want Nel to feel like it's bottled up or anything, and it's best if she can keep this a secret. Probably. At least until they figure out more of what's going on and how to explain it. Maybe? Honestly, they'll probably defer to Mary Ann on any decisions related to that.

[vernal_miss]

The swinging of their joined hands slows in favor of instead returning the squeeze to their hand. At which point Nel tries to impress upon them, “You know that means you can talk to me too, right? I may not get adult stuff but I do know how it is to feel a little nervous, or super excited, or even kind of scared. So you can always tell me how you feel if something happens. Or if nothing happens. Cause sometimes we don’t know what our Number changed.”