Let's meet under the Northern Lights [Mingle]

[ourearth]

Date: June 30th 2018, in the evening
Characters: Everyone!

---

It is a perfect Saturday evening after a almost unbearably hot summer's day: The sky is clear, the temperature only just begins to dip below twenty degrees at sundown with only a fresh breeze from across the Channel perhaps suggesting that a jacket should be brought along for later, and most residents of Mossgate and its surroundings are on their feet to come and see the annual fireworks above the ruins at the top of the Greens. The whole park is dotted with people on picnic blankets, but most attendees centre around the bottom near the bandstand, where an orchestra is setting up to play classical music to accompany the fireworks.

The fireworks are set to start at 10:30, once the sky has finally darkened enough and thus they do, a beautiful display lasting for over twenty minutes, accompanied by moving music, the wind from the seaside helpfully clearing the smoke away so they never get obscured by it.

But then, when the last firework has gone up and people are starting to turn their heads away, a shout goes up, those who were still hoping that the last of the fireworks might yet be before them calling everyone else to attention.

Something else can be seen in the sky, something that older residents or those who look at the nightly sky a lot might have seen before, but never at this time of the year:

Northern Lights.

They hang in the sky for almost half an hour before dissipating, and leave many a person in excited discussions with those around them about the odd timing of the sight.

Some of the residents of Mossgate and the surrounding area, however, will experience the occasion very differently. Because as the Northern Lights appear, they are overcome with a wave of absolute emptiness, with a feeling of being absolutely hollow inside, and a loud sound like a resounding heartbeat will drown out everything around them.

They'll be left feeling dizzy, and like they gained something - which they did. They're all in possession of one additional echo* now. And that number they could never forget? It's suddenly very present on their minds again.

And if they write it down, input it into a computer, say it out loud, or in any other way give form to it, they will realize that it does something now: It connects them with other people. The Network just went live.

[*This is a plot echo. Those characters whose First Echo the Northern Lights are will, of course, not get an additional echo, but everyone whose First Echo happened before the Northern Lights will gain another echo now. Please request all echoes over here and wait with playing out all echoes that aren't memory echoes until they have been approved.]

Comments

[saveournpcs]

Somewhere on the grounds, Mayor Gary Russell can be found on a blanket with his grandchildren. He'll greet everyone back who greets him or directs their attention at him, but will only start up a conversation if they have small children with them themselves. That doesn't mean that he won't happily participate in a conversation someone else starts.

An area near the music is occupied by some faculty from Mossgate University, and among them is Jane Astbury, the chancellor. She only barely pays attention to the going-ons and spends most of the time with discussions about the latest attempts to secure more funding and prevent studies being rationalized away from them.

Superintendent Mahira Khan, meanwhile, has a very busy evening. Not that anyone expects trouble, but events like these still require police presence, and thus she's here at work. At one point, though, she can be found sitting down and taking a short break, and if anyone wants to approach her, that is probably the right time. Unless, of course, she's needed in her professional capacity as a constable, then she's always available.

Group Captain Stewart Fairhurst, the head of the local RAF base, can be found wandering around looking increasingly distressed as the evening goes on. He can be approached, but with how grumpy he looks, it's at your own risk. Teenagers in their mid-teens might however find themselves approached with a barked question of: "Have you seen Harry? Kid your age, probably wears a green jumper?"

Mary Saunders on the other hand will be up to a chat the whole time. Those who are from Folkton currently or used to live there will find themselves greeted warmly, and those who aren't will still find her happy to engage in a conversation, should they wish to talk to their local MP.

NPC Interactions?

[iamnotgod]

While not a Folkton native, Walter made a point to seek out MP Saunders anyhow, wanting to know how she was getting on - what her priorities were for this upcoming season and so forth.

"Evening, miss. How have you been?"

---

While not a teenager, Walter did look young for his age - and he could have sworn he'd seen a teen in a green jumper earlier in the evening...

"Excuse me, sir?" he volunteered politely. "I, ah, may have seen him earlier." Though that didn't necessarily mean he'd be able to find Henry now.

Stewart

[tobodlygo]

Jim recognizes Stewart immediately, they've worked together before and he's always been around the area. Though, he does look a little more grumpy than usual.

"Hey, Stewart, is everything okay?" Jim asks, already worried that something's gone awry. It takes a lot to get a military person ruffled like this.

[runs]

For most of the evening, Kitty can be found wandering around the Greens, sitting down with people she knows to snatch some of the food they brought. ...Or stopping next to strangers who have interesting and tasty looking food with them and just asking them as innocently as she can manage: "Is that good?"

Later, she watches the fireworks with interest, but what arrests her attention and even manages to distract her from eating is what happens after. Kitty is standing under the Northern Lights with wide eyes, a hand with a donut halfway to her mouth.

"What is that?" she asks nobody in particular and everyone around.

Pre-Northern Lights!

[iamnotgod]

While not surprised to see her here, he also hadn't been paying full attention when she singled him out for snacks.

"Uh, yes?" he ended up saying - not realizing he was answering her question!

"What do you need?"

Before

[tobodlygo]

"What? Are you kidding? Rolo's are the best!" He hands her the pack of the little chocolate caramel rounds that he's been munching on the past 10 minutes.

He gestures around to the selection of food he's got with him on the side of the picnic blanket.

"I've got Cocktail sausages, uhhh - those lil' egg sausage ball things, I think I bought a trifle as well? I don't know - it was on sale." Anything in the reduction section is up for grabs. This is law.

Late late late.... Hope this is alright

[warped_replica]

Given the position away from the main crowd yet still within sight of everyone, the ideal space under the tree on the quilt early in the evening is rather inviting. As such, it only makes sense she would drop by even with his great aunts currently mingling with their neighbors and friends. That, and he has sole watch over the basket filled with food and treats.

Girl has priorities.

Tapping the side button on his phone to turn off the screen, he shifts to prop up onto his elbows in a reclined position where he lies on the quilt. Offering a friendly smile, he greets the girl he’s gotten quite used to dropping by the house from time to time, “Hey Kitty.”

[brofistsforall]

PRE-LIGHTS
Professor Petty can be found mixing with just about everybody - at least, anybody who's had a connection to Mossgate 6th Form College, which is no small amount. From fellow faculty to alumni to the families of current students, he's always there with a laugh, a joke, or some encouragement in their current endeavors. And when the fireworks start? He's watching them with a grin, seated on a hill with a drink in hand as he watches the show.

POST LIGHTS
At first, Jacob thinks he's having a heart attack. Combined with the sudden uselessness of his right arm, even when he's used to it being weak in the first place?

It goes without saying that he makes a trip to the first aid tent. When they can find nothing wrong with him - short of his lack of arm response - they simply urge him to rest, and he makes a note to reach out to his doctor as soon as he can. Even so, he's a bit wry about it; this may just be the nerves acting up. Which...

In all honesty, with the reassurance that it isn't something immediately serious, much of his concern vanishes. With his arm now in a full sling, he resolves to enjoy the rest of the night - strange feelings or not (and why was it so familiar?) - back in the mix with a laugh and an attempt to put that strange number in his mind to the side, for now.

PreLights

[warped_replica]

While the professor is conversing with a handful of attendants, he may take notice of a rather awkward teenager trying to navigate the festivities with no particular destination. He hesitates as he moves along the periphery of a group of other students from 6th Form, keeping enough distance not to be noticed by the other teens, but near enough he could tap a shoulder if he took a mere three steps forward. A couple minutes pass with him repositioning to the left or right, visibly working up the nerve to approach only to halt or turn away. The one time he does step forward, another passerby nearly bowls him over as he goes running through the gap, but Benjiro is more than quick enough to avoid contact. He just...retreats further back for it.

Another moment, and he stalls when the other teens move themselves away through the crowd with a shared laugh. Benjiro watches them departing with a faint wince and grimace before his gaze drops and one hand is raised to rub the back of his neck. His eyes turn up along the Greens towards a tree where his aunts sit, but he quickly looks away from there.

Starting to walk away from this cluster of people, he spots his professor through the crowd. Raising that hand off his neck, he offers a distant smile and still wave in greeting only to keep walking. He doesn’t go far. Just far enough to sit down on the grass and look at his phone to check for messages.

Also PreLights!

[iamnotgod]

Walter hadn't been trying to find anyone in particular, but he recognized a fair number of faces even at a distance - Jacob's was among them.

One hand holding a (currently empty) plate, he waved cheerfully with the other.

"Found yourself a crowd, did you?" he teased - once he was close enough to be heard, of course!

Pre-Lights!

[tobodlygo]

"Hey, Professor!" Jim Pike waves to the familiar face in the crowd, making his way over.

He'd met the professor through Academic meet-ups in and around Kent, his passion for teaching and knowledge meant that they always had something to talk about; especially when Jim needed to noodle out some new applied physics theories.

Post Lights

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie was keeping her head fully down and walking at a very swift pace away from the main gathering in an attempt to get home as soon as possible.

However she did not see her Tutor with her head facing the ground and runs right into him, falling backwards onto her arse with and 'oomf'. Her hair shifts, unobscuring her face just a tad, enough for her eyes to catch the light and her pupils to flash in a manner not dissimilar to a cats.

[warped_replica]

Before the fireworks
After having missed the opportunity to attend last year, Benjiro had nearly forgotten about the celebration until his great aunts reminded him at breakfast earlier in the day. His appetite had diminished in an instant, knowing it meant being around crowds, but his aunts spoke so highly of the display that he did not suffer more than a twinge of guilt when he updated his typical plans to work around his absence in the evening. A one shot hosting after his own play would be of benefit to a lesser known gamer after all.

The trio had departed earlier than most of their close neighbors, and with Benjiro carrying the chosen comforts, they were able to make excellent time. Arriving at his great aunts' favored spot just under the edge of a tree positioned far enough from the bandstand that they could hear one another without shouting, Benjiro had laid out the quilt, set up the two collapsible chairs, and placed the small cooler in an accessible spot between the chairs. Lulled by the dwindling heat, the teenager wasted no time in getting comfortable on the quilt. Phone in hand, he used the notes app to write down reminders for himself as his brain turned over possibilities for tomorrow.

As more and more people arrived to the site, the two retirees, Agatha and Rosemary, would wander off to share in the conversations building into a growing drum in the air. Content to stay at the quilt, Benjiro had a little quiet time to get used to the atmosphere without any pressure.

Then suddenly, Agatha is shooing him off the quilt and kicking his shoes onto his lap. Go be friendly! Chit chat! Do something you can't do sitting around at the house! A chime from Rosemary is a little more gentle in tone, yet, she slyly reminds him they will be watching his progress.

Reluctantly, Benjiro pulls on his shoes and rises to stand in the grass. He idly wonders if there only seem to be more people now that he's standing because the slowly fading light makes it easier to blend the moving humanoid shapes. ....but likely not. Courage gathered and phone slipped into a pocket, he makes his way to wander around the edges of activity and observe quietly.

After the lights arrive
The initial tuning of the band instruments is cue enough to send Benjiro back up the incline to the tree where his great aunts are waiting. Settling in plenty of time back on the quilt laying on his stomach, he admires the fireworks display accompanied by music. He doesn't have much of an ear for picking out subtle flaws in the music, but he certainly has no difficulty tracking the trajectories, accounting for wind factor, and the timing of the light show. The level of practice by the crew is certainly evident in how the eruptions of light correspond to the rise and fall in the music.

The final note of the soundtrack ends as the smoke continues to drift above in the darkness. Applause given with enthusiasm, and an approving whistle by his Aunt Rosemary, it is once the quiet settles again to nothing more than a soft chatter from the crowd that Benjiro moves to sit up and pull out his phone. At the shout he hears, his gaze snaps back upwards and fixates upon the spreading aurora. That is certainly not natural.

Regretting his erect position in nearly the same instant, Benjiro bows his head to bury his face against a hand and close his eyes as his inside drains away in a rush. His own thoughts are drown out by the sudden audible pulse in his head shoving forward a familiar sequence of numerical digits. A faint blush of a prickling sensation runs in a wave from his neck down to his fingers and toes alike as his nervous system is stimulated by something else - the implicit memory of motions. It makes him shiver, and that's what his great aunts notice.

His voice comes out weaker than expected when they prompt him for a response, and his admission to feeling dizzy is met with instruction to lie down and take it easy. He complies without another word. Questions arise as he looks back up towards the lights in the sky with a subtle tension in his systems that doesn't dissipate until the lights themselves are gone.

Also PreLights!

[iamnotgod]

A familiar face on the edge of a crowd - it was enough to make Walter move to extricate himself from the middle of said crowd.

How'd I even get in here?, he thought, but there was no immediate answer forthcoming.

Gathering his bearings (and discretely disposing of his plate), Walter made his way over to Benjiro, holding a hand up to both hopefully direct the teen's attention and in an attempt to match his height.

Shouting seemed useless at this stage, so motion would have to do.

Pre-Lights

[dragoonrouge]

Sadie had also ended up wandering aimlessly about after splitting up from James and is somewhat relieved to spot Benjiro, finally a familiar face!

"Benjiro!" She calls loudly over the noise of the crowd. "Hi!" She waves at him to catch his attention.

OTA

[iamnotgod]

PRE-NORTHERN LIGHTS

Walter didn't hate crowds - if he hated anything, it was not being able to escape the noise if things got too loud - but he preferred being on the edge of things than in the middle. That said, he'd made a promise to himself to enjoy this night and not focus on his latest deadline... So he found himself becoming increasingly immersed in the crowd over time.

At least staying up late wasn't a problem for him?

POST-NORTHERN LIGHTS

Walter had spent the first few minutes after the aurora began (although they felt like hours, somehow) simply staring at the lights. For him, it was a rare moment: with that hollowness came quiet.

That quiet aspect quickly stopped.

Someone might take notice of a man, slight in build and somewhat overdressed for the weather, trying to head out and away, apologizing to anyone he ran into (of course) and dodge questions. Somehow, his body just wasn't moving fast enough.

Post-Northern Lights

[fracturedbeauty]

Rafe already has problems keeping proper balance on even his best days (and today is honestly one of the better ones), but when Walter crashes into him, he goes toppling without so much as a chance, his cane falling to the wayside.

"Excuse you!" Rafe exclaims, rather unforgivingly, and he reaches out to grab Walter by the pant leg. No matter how fast he's trying to excuse himself. "I do hope that you don't intend to just leave me down here."

The look on his face is a mix of unimpressed, sour, and a contortion of are you serious right now. If Walter knows what's good for him, he'll fix this mess before he continues to run off.

[dragoonrouge]

Before the Lights

Sadie was quietly wandering through the throng of people all gathered for the fireworks. She'd split up from her brother a good while ago and was squinting through the dark, trying to find her family or someone familiar to sit with...

After the Lights.

Sadie stood up as the Northern Lights burst into life over Mossgate. She scrambles for her phone to take a photo when time seems to slow. Sadie gasps as it feels like her stomach drops out from underneath her, the sounds of the excited crowd fades away and all she can hear is her heart pounding away.

The number was back...

As quickly as it happens the sensation disappears, sound flooding back into her ears. The Lights above seemingly brighter as a sharp pain in her head causes her to sway and then start to keel over...

Before the Lights!

[iamnotgod]

Walter probably counted as familiar to Sadie by this point, but he wasn't sitting down - he'd found a tree to lean against, watching the throng with quiet interest.

Upon catching her eye, Walter waved, choosing to save his voice for later.

[tobodlygo]

Before:

Pike had only been here for a month or two, so Sadie might have seen him floating around, frequenting coffee and charity shops and almost always carrying several disorganised papers shoved haphazardly into a briefcase.

Except now, he's actually cleaned up and making an effort. As she comes close, he offers a hand.

"Care to dance, young lady?" He grins.

After:

As far as he can tell, it happens to them both at the same time. The Lights appear, and then they both stiffen as a horrible, gut wrenching feeling comes over them.

When he feels like he can speak again he moves to ask is Sadie's alright but -

"Um. Your eyes are yellow?" He says in a low voice, as to not alert anyone else to this fact.

[tobodlygo]

Pre-Lights

James Robert Pike is honestly having a ball. The music is fantastic and he sways with the swells and peaks of the orchestra, happily whooping and cheering at the light displays above him. He's managed to grab a plethora of snacks, and is offering them out to people that stray near.

"Care to dance?" He'll ask, a cheeky grin on his face and his hand waiting to be taken.

Post Lights

He's seen the Borealis before, and each time he's been stunned by their beauty, but this... this is something totally different.
The emptiness scoops out his insides, tearing at his heart and - He's leaning up against the transparent window to the reaction chamber. There's pain lancing through every part of his body but it's okay, it doesn't matter, his crew is safe. Spock's here. When did Spock get here? 'How do you choose not to feel?' He asks, pleads, because he's about to die and he knows it was worth it but he's terrified and - "I do not know. Right now I am failing."-

He slams back into reality, the breath knocked from his lungs as he staggers under the weight of this vision... memory? God almighty.

Pre-Lights!

[iamnotgod]

Walter's reaction was a(n admittedly hilarious), "W-wait, uh, what?"

He's been caught utterly by surprise this time. Unless Jim meant to ask someone else?

"I- I mean, I wasn't exactly planning to, but-"

There are certain things this programmer just isn't prepared for. Conversations? Yes. Interventions in apparent bullying sessions or in cases of missing teenagers? Yes. Making friends? Very much yes! But being asked to dance, or anything flirtatious? That's a flat nope.

Pre-Lights!

[darkmagiciangirl]

Chihiro had gotten up and walked around, talking to people and otherwise socializing, enjoying the festivities. She had found and talked to some of her friends, some school faculty, and was now watching the orchestra and listening to the music. An inquiry to dance caught her attention, surprising her.

"Uh... Sure!" She didn't know how to dance and she didn't recognize the man, but he was very handsome and dancing sounded like fun. She took his hand with a small giggle.

[darkmagiciangirl]

Pre-Lights
Chihiro had laid down a blanket to sit on during the event. She had a cooler with some light snacks and lots of water with her to give to friends and people who needed them. She was definitely using the fireworks show as an excuse to sit and rest - she'd spent much of her free time walking around outside in the heat.

Post-Lights
She stood in wonder as the lights appeared in the sky - what an unusual treat! She pulled out her phone to take a picture of the lights and felt all of her hair stand on end, goosebumps up and down her arms, that feeling on the back of her neck. She felt a little dizzy, but nothing incredibly bad. That number she couldn't get out of her head was also repeating quickly in her mind, constantly reminding her it existed. She took her picture despite all of this, noticing her phone battery was low, and sat back down.

Chihiro dug into her bag to pull out her little portable power brick, but stopped when she grabbed something that she didn't recognize. Pulling it out it was a deck of cards. She used her phone light to look at them. They appeared to be hand drawn and painted, and looked similar to a deck of tarot cards, but with strange imagery she didn't recognize.

"..Where did these come from?"

[tobodlygo]

Jim was sitting near her at the time after their dance, pressing into the sides of his temples.

"Your bag?" Wow what a piece of shit, Jimmy. Be nice.

OTA

[scarsolderthanyou]

Pre-Lights

Sam Stone does not like fireworks. They're loud, they're explosive, they're dangerous, and they leave the sky smokey for hours, even with a good sea breeze. He hasn't met very many other combat veterans who are fond of them, either. So he's here solely because the kids and grandkids want him here, and he had noise-muffling headphones in a backpack for when the actual show starts.

Until then, he's either indulgently letting himself be dragged somewhere by a grandchild, wandering around aimlessly half looking for old friends and half just not wanting to sit still, or actually sitting still on his family's picnic blanket eating some of the snacks they brought and generally scolding a kid or three for getting too loud.

Post-lights

Though he misses the shout at first, ears still covered by the headphones so he doesn't have to hear any unexpected explosions after the fact, enough people looking up and pointing have him glancing up as well, irritable. He thought this show was over, dammit, and he wants to go home.

Except then, looking up at the non-explosive lights, his stomach feels like it does a flip, and suddenly he's imagining flying. (No, not imagining... Sam's imagination is not really that great; is that a memory?) Not flying in a plane, or drifting to the ground in a parachute, both familiar feelings, but with the wind in his face and something pumping at his back, and he's flying, of his own power. There's an ocean below, and scattered clouds above, and--

--and then it's over and he feels like he has to sit down. So he does, heavily, blinking in confusion.

"What the hell."

Did he say that out loud?

Post-Lights?

[iamnotgod]

After knocking into Rafe, Walter tries to put more effort into not hitting people on his quest to Get Away.

Still, that doesn't mean he looks all that well - or that he can't hear what others are saying.

Stumbling to a stop- (not far enough away, why can't I MOVE), he looks over at Sam who's... also startled. Maybe the Northern Lights or that hollowness took someone else by surprise?

"Ex- exactly," Walter manages to say.