EVENT #1: FAE FESTIVITIES

[diceofthegods]

INTO THE WOODS

Click Clock Wood (Spring) by Grant Kirkhope

2:05 / 4:59

▶︎

Click here to listen.

Grant Kirkhope is a Scottish composer and voice actor for video games and film. Some of his notable works include GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, and Perfect Dark, among many others.

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After making your way through the tiny farming town of Ich and out towards the rim of a massive raised crater, you will find yourself being led through a narrow split in the canyon wall. Inside, glow worms cling to the ceiling and create the illusion of a thousand twinkling stars above the moistened rocks.

When you finally emerge, it is into an impossibly lush landscape of massive, redwood-sized tangling trees and a soft moss carpet. Life abounds here. It feels like an oasis of birdsong and animal activity.

A short walk leads you to the prepared party-grounds. A large clearing with quaint huts all around decorated with strange flowers for partygoers to rest or otherwise entertain themselves.

There appear to be several games and stalls set up, the sweet and savory scents of delicious food fills the air, and so do the patrons of the forest. Seemingly hundreds of Fae folk zip around and greet the newcomers excitedly by placing garlands of vines and crowns of flowers atop their heads.

Glowing flowers and toadstools light your way here. It also seems that even the animals get in on the festivities! Really, just about everything talks here. Almost everything, anyways! Talking to a tree stump might not yield many results but you're welcome to try.

Each entrant is also provided upon arrival a copy of The Rules. A rolled parchment that resists water or any other damage. It also prevents you from writing on it so you can't just do what you want.

The rules read as follows:

DO:
⁂ Accept gifts from the Fae.
⁂ Sample the food provided at the party ONLY.
⁂ Play games with the Fae.
⁂ Feel at ease to rest in the provided huts.
⁂ Keep tabs on your shadow lest it wander.
DO NOT:
⁂ Make a TRADE with the Fae.
⁂ Provide any personal items as gifts or otherwise to the Fae.
⁂ Provide your true name to the Fae.
⁂ Wander away from the designated party area.
⁂ Ascend any staircases you find in the woods.
OTHER ITEMS TO NOTE:
⁂ If you see an old woman hiking through the area, feel free to stop her and lie to her. The more brazen and obvious the lie the better. She appreciates this!

GAMES & ENTERTAINMENT

Amongst the games and attractions are a variety of fun possibilities!

GAMES

⁂ Battleship! (Fae Style!) A number of Fae will be hiding on a large grid of flowers. You guess the locations and if you are correct then you will win a small prize! It is a cup of nectar that refills endlessly, and numbs any pains you may have. This works even outside of the forest and can be taken home.

Every time you miss though, you receive a small 'curse.' Nothing harmful! Maybe you’re just rotating in place for the next hour, your ears become daisies, or you grow a tree out of your head? (Feel free to come up with your own silly ideas!) All of the curses will dissipate after a time or upon leaving the forest and none will do any harm or cause pain. The Fae are all about fun tricks, not hurting anyone!

⁂ Dress Up Darlings! You enter a booth and allow the Fae to decide your outfit! Upon the agreement that you'll wear it the rest of the party, of course, no matter how silly or ridiculous it is.

⁂ Bobbing For Onions! Yes, you read that right. Bobbing for onions. There are onions floating around... in water. You have to catch them with your teeth. The prize for success is a Bag of Onions. This bag never runs out of onions. They are always fresh and always onions. Not always the same kind of onion, but always onions nonetheless. This bag works outside of the forest and can be taken home.

⁂ What's In The Box? There is a box. There is something in it. Maybe it's frogs. Maybe it's slugs. Possibly bugs? Maybe apples. We don’t know. Stick your hand in the box and take a guess at what you’re touching! If you’re right, you win the contents of the box!

We'll let players decide via coin flip, rolls, or however they want if their guess is correct! Any items won though will be common, every day items like mentioned and nothing especially exciting. Unless you're really into frogs. Then it's your lucky day, apparently!

ENTERTAINMENT

⁂ Slayd & The Possums! Slayd is here and he’s throwing down the banjo tunes with his possum pals. Feel free to join him if you are musically inclined! The Fae will provide any instrument your heart desires! They can't grant you the ability to play it though if you don't know how.

⁂ The Crowning of the King of Misrule! Randomly chosen by the Fae, enter a lottery to be chosen as the King of Misrule for the evening. You will be dressed in a stupid outfit and granted Fae wings for the night! You also have the insatiable urge to play harmless pranks on people. The Fae will also give you a "Special Gift" at the end of the party...

FOR THE FOOLISH

Ahh, but there are rule breakers amongst us aren't there? If you choose to sneak away from the party, chances are nobody will stop you; however, you are now on your own in the Talahee Forest.

FIRST LAYER

Rak'tika Greatwood Theme ( Civilizations ) by Masayoshi Soken

4:34 / 5:15

▶︎

Click here to listen.

"Civilizations" prominently features a female vocalist. The lyrics are in the Ronkan language, and has not been officially translated.

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The first layer of the forest is very much similar to what you have already seen. Everything is coated in a thick mat of moss and trees wind away like a massive birds nest to form the canopy above. The faint sounds of animals can still be heard. Up here, you may encounter Fae who did not attend the party. They'll ask you your name and other personal details.

Best that you lie.

SECOND LAYER

Click Clock Wood (Autumn) by Grant Kirkhope

1:12 / 4:11

▶︎

Click here to listen.

Grant Kirkhope is a Scottish composer and voice actor for video games and film. Some of his notable works include GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, and Perfect Dark, among many others.

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The further in that you head, the darker the forest gets. It seems you are following a downward slope. The trees get bigger here, as do the insects and toadstools. Bioluminescence rules down here it seems. You may encounter stranger creatures here. Ones that will try to make very tempting trades for your personal belongings. Things that will seem like an amazing deal to you. They offer magical items of great power, or even personal effects from home.

Don't be fooled though. These objects are cursed, and are not at all what they seem. You have the distinct feeling of being watched at all times here.

⁂ Possible Encounters: Owlbear, Displacer Beast, Giant Badger

THIRD LAYER

Saint Mocianne's Arboretum (Hard) by Masayoshi Soken

2:50 / 5:10

▶︎

Click here to listen.

...hordes of aggressive plant life exposed to the strange substance stand between you and the information you seek.

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Are you getting smaller or is everything else getting bigger? Were Slayd here, he would have told you about the concept of Deep Forest Gigantism. The deeper you go - just like the ocean - the larger that the flora and fauna get.

You are dwarfed by the mushrooms here in the pitch darkness and only guided by the latent glow of the creatures and fungi that dwell here. Bugs the size of house-cats skitter in your wake. Are you sure you want to be here? Should you encounter anything larger, you’d best stay silent. Or run!

⁂ Possible Encounters: Giant predatory Elk (RUN), Rodents of Unusual Size, Extra Large Bugs

FOURTH LAYER

Poison Tree by Grouper

0:30 / 3:16

▶︎

Click here to listen.

'Poison Tree' is a meditation on the complexities of anger and the internal conflict it causes. It draws inspiration from William Blake's poem of the same name.

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The trees seem to clear out here as you reach the bottom of the forest. There is no light here so hope you brought a match. The landscape down here is a blanket of moss dotted with countless shallow pools. Looking into one of these pools, you will see your reflection... though it may look different in some way.

You will feel extremely compelled to reach down and touch the reflection in the water. Should you give in, you feel as though your world is turning upside down. You could receive memories not quite your own. Memories of a different version of you, even! (CRAU, Canon Update, or Canon AU!)

Yet, you will be experiencing them as your own. A long time could pass in your mind while only seconds have only elapsed in reality. Upon waking, you will find that you have been ejected from the party and the forest entirely. You find yourself at the entrance to the crater. Disoriented, and compelled not to re-enter, you have only yourself to blame as you must shamble your way home with this burdensome knowledge.

Notes

⁂ For the game prizes, we're using the honor system here! So long as you clear the roll then you can receive a prize with no mod permission needed.

- Battleship: If you roll a d20 above a 13, you can receive one of the nectar cups.
- Bobbing For Onions: If you roll a d20 above a 10, you can receive one of the bag of onions. En...joy...?

⁂ To sign up for The Crowning of the King of Misrule, comment here! We'll RNG the winner likely within a few days to a week to give folks time to participate if they want!

⁂ The plotting post for this event/November is up!

⁂ Additionally, we have a state of the game post available to people read about updates, clarifications, and a poll to participate in!

⁂ If you have any further questions or feedback about this event specifically, please comment here!

⁂ Full Navigation ⁂

Comments

Smaller Sephiroth - OTA

[miniroth]

[Arrival]

They'd been invited, and so he went. Sephiroth had been okay more or less with this whole party thing right up until he actually got there and the towering trees gve way to a clearing with huts and flowers and hundreds of fae. It's noisy, it's chaotic, and he's never in his life been around anything like it. It's too much.

The only thing that keeps him there is the certainty that immediately leaving would be offensive, and that would be nebulously Bad. For a while he simply stands where he is slightly off to one side, the rolled up list of Rules clenched in one hand like it's a lifeline, a wreath of blue and white flowers perched on his hair, expression blank. And then he moves off to one side, to settle at the base of one of those massive trees and do nothing at all but watch for a while. Sooner or later the maddening scent of waiting food will force him to his feet again but for now time is going to be spent coming to terms with the overwhelming number of beings here, and the general almost-organized sprawl.

He doesn't make the most approachable figure, solidly black clad from throat to toe, even wearing gloves, and lurking in the shadow of the tree instead of joining in on the cheerful mayhem. But maybe he just needs some encouragement!

[Food]

There's games! Fun! Music!

... Sephiroth's relocated again after venturing into the festival just long enough to acquire what passed for a plate and put on it anything he thought he recognized, almost all some form of meat.

This is his third such 'plate'. The amount of food a teenage boy can put away is nothing short of staggering, and he's been patiently doing his best. It is if nothing else, distracting. But at this point he's tenatively ventured into trying new things, one of which is what looks awfully like small, blue sausages studded with tiny points of faintly blue light stuck to the end of a stick.

It smells like cinnamon. He hasn't gotten the courage just yet to try that one but he's definitely planning to by the way he's eyeing it.

He's got more than one. Want to give it a try too?

[Battleship]

Playing Battleship with the faeries?

He's watching.

Every guess, right or wrong, every minor curse, every triumph. He's just standing there, utterly silent, in the company of a lone pixie that a month before had been a regular instigator of minor games and pranks against him and his poor katana.

He doesn't interrupt, but it may well get uncomfortable just having him stand there and watch every. Single. Move other players make.

[And Away We Go]

He tolerates the noise and chaos as long as he can but sooner or later, the boy goes missing.

The quiet serenity of the forest is its own siren's call. Yes, there's a paper that says don't leave on it, stuffed into a pocket. Stay in the designated areas. Stay safe, stay alert. The designated areas are like sandpaper on raw nerves, too overwhelming to remain nearby, and so he walks until he only hears animals and birdsong and the hum of late-season bugs. The true depths of the forest are a long distance away yet, but for the first time in perhaps hours, he finally feels like he can enjoy the peace and quiet of this place. Watch the trees, study the occasional flower or mushroom.

How long it'll remain peaceful and quiet remains to be seen.

Arrival

[snapp_crackle]

Charlie was pretty clear on how to charge him up - the power of bonds. This means that lurking around like a creepy silent shadow is exactly what not to do, and this means that Popp has a moral duty to be extremely gregarious and bother this guy who he already kind of wants to bother for some reason.

...It's because he reminds him of another quiet cool guy he knows, okay? Popp is all for friendship and justice and all that right down to his core but he's not a saint. He approaches, smiling widely and carrying a plate of rolls which he has been told by a giggling fae are enchanted but not cursed. They're not allowed to lie, right?

"Hey - first of all, my name's Popp. Second, eat one of these. I hear that if you know the secret trick, you can make them any flavor you like."

The secret trick, which Popp does not know, is that the flavor is determined by the first two letters of the last word you say before eating one. For instance, if he ate one right now, it'd be lime or lilac.

[miniroth]

This many people is simply too many people to deal with! The most he's been around at any one time his entire life was perhaps seven or eight at most, this entire noisy crowd of mayhem and confusion is hard! At least he is more or less being left alone--

Or not. Popp, completely unfamiliar, is given a long unblinking stare when he approaches with faintly glowing eyes slit like a snake's - perhaps that's one of the dragon changes going around. Whatever unknowable standard Popp's weighed against, he's apparently designated Not A Threat quickly enough, and Sephiroth's gaze shifts to the plate of rolls, brow furrowing a little.

People just don't give things away.

With the slowness of obvious suspicion, one roll is taken anyway, against his better judgment. On one hand, food is food. On the other hand this grinning stranger could be up to ANYTHING. On the third hand, he is constantly and relentlessly hungry of late, and food is food.

Whatever the mischievous trouble the faeries intended, when the bun is eaten, it's without any kind of flinch or twitch or disgust or pleasure, only ... mild curiosity. He has never had lime in his life, he has no idea what that taste is but it's interesting. Sour but not so much where it suggests poison. "Thank you. Why are you giving them away?"

[snapp_crackle]

He even looks kind of cool and mysterious eating a roll, who can do that?! What was the flavor, was it even good? It might not be bad, but it's impossible to read his expression no matter how close he looks! Popp tries one while Sephiroth's talking. Whatever spell or individual fae in control of the buns can't think of anything that starts with a natural 'aw' and turns the flavor to aubergine mid-bite.

The sour to savory is a bit of a shock, but he doesn't hate it. All the boggling and interest and acceptance shows up right on his face as it flows through his brain... He's a little baffled by Sephiroth, to add onto it. How similar is he to Hyunkel, was he also raised by skeletons in a cave, is that why he doesn't know how people act at parties? All very good questions that he's not feeling tactless enough to ask at the moment.

"Why wouldn't I? It's a party; there's not much fun in eating alone."

Aloe? Albacore tuna?

[miniroth]

Would he even recognize it as tactlessness? Though Sephiroth was not raised by skeletons in a cave. He was raised by scientists, which is arguably worse. Being offered a bun did not mean free range over the buns in general, and he does not take a second. "I'm not sure I'd call any of this .. 'fun'." There's a thread of uncertainty to it, WAS this supposed to be fun?

Is this what normal people called fun?? He saw people sticking their faces in a barrel to try to bite an onion, that's entertainment?

... Well maybe it is. "Most people don't give things away for free. There's always a price." The temptation is intense. There's more food, right there. Right. There. At least, whoever goes for another one, praline is not a terrible flavor at all..

Food

[avanture_time]

It is while Sephiroth is loading up that third plate that there is suddenly another boy looming over into his personal space in a way that is disconcertingly threatening for someone of Avan's general demeanor and also for someone wearing the ridiculous outfit he is right now.

"Eat some vegetables."

[miniroth]

Sephiroth is not used to people being that close. The only time anyone is, with such a threatening aura, is when they absolutely mean harm. The genuine clown suit doesn't even weigh into it as he immediately uses his own frame to hide the plate of delicious meat variety as if it might be stolen from him, a low, rumbling growl rising.

An actual growl. It's not a metaphor, it's the sound an annoyed animal (or a dragon) might make. "Step. Back."

Vegetables are a perfectly reasonable idea, but first he's going to protect what he has.

[avanture_time]

Avan does not step back--he is in full-on Lecture Mode and growling is apparently not enough to deter him. He continues looming with a disapproving finger wag.

"No, no! This is your third plate that is almost entirely meat! Meat's all well and good, but you need to eat more balanced meals than that if you want to stay strong and healthy!"

[miniroth]

The warning isn't heeded, which is.. unfortunate. Avan's no authority, and has chosen to threaten a stranger. The plate is shifted from left hand to right, freeing up the other, which immediately lashes out to grab wagging finger, Avan and all - and if he catches hold of him, shove backwards with as much force as he determines necessary to get the blue haired teenager out of his personal space and protect his meal.

There is a whisper in the back of his thoughts that suggests resource guarding food is something only hatchlings do, but he ignores it.

And Away We Go

[zodiheart]

Elidibus watches the younger Sephiroth slip away from the party with a hawklike gaze. Capable as the young man may be, out there is a wholly different beast from the party, full of fae that are not harmlessly playing games. No, one could have very real and permanent damage done to them out of nothing but ignorance.

It would not be his fault if he does not know.

No, it would be Elidibus's - he's witnessed the departure. He also feels a fondness for the boy, and decides to protect however he can.

So he tucks away his won items and ensures both they and his piano are doubly and triply secure, and follows. It does not take too horribly long to catch up to Sephiroth, and he does so in time to watch the tension bleed from his shoulders.

"Brave of you to take this path alone," the words are spoken softly but loud enough that Sephiroth should have no issue hearing them. Elidibus stands a polite distance away.

[miniroth]

The quiet is welcome, after all that noise. Animals tended to avoid him, but it didn't stop the birds singing at a distance, didn't stop the hum of insects in the underbrush. That was enough. He knew he had to get used to crowds eventually, his role as Shinra's poster boy required it, but it didn't have to be now.

Elidibus is rather obvious, stark white against foresty shadows and greens and browns, but the distance and speaking up removes any trace of stealth - probably for the best, one person can be tolerated but surprises were another matter entirely. The Ancient, barely taller than he is, is studied for a moment before his eyes shift away, to the moss and greenery instead. "I don't know how anyone can stand all that noise." And the press of too many people and the overwhelming mix of scents and--

"...There's nothing dangerous here for now." The rules said don't stray, but he hadn't gone too far. It's probably fine, right? "It's just a forest." With unknown beasts within, and the fae, but his experience with the fae was hardly dangerous. But he knew what to do about monsters, and wasn't worried. "Hardly bravery, I'd think. Cowardice perhaps, for leaving to begin with."

[zodiheart]

Closing his eyes for several long moments, Elidibus takes in the relative serenity of the forest. It's a far cry from true silence. But, if anything, that means their surroundings are made all the more comforting by that fact.

He remembers long stretches of time, years - decades, even - standing upon the lunar surface. There was naught to make but a whisper there. The passage of time marked by the slow progress of the sun upon the Star above, by the winking of celestial bodies far in the distance. By the pull in his breast towards the imprisoned god beneath his feet.

True silence rarely comforts man.

But Elidibus says none of this.

"If one is not used to such things, it can be quite the adjustment. Some may never be able to endure it for very long. There is no shame in that." He opens his eyes to peer into the forest, following Sephiroth's gaze. His voice turns slightly gentle, "There is no cowardice in respecting one's own limits."

As for the forest... "This place is deceptive. You may see only a forest, but without the self-imposed rules from the festival, the fae here are not to be underestimated. The ease with which they may decimate lives is striking."

[miniroth]

Used to being kept in near featureless isolation chambers as his 'room', silence was being left alone with his thoughts. Not being poked and prodded, experimented on or cut apart to see what would happen. Many would find true quiet unsettling.

It's an old friend, for the boy. It shouldn't be. "Another has warned me. I've no interest in spending my life as a shrub." But there were no pixies around, so it's probably fine. Isn't it? .. Right?

Gaia's advice has been sound so far, he'd done his best to avoid offending the fae even if he wasn't interested in games as often as they were.. which was to say almost never, but he could make allowances, it let him pick and choose when they were going to be trouble as opposed to being blindsided by it at a terrible moment.

"I don't plan on going further." Not much anyway. Not until his frazzled nerves settle a little more. "I just.. need a little time."

At some nebulous point between Arrival and Food

[amaratha]

[While Sephiroth is lurking under the trees, or perhaps after he's noticed the food table and working up the energy to get into the crowd there, he catches the notice of a certain Tiefling- all black is poor camouflage when everyone else is wearing bright colours, after all.

She's got a simple peasant’s Sunday best on, a brown and white dress with yellow flowers painted on the hem, bought cheaply from Town to soften her red-skinned red-horned image. So she likes to think she blends in a bit better. But even so, she makes no attempt at stealth as she walks up to Sephiroth- stopping at respectable Stranger Danger distance so it doesn't look like she's trying to pickpocket him- and holds out a wooden plate with a smile.]

Hey! Standing around is a poor way to pass time at a party. Try the food table food.

[She specifies the one Demarcated Safe™ food table, to be absolutely on the safe side. It's a party, but she's aware it's still a fae party.]

[miniroth]

[It helps when remaining near shadows! Which conveniently are everywhere, in contrast to the bright lights and generalized chaos everywhere else.

It only helps marginally, really. He hasn't yet come to terms with the idea of wearing something not outright assigned to him so something of his own choosing of an actual color is asking too much. But he's here! And he's ... he'll participate at some point. Probably. Maybe. Absinthe's approach is just the right type, it's obvious, it's not surprising, and doesn't come with any obvious threat, so she's eyed with interest and only a little bit of suspicion.

He can't judge the horns, he was growing his own by how it felt when he ran his hands through his hair. But nobody else was so obviously changed.. maybe she's one of the fae?

Best be on good behavior til he was sure.]

I apologize. I'm ... unused to being around people in these numbers.

[A vast understatement indeed. He considers the wooden plate against the list of things acceptable to do and not do, and accepting gifts is apparently alright, so slowly he takes it, glancing towards the indicated table.]

Do you have recommendations?

[amaratha]

It’s okay, I'm sure the fae aren't used to talking with us either, if you think about it.

[The horns are au naturale, which is why she’s slow to notice her dragon changes- she’s already got horns, so it’s easy to blame the emergence of different scales on them on a change in the climate or something.]

It’s all very funky! I would say, it depends on what kind of food you like, but I really liked these little biscuits with meat and cheese and little flowers.

[Sephiroth’s reticence is not an issue for her, especially when he's provided such a good conversation starter. To show him exactly what she's talking about Absinthe steps ahead to a three-tiered display among the food spread, upon which an assortment of canapés are laid out. She picks up a pastry base topped with a slice of beef brisket and a delicate blue-petaled flower, and holds it out to show Sephiroth, before popping it into her mouth.]

Mmft’s good! [For good measure she’s already picking up a second one. It’s like potato chips, how easy these are to get down.]

[miniroth]

[He follows, cautiously. There was a rather animated argument earlier about all this food and whether or not it was magic, and that person had been somewhere around his age; she looked like she might be too.

Hopefully she wouldn't make any similar claims. He wouldn't be able to leave it alone.]

...Maybe.

[But surely the fae were used to speaking to the townsfolk?

When she picks up a pastry with meat and a ... a flower on it .. it's the flower that's eyed dubiously. She's not going to eat that is she? It's a flower, flowers aren't--

And there it goes. The second one, with its flower, is also eyed.]

While I'm not really sure what I like, I'm reasonably sure flowers are NOT supposed to be eaten.

[parer]

In Ignis's case, there's not even a point to watching for any minor course. One of the pixies, clearly quite familiar with the young man, seems to badger him over enough to the game to start with with promises of the prize, and that's enough for him to beeline over, and just...

Win.

Immediately.

It's like watching a heat-seeking missile go straight for its target. He seems to get them so easily in a row, no matter the little tricks the pixies play, that there's a chorus of complaints from them as they bestow the prize to him. There is also, admittedly, a small contingent of them which just land on his head, shoulders, and any other available part of him.

His hands are distinctly clawed and scaled already, although.... the claws seem to shine and catch the light in a way more like gemstones, crystal, than anything else. The pixies don't mind this.

Ignis may mind that, but not being watched, and he meets Sephiroth's stare quite plainly. "I'm unsure of how particularly helpful that may have been."

After all, watching people's mistakes is often a part of the learning process as well.

[miniroth]

It's absolutely certain Sephiroth has plenty of his own changes but his habit of wearing clothes that cover everything from the jawline down really interferes with that. The claws and scales are noted though, glittering green and sharp.

Other people are changing. That's a relief. "As helpful as anyone else's efforts have been." There's not a trace of disparagement. It really was. Some people bumbled through every effort, others like Ignis, succeeded with no hesitation.

At some point he intends to try it himself, once he has enough information. Nearly there. "They seem displeased with your lack of theatrics." The curses were part of the 'fun' obviously, and one of the reasons he was disinclined to participate just yet. Things designed specfically to humiliate aren't usually high on his to do list. But it's such a nice set of cups in the offering, having one would be ...

... Well, nice.

[parer]

"Well, that is good to hear then." With his own prize in hand, after all, Ignis sees no reason to hide anything that might be learned from his attempt. If it helps someone else in the end, then that is a good thing by his estimates.

It really is a nice set of cups.

At the commentary about his pixie companions', well, commentary, he huffs a bit and shakes his head. It does nothing to dislodge the pixies. Then again, that's not its purpose. "They are displeased with not getting to use all the interesting tricks they've thought up for this event," he says, as though he were sitting there on whatever pixie meeting happened. He wasn't. He just already has a good idea of their personalities. "I'm sure they spent quite a long time thinking them all up."

[miniroth]

"The goal seems to be primarily to amuse themselves, often at our expense." It did fit what he'd observed of the feisty little fae. They were here for a good time, and if it wasn't fun for them, what was the point?

He doesn't sound like he resents it. He .. wasn't sure if he was having fun when he played their games, but it seemed to be enjoyable so long as it was something they were mutually interested in. Embarrassment for the sake of someone else's laugh is not high on his list. "I'm afraid I'll likely disappoint them as well." He's watching the flowers again, but not quite ready to go for it himself. "...Perhaps I can make up for it later."

There were other things that could keep them amused, that wouldn't also come with a requirement of personal humiliation.

A flicker of the ambient lighting sends flashes of color across Ignis' hands again, drawing his attention back to the not-exactly-gemstone claws. And scales.

He's kept himself thoroughly under wraps, not a scale to be seen. It still unsettled him, even reassured repeatedly by his 'brother' that they weren't likely to just turn into slavering monsters. "...Are all the scales you're gaining green?"

[relativefugue]

Seems Sephiroth and Cloud had the same idea when it came to festivities. Despite Sephiroth being younger, Cloud isn't so far behind him on his interpersonal skills and growth.

Cloud couldn't stick around a crowd or noise like that, not after seeing the scene on the dance floor. He's much happier to retreat to the surrounding woodlands and just exist for some time. That fae stuff is a load of shit anyway. He can handle himself.

He's aimlessly roaming when he comes across who else but the younger Sephiroth, leaning towards some kind of flora or fauna. Or something.

Great.

"Got lost already?"

[miniroth]

"I know exactly where I am." And that is:

Not at the party. It's like sandpaper against his nerves, all that noise and chaos. Maybe Hojo should have worked a couple of crowd tolerance lessons into all his other tests and trials, so he'd be better prepared for it.

The softly glowing blue mushroom he was studying is NOT picked, no matter how tempting it is. "Do you? If you require aid returning, I can point the way."

It's so utterly bland that it could be perfectly honest or derision and there'd be no way to tell.

[relativefugue]

"No. Not interested in going back to whatever that was."

Loud and a social event. Truly a nightmare for Cloud. Something more he and Sephiroth have in common, even if it differs in some small ways in origin.

"I'm getting the lay of the land out here and going back when I feel like it. Which is when the party ends. Best to get intel on what's going on in your surroundings."

[miniroth]

"..A 'fun party' I am told, but I don't really see what's fun about any of it." He didn't really plan on coming back here, so it's a first and only venture for him. These lands are held by a kingdom that may or may not suddenly choose to become hostile, and as he is ... that might not be an equal fight.

More willing to risk it eventually, if he regained his proper strength and speed. "Do your best to not damage anything, then."

It doesn't sound judgmental, or like he's implying Cloud might suddenly go on a rampage. "Even if the beings who live here aren't a threat to you, the town of Ich may rely on their good graces to get through winter. Antagonizing them unduly may hurt the civilians." So: leave no trace behind.

Otherwise, he obviously isn't taking the 'don't leave' rule to heart himself, it's probably just there because usually when humanity roams freely they leave filth EVERYWHERE.