I. A Friendly Competition (14th - 16th)
To those who spend their time with Aefenglom's Wilders, they'll notice them quite excited as the day of the Not-So-Annual Grand Scavenger Hunt approaches. It's set to be Wilders vs Mirrorbound, and even those who aren't participating are discussing it like a spectator sport and placing bets on one side or the other, based on whose wilderness skills they think will win out.
At noon on the 14th, participants meet at a small outpost just outside the city to check in, where those without partners are paired up, and each duo or trio is given a bundle of items: a list -- on a paper enchanted against moisture and tearing -- of the challenges to be completed, in no particular order; a map of this area of the Wilde marked with general locations for where each challenge can be found - not small area by any means!; three emergency flares, should they find trouble; a small med-kit with basic first aid supplies; and a bag to hold their retrieved items in, which can be turned in at the same outpost at any point during the 48 hours of the competition. You are responsible for your own camping gear if you stay out overnight. At least it's summer out there!
Once everyone has been given their kits, the event begins, setting participants scattering off into the woods to track down and complete any of the listed challenges. The Wilders are highly competitive, wanting to bring a win to their side in the first Scavenger Hunt in a few years, and some of them will do anything (short of murder or grievous injury - they don't mean anyone true harm) to nab more points or sabotage the other side. Watch out for your opponents trying to thieve your item bags, trick you into getting lost, or setting off natural obstacles that will slow you down! All's fair in love and scavenger hunts though - it's not against the rules for you to sabotage them back!
Mirrorbound Witches need to watch out as well - the competition takes place during the new moon, and this month, it's going to be difficult for even experienced Witches to control their super-charged magic. Backfires, fizzling out of spells, etc. are all expected - from you, but not from the native Witches on the other team, whose magic is only weaker on the new moons.
a. Challenge 1: Pearl of Wisdom A broad lake can be found some miles to the east, the water glittering and inviting, if dark enough that you can't see the bottom of it even on a clear day. The brief outlines a species of clam found at the bottom of this lake, numerous, big as dinner plates, and bearing massive, iridescent black pearls, prized for beauty and their properties in illusion spells when ground into dust. One of these pearls is your target. The clams are uninfected and generally safe to handle, protected by their hard shells. The brief does not warn, however, about the troupe of white-eyed Merrow Shades that live in the lake and jealously guard this treasure. They use their shrill singing voices to muddle minds and urge trespassers to drown themselves, and they're viciously adept at fighting both on land and in the water.
b. Challenge 2: Willow Bark The bark of a willow tree, infused with magic, has some fair pain relief properties. The maps are marked with the location of a willow grove, largely untouched by Cwyld, where participants in this challenge are required to collect at least a hand's length worth of bark. The main problem, not mentioned in the brief, is that the real willow trees are interspersed through a grove of numerous toxic Impostor Willows, which look exactly alike, but whose bark has opposing properties - it causes horrible pain when prepared and consumed, and causes ugly rashes when you peel it from the tree. Find the bark of the real willows using observations of the area - insects and small creatures tend to avoid the impostors - or, less recommended, by... testing them yourself...
c. Challenge 3: Track & Observe You have been given an enchanted tracking collar in your item bag for this one. Without harming the creature, place the collar on a Neeklur; these will be used for tracking purposes to study their movements and behaviors. The Neeklur is a breed of small, nocturnal marsupial. They have developed a unique relationship with a type of bush that grows into tall hedges, which spread across sparse, open areas where there are few trees and plenty of sunlight for these aggressively spreading plants. Neeklurs make their nests in the heart of such natural hedge mazes, where they can sleep safely during the day, when the hedges quite literally move around on their own, rearranging the paths between them in, it seems, no discernible pattern, making it quite difficult to find your way around if you aren't careful to mark your path. Without direct sunlight, the hedges are dormant, but be warned that the timid, sleepy Neeklurs transform into long-clawed, screeching little beasts at night. They are extremely territorial, and defend their home as a horde.
d. Challenge 4: Tree Elk Antlers Tree Elk, found in the lush woods, are sporting flourishing green-leaved antlers during the Wilde summer. Retrieve a branch from a Tree Elk's antlers with the leaves still lush and intact to win this challenge. Hurting the beast in any way, even emotionally (they're easily traumatized by a small fright) will cause the leaves to shrivel up, turn brown and/or fall right off. You'll have to figure out how to gain its trust and get close enough to it to take a small branch as a willing gift. Don't worry, breaking off a small branch of antler won't hurt it, and these intelligent, if timid, creatures are happy to bestow them as gifts upon those who have earned them.
e. Challenge 5: Singing Shrooms At the base of an old, sprawling oak, deep in the forest, is a symphony of mushrooms. Literally. These fungi come in all shapes, sizes, colors... and keys. They sing. In fact, they never shut up. You may find them easily enough by their eerie, discordant song, but finding the right one in that cacophony is a difficult task. Many different types of singing mushrooms cluster together, and may or may not be infected. Cwyld doesn't affect their outward appearance, but it does change their tune - we're only looking for the uninfected ones that sing a particular song in a particular key. Pick the right type of mushroom off the tree and bring it back. Though, watch out for the ones with teeth. And the ones that emit poison spores. Or hallucinogens. There are so many mushrooms on that tree.
All retrieved items must be stashed in the given bags and turned in to the small outpost where the event started by Deceuer 16th at noon. From there, Rilla Sparks and her organizers will count each team's contributions and tally up points. There will be back-slaps and congratulations for a job well done, and drinks to celebrate! Prizes will be mailed out to the winners within a couple of weeks.
The prize list will go up on January 1st and each participant who submits an in-progress or completed thread tackling at least one challenge will get to pick what they want for their character! |
II. Modranicht (21st - 23rd)
Modranicht proper begins on the 21st, and the days leading up to it are a frenzy of festivity. Homes are often decorated with sprigs of greenery and, less traditional, ribbons, and many shops begin holding sales on their giftable wares. This holiday is celebrated as a time spent with family and other loved ones; traditionally, all meals should be taken with others, and those who eat alone are said to find bad luck in the coming months. Those who can are delighted to pull strangers in to have lunch or dinner with them, should they seem like they're a little lonely around this time of year.
Especially in the neighborhood adjacent to the Haven, those people who came over from Dorchacht over a year ago, who are doing fairly well for themselves these days, are thrilled to have their Mirrorbound neighbors over for a hot drink or a meal and a spot of catching up. They heard what happened with Morgana a couple months back, nasty business, horrible woman, that, and for the most part, they seem quite comfortable with the idea that she's dead now. "I wouldn't move back," most say, "but it's good to know they're really free of her."
The ones most in need this season are those orphans in the Harbor District, though efforts by the Mirrorbound Council and others to better care for many of the parentless kids there have improved spirits, making kids playing and laughing a more common sight. Still, many of those rascals haven't lost their mischievous streaks: some little ones are quite likely to try and pickpocket you as you pass through, or pelt you with snowballs, but gifts or candy can perhaps soften their demeanor. They're just kids, after all.
a. Kiss-tletoe Redux While many of the decorations adorning shopfronts and houses are simple wreaths and garlands of pine, holly, and ivy, enchanted mistletoe is absolutely littered around the city, dangling in doorways, hung up on walls, hanging from the eaves of rooftops. Strings of it zigzag over the streets, hung from lampposts. This is a festive tradition that will be familiar to some. When two people pass under a sprig of mistletoe together, they're supposed to kiss, and the enchantments on many of those sprigs encourage it. Some will stick the pair's feet to the ground until they do so, some will just very lightly compel a smooch, whether it's on the mouth, the hand, the cheek, the forehead, or anywhere else. It's all in good fun, though - none of the enchantments are difficult to break, should one really not want to lock lips: you just have to destroy the mistletoe sprig you're under.
Careful about getting stuck in public, unless you enjoy being the center of attention in a crowd! Other passers-by will loudly cheer or jeer you and your mistletoe-mate on until a kiss is had! Be wary too, of pranksters who will actively push two people under a sprig, laughing all the while.
b. Craft Fair Gift-giving is an important tradition during Modranicht. It's considered only proper to present something to each of your loved ones, as a token of your care and affection for them. Handmade gifts are still widely regarded as the best, because it shows your effort in creating something just for them, so while shops may be having sales for purchased gifts, they're also trying to drum up more business again in the form of crafting lessons. Most businesses will set up tables in their shops, and for a small fee at the door (to cover materials), an instructor will show a group of people how to make something related to whatever the shop offers for sale. All materials are provided, and attendees get to take home what they make to give to friends or loved ones. Some of these even include small enchantments, such as carved wooden birds that actually fly, or timepieces that announce the time in funny voices. Witches are encouraged to learn the spell and help their Monster friends by enchanting their creation for them, but the instructors will do it as well if needed.
If you have a crafty talent of your own, it's easy to make some good money this season by setting up your own lessons on how to make whatever you're good at. Space is available, though it's up to you to source your materials and decide your fee. All the rage in the Western Residential District, where Mirrorbound are generally regarded as friends and neighbors, is objects and styles that come from other worlds. They absolutely want to learn from you and be able to give their loved ones something new and exciting.
c. Eat, Drink & Be Merry All meals during Modranicht should be eaten with another person, according to tradition. Many families and groups of friends have their own feasts during the holiday, but all are invited to a city-wide feast as well, on the 23rd. Located in a park enchanted to be more spacious than normal, long tables piled with food rest beneath festively-decorated, open tents, and every resident of Aefenglom is welcome to come and have a plate, from the richest to the poorest - all except those often-infected residents of the Outer City. It begins at noon and goes well into the evening, and people come and go as they please, enjoying the food and the holiday cheer.
It isn't required, but many citizens bring a dish to add to the tables, meant to be shared - usually a special family recipe. Mirrorbound are encouraged to share traditional food from their own homes (or close approximations of it), if they want to - many are highly interested in customs from other worlds, and some challenge each other (or you!) to try every single dish on the massive tables.
The festivities don't extend past the Bright Wall, unfortunately, but the people of the Outer City, who don't have much to begin with, can be found having their own feast on hunted game and pilfered vegetables, trying to scrape up some cheer for themselves. Most groups won't turn Mirrorbound away as long as you've brought a big enough dish to share, welcoming you into the fold to bad-mouth those hoity-toity inner city folks, but some rare clusters of residents can be hateful at this time of year, made somewhat bitter by your privilege and their lack.
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lead him not into temptation, lan zhan. he can find plenty of it on his own.
he can sense his slump across from him, hears the apology in his voice. and he feels his own misery for it. is this the right thing? normally that's something that he just knows. he can feel it in his heart even when it seemed to put him at odds with the men around him. but right now he's unsure... what is it that lan wangji asked him? what is black and what is white? where is the line between protecting him and hurting him?]
Lan Zhan...you never have to apologize to me.
[he slowly lowers his hands, a soft smile on his lips. he thinks that the other has sobered. but he forgets about lan wangji's boldness. forgets that he probably feeds it through their bond.
a sweet question with an even sweeter face. wei wuxian swallows hard and feels his knees go literally weak.]
No. [he finds his voice to answer. lan wangji cannot take his second kiss, but for just one reason.] Let me give it to you.
[he tiptoes to kiss him again. to hell with restraint, what is he, a lan??
by marriage only!]no subject
it’s easier to surrender when the object of your affection looks at you the way wei wuxian looks at him. something slips through the cracks, and his foggy mind finds its anchor, clings to it, zeroing in on the little flames flickering where his chest swells warmer, in unison with his bonded’s. it’s a strange feeling. it’s him, and it isn’t. it’s them, connected, still the same but different, beating the same beats, dancing the same dance. his own lips might taste a little of despair, and maybe he does sober up then, only to be even more intoxicated by the scent of him, and the brush of his mouth against his. his arms stretch, curl around him. he pulls, squeezes, holds. he bends, folds, melts against him, and he’s back home where he belongs, lost in a moment he’s sorely missed.
it’s when it sinks in. the memories, crashing over him all at once, and he says his name over and over, mumbled against swollen lips, kissing him the only way he knows how, infused with months of agony. but it doesn’t last. his thoughts are too cluttered for one, only made worse by the booze, and lan wangji ultimately gasps for air, abruptly returning to his drunken self as he frowns and stares unfocused at wei wuxian’s mouth, another idea settling in the back of his skull. ) More. ( and there he goes, tip-toeing to pick the tuft of green and red above them, showing his prize with an almost comical amount of gravity. ) You and I, liable now, many curses to end. ( and he grabs his hand, 100% intent on searching in every nook and cranny for more mistletoe. )
no subject
but at a price - lan wangji's feelings, already fragile in his intoxicated state. after all that he's endured for wei wuxian's sake, how can he turn around and be the one who hurts and denies him? especially when his heart beats and aches the same, pressed against his bonded's chest to feel when he pulls him closer.
and he whispers his name back to him, between soft gasps that replenish when he feels at his dizziest. they should stop. wei wuxian's fingers curl into pale robes and they should stop. and then they do, and he immediate misses the warmth of soft lips, the taste of alcohol on them, and the constant scent of sandalwood. so his hope leaps when lan wangji utters that first word, before the confusion returns when he plucks the mistletoe and presents it to him, and then hauls him along in his search for more.]
Lan Zhan, what're you up to? You really shouldn't be running around like this in the state you're in! Listen, it would be much better if we just went home where you could get some sleep, and tomorrow this can all be like a dream. Lan Zhan, are you even listening to me?
no subject
drunk lan wangji is free. he wants, he gets. but then wei wuxian tries to slow him down and he doesn’t understand why, because they’re on a mission. the greater good, and all that. a vow they made. or is just just another one of his nightly fantasies? his steps falter. his hold doesn’t. ) Like a dream… ( muttered under his breath as his brows furrow, because everything does look a little hazy, and his eyelids do feel a little heavy. like the rest of his body, really, and he stops, half-turned towards wei wuxian. )
Wei Ying’s, or mine? ( he can see him. wei wuxian can see him. touch. smell. taste. and all of a sudden his skin flushes red, flashes of all the dreams he’s had as he staggers closer and presses one finger to wei wuxian’s mouth, ears burning. ) Shhhhhh. ( not a word. not a sound. this is critical. ) Shīfù must never know. ( and he shakes his head, silently pleading with him with drowsy eyes, because there’s worse. ) Neither should Wei Ying.
no subject
his dreamed turned sweeter then, but lately he hasn't dreamed much at all. if he did, those dreams would surely include lan wangji's embrace and the touch of his lips.
wei wuxian's eyebrow arches when he presses a finger against his lips. lips that curve into a smile because he can't look at him and not adore him. this is his greatest source of happiness, his home wherever he is. the puca pulls lan wangji's finger away and replaces it with his own.]
It'll be our little secret, I promise. [and he should leave it at that, but having him drunk like this has always been a golden opportunity for digging.] Tell me everything that Wei Ying shouldn't know. Get it all off your chest, Lan Zhan.
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wei wuxian says one thing. lan wangji understands another, eyes half-widened in shock and dismay as he touches his own chest, nails digging into the fabric there. ) No. ( a hoarse whisper, confusion in his frown as he shakes his head, a hint of vehemence. it’s been there for a while. dormant, awakened by a smile, and forged by the rest of everything wei wuxian. it wears his name in every pulse, and if it’s still a struggle to handle its rapid growth, the pressure and the ache, he doesn’t want to take it off. so he straightens up, covering his heart in a somewhat possessive manner as he pouts stubborn. )
The pain is mine. ( and all its jagged, sweeter edges. ) It belongs here.
no subject
what he spills instead is that same sweet vulnerability that wei wuxian witnessed before. honesty. his smile saddens before he covers the witch's hands with his own.]
Lan Zhan, if you hold too much pain in there, there won't be room for anything else. [his eyes lower. lashes too. if it sounds like he speaks from experience there's good reason for it. he tries to gently pull lan wangji's hands away from his chest to hold them between his own.] It's okay to let something else in.
no subject
there’s more than just pain. it always stings, an ache like no other, some of it self-inflicted, and some of it shaped like everything that makes wei wuxian wei wuxian. it is painful. the way he looks. the way he thinks. the way his eyes crinkle and brighten when he smiles, the sound of his laughter. his selfless heart, greater than anything he’s ever known, and lan wangji nods with the same pouty lips, a lighter glint in his gaze. it’s okay to let something else in. wei ying, despite his silly antics, has always been so clever. lan wangji knows, and he keeps nodding, hands held in his as he pulls them back to his chest and glues them there, above his heart. )
Wei Ying. ( all of him, all in. he doesn’t know how he fits in there, and the notion seems very strange all of a sudden, a stray smile, almost amused. it’s gone as he lifts his hands up, and delicately presses his cheek to his skin, reminiscent of a sleepy kitten. ) Nothing else.
no subject
they were healing, one night and one kiss at a time. until what happened happened, and it truly must hurt without those nights and shared kisses as a balm. he's more aware of that this time around.]
Okay. [his smile warms once as he presses his hands to his bonded's chest, appreciating the steady beat against them. he doesn't know how things are going to be tomorrow. maybe he should worry about that tomorrow.] Didn't we have more curses to break? Lan Zhan, do you still want to? Wei Wuxian is beside you in this, all the way.
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add it to the list of things he might remember, one of these days. fully. but for now, yes, there are a lot more curses to break, a promise to keep, and a pair of lips to kiss. lan wangji nods solemn, eyes briefly flickering to said lips, deliciously red. not yet. he hasn’t yet determined if this is indeed a dream, but no matter; there’s more mistletoe just across the street, hanging from the various branches of a large tree. there. a quick beeline, and lan wangji just about shoves him against the trunk, gently, staggering and leaning fully against him in his attempt to straighten up. or does he even really try? who knows. he sighs against his lips, nose to nose, fingertips tenderly grazing his jaw. and he goes for it, no hesitation, a strangled noise in the back of his throat as he languorously slides his mouth against his. )