II.a. Food/Mingling Mercy's ready to enjoy some of the festivities, herself, which is why you might catch her lurking around the chocolate fountain and staring at it, mesmerized, when she's not dipping morsels in. It's clear she's not even hungry after a certain point when she dips a strawberry on a stick into the chocolate and offers it to the nearest person. "There you go! Ain't this just the neatest thing? Rue bought!"
II.b. Grave Path Mercy's a social person, but she does love a good graveyard walk, as well, and with it being a clear and crisp day, it seems like the perfect sort for a stroll. Her feet carry her to the gate into the graveyard, and she meanders over to some of the grander headstones she hasn't liberated the possessions of, yet, to have a look at them. One catches her eye, in particular, and she kneels beside it to get a better look at the inscription.
"Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise, were you?" There's mild amusement in her tone as she gives the marker a pat. "That's a right good thing to know. Lived a nice long life, too, didn't you?"
III. Campball Lessons "You need some help there?" Mercy's eagle eyes hone in on a potential player, and there's a fierce smile on her face. "Happy to run you through some of the basics if you need 'em. Campball don't got too many rules. It's more about feeling out where the ball wants you to put it."
Wildcard Hit me up with any of the prompts! Mercy will be around everywhere at the festival, helping out with anything and everything.
i. [flower crowns] stand up straight, talk right, don't let up
[Even though he's not very familiar with them, Martin is finding he enjoys parties. He's gone to more of them here than he has possibly ever at home, and even if he still isn't sure what to do at them, he's having a good time.
Still, however, this means he is taking flower crown selection Very Seriously, because he doesn't want to do something dumb like mess this up with... flowers. Sure. Regardless, he's looking intently- almost worriedly- at the crowns, picking up one and then very gently placing it back down as if it's a loaded gun. Finally, he'll just point to one and turn to whoever is next to him.]
Should I-- this one, you think? Or a different one? I don't want to look-- er. Out of place.
[Martin, you're making it worse just by doing whatever this is right now.]
ii. [food] be funny, be cool, keep running
[Okay. Listen. He's not going to go up to Mercy or Rue who have obviously put so much thought into this and tell them something is wrong, but also Martin can be found staring down the centipede pops like they insulted him, his boyfriend, and his shoes. They're just... bad, okay? They're just bad.
So maybe, if you're watching, you can see him gently slide one off the table and push it into the nearest plant so only a little bit of the tip is sticking out. There we go. No one saw that, probably. Until he turns, sees you, and immediately slaps his hands behind his back.]
Hi! Hey, it's-- great food here, right? So good.
iii. [fashion show] honey, keeping secrets don't matter to me
[Martin's kind of hovering around the fashion tent, not exactly going in but also not... leaving. He seems to be occasionally peeking inside, or sometimes even walking in and out again, staying firmy in the shirt and pants he arrived in. But he's looking. Maybe he just needs a suggestion or a push? At least he'll hold open the flap for anyone who wants to enter like it's his job or something.
Feel free to drag him into a fashion montage or just ask him why he's taken up a post there. He might have answer, or you might just make him sweat a bit. It's fine.]
iv. [wildcard] and i can't sleep
[Want something else cute with Martin?? Hit me up at cancerously and we can figure something out :>]
What better way to observe the people than to attend this festival? To get to know and know of, Elidibus will be a presence in the crowd. Games? Fashion shows? Kitschy festival photos? Probably not if he can avoid it. How long that resolve may last is anyone's guess.
He looks like a youthful man in his twenties, classic college age. With silvery white hair to his shoulders and blue eyes with an internal luminance. Though this latter trait is hidden behind sunglasses on this clear day, so one must get close and at an angle to observe it. Winter's end still brings a chill to the air, so he's wearing a white turtleneck, jeans and brown boots. With a lined brown jacket and a backpack, he might as well be the college kid he appears to be.
Those working in the ADI might have seen Elidibus. He's joined the Research Department and been seen talking to HR, in the library, and the canteen since early February. He might be known by 'Elidibus' or 'Themis Galvus' in those environments. Outside of the office, those living in the D building of the company's assigned apartments will certainly have seen a new tenant of D1 coming and going. Whether they know his name yet is another story.
1. Grave Graves
Elidibus does not have the habit of lingering around graveyards without reason. Today he's not even lingering around the graves for the usual reason he might have back home. The recently disturbed earth around very old graves is a curious mystery. Someone has been up to something, but what? And to what end?
It may not even be a mystery Elidibus needs to worry about. But there has been talk of ashkin and while old graves mean less preserved bodies, perhaps someone wasn't picky. There's other possibilities too, such as grave robbers, the need to hide another body or a more official exhumation. Mortals so often had strange sentimentality about where their dead were buried, even on his world.
"I wonder the purpose of this disturbance," someone might hear him say as they pass, walk up or otherwise linger in the same area. To treat it as a rhetoric or a direct question would be entirely up to the listener; Elidibus has spoken up on purpose regardless.
2. Fundamental Food (Open to single or group, note if okay with threadjacking for the latter.)
Sometimes one has to eat. While Elidibus doesn't experience hunger pangs exactly, it seems he still retains some enjoyment in the experience. Besides which, lingering around food tables and not eating would raise some questions. While he's mingling with the gathering near them, a small selection of the offerings have been assembled on a plate. It is far from a lot and probably not what anyone would consider a meal. At least three different chocolate-dipped somethings have found their way into the mix. It's possible two others have already been enjoyed.
Despite his mysterious existence, he also finds the hot chocolate a comforting warmth.
Elidibus then crosses to the seating arrangements. Table or comfy arrangement around a firepit, either are open for approach but he will make sure the place is already occupied even if there are other free and empty spots.
"May I join you?"
3. Merrily...? Mingling
Food and mysterious gravesites aren't the only reason for Elidibus to be found in the vicinity, though he seems to be quick to move past events someone might try to good-naturedly try to pull him into participating. There's a chance he might pause and approach because he overheard- honestly probably eavesdropping but he's quite good at disguising that he was- or became interested in an individual. For the latter there is a simple request. All but expected from a newcomer to the area.
"Pray forgive me for the interruption. Do you have a moment to speak?"
4. Wildcard Waiting
May the gods grant you luck in any endeavors to strongarm encourage or convince Elidibus to participate in any of the key events of the festival. By which I welcome brainstorming ways to get further involved. Much of his reluctance is more because he's a ghost and his original clothes need to stay within ten feet of him (hence the backpack). Or other wildcardy type things that don't quite fit a prompt! PM, maruah or Discord: Everyworker#8128 if interested!
i. [mingling] i had watched you taking in the spring
[Though Rue is happy to step aside and let Mercy bask in the glow of hosting such a delightful festival, the glamoured owlbear is still floating around from here to there at all times, swooping in to fix any problems they see rise up or to gently set any mischief-makers straight.
Glamoured as they already are, Rue's used just a touch of their newly accessed magic to amplify their outfit to fit with the theme, an elegant, champagne-colored dress accented in lines of gold that shine just so when it hits the sunlight. The sleeves that glide so divinely behind them as they move, that almost look like an imitation of their own feathery wings, are covered in that same glimmering gold that stretches out like tree branches across each swooping sleeve, connecting dozens of delicate spring flowers together. Upon closer inspection, the flowers are all living, caught in Rue's magic to blossom over and over again over the course of the afternoon.
Though the dress pools like liquid around Rue's dainty feet, the hem remains perfectly pristine the entire event, untouched by the muddy earth. Rue's hair is pulled up on top of their head into artfully messy curls, a crown of gold tree branches keeping it secured off of their elegant neck.
Though Rue's on a mission to keep the festival on track and running smoothly, they'll absolutely take the time to visit with any familiar faces they spy out among the crowd or to simply engage with anyone looking a little lonesome.]
ii. [fashion fashion] through dusty, sun-kissed bodies wandering
[As an Official judge, Rue can't give too much help to the participants, but if they just so happen to see someone looking absolutely helpless around the clothing racks, they'll just have to step in and lend a hand. Or feel free to flag them down in the case of a true fashion emergency.]
iii. [wildcard] between you and me, as if they don't see this distraction
[ooc: please hit me up if you want a specific prompt from me or go wild here! i'm usually down for anything, but hmu if you have a question!]
It's late into the day, long after the competitive sports and the fashion show have all come to an end, when Rue slides up alongside of the young woman. Though Rue's glamoured face lacks the warmth and expressiveness of their true feathery countenance, for once, Rue is almost near beaming in satisfaction.
"I'd say that was quite the success, Lady Graves."
"Mm... I think I'm alright," Eda says, grinning as she kicks the soccer ball up onto her foot and then bounces it there a few times before moving it to the other. She's not so much used to the no hands part of this, but she supposes it's not the worst thing.
"Wait," she adds, tilting her head to the side and kicking the ball up to grab it, ignoring how the game works for the moment. She holds it up to peer at.
"Are you just saying that or are these things alive here too?" She thought that kind of thing might be 'weird' in the human realm.
[It's nice, getting out. Having a gathering. Even the flower crowns and the idea of spring are uplifting. While there is a cynical part of him that keeps whispering that it's a waste of time and that he's really not in the mood with all the terrible things going on, there's the other that understands events like this? Are even more important when things are so dire.
Mercy and Rue did good here, he thinks. So even though he feels weary and haunted, he makes an effort to be sociable, finding a spot and a hot chocolate and trying to catch up with people.]
Man, I haven't sat around a fire since I was a kid.
ii. a grave path
[While he knows how to be social and mingle, it's been a trying time and Carter is glad when he can step away for a bit to recharge his batteries. A graveyard isn't exactly his idea of an afternoon stroll, however, so he lingers at the entrance to the grove. That is, until he sees the upturned earth at one grave. Huh. At first he doesn't think too much of it, maybe an animal that...
And then he spots another where it happened too.
He frowns, glancing at the dates on the headstones, at the ground, then moves further into the place while keeping a healthy distance to the actual graves. When he turns back and sees another visitor he winces, realizing he's become a little jumpy.]
Hi. Didn't see you there. Hey, uh, is it just me or do the graves look...
[He's not sure if he wants to say it and he pauses, searching for words that aren't too creepy.]
... like they've been, uh, messed with?
iii. fashion show
[While he's vain, Carter would rather fling himself into every Dogtown trap than walk a catwalk like that. He'll watch with amusement, though, glad that people are having fun and a way to unwind. If he spots a contestant that looks like they need a hand, he's willing to give that, too.]
Hang on, hold still, you need to--
[He'll lean in to fix a collar or smooth a rumpled shirt, maybe even fix broken accessory with a few stitches should the need arise. There. Perfect.]
He can see himself, feeding off Carter's terror, being the worst thing that Carter could see, doing this to him, making him feel this way, destroying his promise and being something dangerous--
--he had enough. It was simply enough and not worth it to even try. He knows what happened to Pyre, and he knows what it feels like when you don't feed, what it does to you, what it takes out. How they feed on you instead.
He's done.
So he met the thing in the mirror one night, using his ability on himself, and saw...himself.
And he gave it up. Being an Avatar, all of it.
But it came at a price and he gave up an important part of who he was. He woke up without any memory and ability of his medial knowledge, and he was no longer a doctor. And he knows that he can never be again.
He should have told Carter right away, but it's been so hard to work up the courage to, after what he...did to him.
Even now, in the middle of a graveyard, he almost runs away instead of talking to him. He was a little shy around crowds now, still skittish after what he'd done, who he'd been, not used to not being...dangerous around them...
...plus seeing Carter, after all that had happened. How badly had he ruined things?
He remembers their date, wonderful it was, it hurts to think he might never have that again.
But here is Carter, and he needs to tell him even if just to tell him he cannot work as a doctor anymore.]
I think someone has dug things up.
[It's low, a little shy, awkward. What does he do with his hands.]
Sweeping around the park in their extravagant, over-the-top dress, Rue excludes the type of energy that says they're the one keeping everything running smoothly here. So when the question comes, for a brief moment to speak, even though they appear to be on a mission elsewhere, the glamoured owlbear still pauses at the man's inquiry, turning towards him and smiling softly.
"Certainly. How can I help you? Are you quite enjoying yourself?"
[ Hickey is literally just here for the food. No fashion, no flower crowns, none of that blanket race nonsense, he is here to stuff his face and eat an entire goddamn plate of those tiny little cheeses.
No bugs, though. It's as he's filling up his plate with nothing but cheese, meat, and fresh fruit, he spots Martin shove that centipede pop into a plant. He lets out a small chuckle before quietly pointing out, ]
Mate, I wouldn't mind if someone 'accidentally' kicked that football into the entire table of insects.
[ Chocolate covered bugs are weird, so says the secret cannibal. ]
[ And this is when Hickey learns that his enhanced senses can help see through glamours! Because as he looks over at Rue, he gets a whiff of that scent of bird and he knows exactly who the tall person in the ostentatious dress is.
And, oddly enough, he can't help but bet a little annoyed by that? There's a pause before he walks over to Rue and asks, ]
Far be it for Elidibus not to appreciate the efforts of one who takes their duty so seriously as to exude a presence of it. He recognizes the glamoured woman from the speech at the beginning of the event. Does he see beneath the illusion? Well that's going to depend on a lot of things, none of which Elidibus has any intention of giving away. Especially since some of those things are ones he shouldn't be doing.
So he smiles the smile of someone who is reserved but sees nothing wrong or different than what seems to be before him and nods his head graciously. He also has to look up. While definitely an adult, he is certainly on the short side for a man.
"Thank you, yes." The path Rue was taking to where she had been heading briefly earns a moment's attention. "Yet this is not a matter which should keep you from your duties. Still if you would speak with me, we can continue on course to your destination if you wish."
[Of course the only person in this whole city that Rue would prefer to avoid can see right through their glamour. Life is suffering.
Still, with a gentle hooting sigh, they clasp their hands gently in front of them, shoulders pulled back, and address Hickey with as much calm, even composure as they can summon.]
How enchanting to see you again. Are you unaware that all non-humans are forced into wearing such a glamour while off of ADI property? I did not choose to do this to myself.
Their smile softens, just a touch more warmth blossoming at their sharp features.
"Please, it's not a problem at all. I was only making the rounds, so to speak. I only hope to keep Lady Graves from having to deal with any of the clean up during the festivities. For all that she has done to put this event together, I simply wish for her to be able to focus on enjoying herself."
Rue's hands clasp delicately at their front, head tipping just slightly to the side, smiling at the man.
"Please, what can I help you with, my friend? I don't believe we've been introduced. My name is Delloso de la Rue, but please, I insist you call me Rue. All of my friends do."
"Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise," Jeff repeats, a light sing-song quality to his voice as he approaches from, eh, wherever. He's not sneaking up on Mercy or anything, but he doesn't bother saying anything to make his presence known until he's standing close by the grave, a few steps behind her. "Sounds like they hit the jackpot," he remarks. "Some of us don't even get one of the above, let alone all three."
There could be bitterness, or self-deprecation, lacing through a comment like that, but in Jeff's case, there's only a trace of laughter.
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apocalypsehowcomm2023-02-24 10:08 am
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