The Spooky Night Scare Celebration

[de_lux]

Warnings: SPOOPY. Also potential violence and/or drinking.

Location: Various locations in Freesia, especially the Park and Cathedral.

Characters: Anyone and everyone and Lux.

When: Night of September 9

Summary: Most of Freesia is celebrating tonight. Ward off the darkness with lanterns and masks and maybe chat with the local light god.

In a change from their usual behavior, the citizens of Freesia are out and about during the night in order to celebrate another festival.

Called “Spooky Night,” the atmosphere of this holiday may seem familiar to some of Freesia's outsiders. Lanterns patterned after all manner of monsters and other creepy things are visible everywhere, resting on doorsteps, hung from trees, placed in windows, and there are smaller ones strung between buildings and across streets.

Equally creepy masks abound as well. They're mostly worn by the children, but some adults can be seen indulging as well, the eyes and mouths of their masks glowing like jack o' lanterns.

Most of the citizens seem to be enjoying themselves, chatting and laughing with one another, jumping around and trying to scare each other, drinking and buying snacks from opportunistic vendors. Many of the festive citizens have gathered at a bonfire in the park, but groups of people can be found just about anywhere tonight.

But despite the party atmosphere, you may want to pay close attention to the city tonight...

A: The masks and lanterns mentioned earlier aren't going to be hard to find. The lanterns are visible everywhere of course, and more can be found for sale in the shops and stalls, alongside a wide variety of masks. Most of the designs are generic monsters, such as ghost or skeletons or werewolves, but if you look around, well... Whatever you're afraid of, if it's something you can put a face or likeness to, you'll run into a mask or lantern of it eventually. Creepy as that might be though, anyone who dares carry or wear their fears will be rewarded with an extra bright glow emanating from it, something that may come in handy if they run into any of the Nox tonight.

B: If you head down to the park tonight, but stray away from the bonfire, you'll notice that the cathedral is active for once. A very small group of citizens has gathered there, primarily consisting of the elderly- and at least one person you may find familiar. There isn't any laughing or drinking going on in this part of town, and everyone in the cathedral is either silent or speaking to each other in hushed tones. As far as can be observed, they've gathered here to place candles and flowers everywhere.

C: Autumn isn't quite here yet, but the nights have been getting longer lately, the shadows deeper. Don't wander too far tonight and if you do, take care to bring some light with you. The Nox are especially active tonight and will happily attack anyone who wander into the shadows, local or not, not to mention breaking anything they can get their shadowy hands on. A few of the bolder groups will even stray to the edges of the festival in order to knock down the decorations. They're in a vicious mood tonight, but if you thought to pick up an especially spooky lantern or mask before confronting them, their viciousness will evaporate and you'll have them running scared instead.

Comments

option b

[de_lux]

There's a man watching the proceedings in the cathedral. Minus the tacky sunglasses, he's quite generic looking and the citizens gathered in the cathedral don't seem to be giving him any second looks. He isn't talking to anyone at the moment, nor is he involved in leaving flowers or candles. Perhaps he's free to talk?

[jonesiseverywhere]

Casey hadn't totally ruled out "evil cult" as a possibility to why they were here, though what kind of evil cult would give their shadow monster sacrifices magic to fight back was a question Casey hadn't totally worked out the answer to yet. Still, the cathedral being so lively was...strange. It seemed like a bunch of old people and some guy who looked kind of familiar and completely out of place.

He hastily threw off his hockey sticks and other equipment, stashing them in some nearby shrubs, before pulling his hood over his head and sauntering in. Not that he looked at all like he belonged here, but neither did the guy. Casey stopped next to him, non-nonchalantly leaning against a pew. He was sneaking glances, trying to figure out the best way to draw him out. You couldn't rush this kind of spy stuff...

[de_lux]

Lux briefly looked at Casey when the boy stopped nearby, but he seemed more absorbed in studying the altar at the end of the room, where the largest cluster of candles and flowers had been gathered.

Eventually however, one of Casey's sneaked glances caught Lux's attention and he turned to nod at the kid.

"Hello," he said. "Pretty, isn't?"

[jonesiseverywhere]

"Uh...Yeah, I guess." Casey's been caught off gaurd a little. "Spy stuff" means he's supposed to be the one leading the conversation but he's always been better at the more direct approach.

"What's it about?"

[de_lux]

Lux makes a slight gesture towards the offer.

"These are offerings," he says. "They're here because of the season."

[jonesiseverywhere]

Could this guy be any more vague?

"Oooooookay. Wanna unpack that for me?"

[de_lux]

Probably not, no.

Nevertheless, at Casey's request, Lux elaborates. "The summer is ending, and the flowers are given as thanks for the year's abundance and in hope of a fertile harvest. The candles are to ward off the incoming darkness."

[unrecovered]

The park is usually festival central, and Wash can use a distraction. After a while, he makes his way down to the cathedral, taking off his mask as he enters; it's lit up, for once, and therefore worth exploring.

The first thing he notices is the volume, or lack thereof - it's quiet, almost like there's an actual religious service happening. The second thing is those godawful sunglasses in the back row. He never forgets a face; he never forgets anything; and, well, at least the quiet makes sense, if this world's god is there.

He reins his temper in as best he can and takes a seat next to Lux. "Hi! Good to see you when I'm not getting yanked around between dimensions. It's a nice change." His tone is too bright, too sharp - good to see you is obviously not the case.

[de_lux]

Lux gives Wash a quick glance up and down, which is more noticeable from the way he slightly nods his head than anything else. The glittery sunglasses do a marvelous job at hiding where exactly he's looking, and the calm expression doesn't help either.

"Agent Washington," he says. "Are you doing well?"

[unrecovered]

"About as well as I can be after being yanked across multiple dimensions. Just great." Still bright and brittle - he's obviously unhappy about the entire situation, and Lux's calm will only serve to make him angrier if he lets it.

"Here's a question: why are we here? And I don't mean 'it's one of life's greatest mysteries'; I mean why did you drag a bunch of people from different dimensions and fuck with their biological makeup to fight your war instead of actually giving the people here the tools to defend themselves?" That particular question has been bothering Wash more than just about anything else. With great power comes shitty decision-making skills, evidently.

[de_lux]

Lux regards Wash for a moment. "Well, you look healthy enough," he concludes.

"As for your question, that... is something of a long story." Lux shifts a bit in his seat, looking almost uncomfortable. "I suppose the citizens of Freesia wouldn't have told you about it? Or couldn't, rather. I had hoped that under the circumstances, they'd have been a bit more calm about everything..." And after that non-answer, Lux lapses into silence, looking lost in thought.

[unrecovered]

There's a moment where Wash just closes his eyes and tries to pretend the conversation didn't just take that turn. He can't handle the idea that this entire mess is orchestrated by the divine equivalent of Caboose. Nope.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but the natives here don't really like us." That answered a few things and opened up a whole host of other questions - questions Wash fully intends to get the answers to. He settles in his seat. "If it's a long story, then it's a good thing we have all night, isn't it." So get talking is the unspoken but heavily implied undercurrent of those words.

[de_lux]

"Ah." He sounds disappointed, but not entirely surprised. "Of course not. M--these people aren't fond of magic, even now."

Lux leaves that out as a hook. Either Wash can ask more, or he can give up, and there's a bit of tenseness to his body language that makes it clear he's hoping for the latter, though why is enough of a question to likely ensure the opposite. As if he would already.

[panspermia]

One could probably forgive Greg for not paying much attention to the cathedral until now; there's never been much to pay attention to. The activity, hushed and somber as it is, still makes for a notable shift, and Greg can't help but peer in on it.

And on that guy sitting in back. Greg's not fantastic with faces, sure, but it's hard to forget those... fashion choices. He's gotta be mistaken, though, right? Why would someone like this only show up now?

Uncertain, hesitant, Greg approaches, and leans on the pew, glancing between the man and the proceedings. "So, uh. This some sort of... special occasion, I take it...?"

[de_lux]

Greg may notice that the proceedings, while certainly somber and formal, aren't hugely organized. No sermons are being made, and it appears to mainly be people milling about with their offerings.

By now, Lux is getting used to people approaching him, so he barely looks up when Greg speaks. He does, however, give Greg a nod.

"You are correct. This is Spooky Night." The calmness of Lux's voice, combined with the solemn air in the cathedral is almost able to make the name of the festival sound non-ridiculous. But only almost.

[panspermia]

Definitely only almost. Greg only just manages to suppress the urge to ask if Lux is joking.

"And uh. I guess that's a big deal?" He's trying to make sense of the ritual, if it can even be called that. It's certainly a different air from the energy outside the place, he can determine that much. "With the festival, and candles, and, uh, churchy stuff. And. Uhm." He clears his throat. "Special visitors, and all."

Real subtle, Greg.

[de_lux]

"It's a very old tradition," Lux says, somewhat stiffly. "From a certain point of view. It's as old as the Cathedral itself."

It's subtle enough that Lux actually takes a moment to repeat Greg's words, "Special visitors?" in a way that's obviously meant to be a request for clarification.

[panspermia]

"W-well." He clears his throat, and rubs at his neck. Jeez, what's he dancing around the point for, if he's being rude anyway? He's already gone and bothered the guy, he may as well get on with it instead of continuing to waste his time.

"Well, you. I mean, you don't come out... often. Do you? I haven't uh. Seen you. Around."

[de_lux]

"Ah." There's a beat. One might imagine Lux blinking behind those glasses, if he has the eyes to. "No, I suppose I've been rather preoccupied."

Re: option b

[letteropener]

"Hello."

The word was friendly, but not particularly warm, as the pony walked up to the man. She wished to understand, not quarrel -- but she couldn't say she was particularly happy about their current situation, and she wasn't going to pretend to be.

[de_lux]

The aisles space between the pews would probably be a bit narrow for Celestia, so at the pony's approach Lux stood up and walked towards her, pausing at the edge of the pew.

"Hello," he echoed. He seemed to think for a moment, then asked, "Are you enjoying the festival?"

[letteropener]

"It is quite a show," she said, truthfully and meaning it as a compliment. "But I do miss other ponies, besides my sister."

One oblique shot fired across the bow. Just to test the waters.

[de_lux]

"I did think the masks were a nice touch. Change things around, make it something people would enjoy." There was an odd touch of wistfulness to Lux's tone, before he addressed Celestia's comment. "You'll probably see others, eventually."

[letteropener]

"You don't know?"

Not what she expected to get out of this conversation, but definitely information nonetheless.

[de_lux]

There was a short silence as Lux seemed to consider how to word his answer.

"There are many heroes," he said eventually. "But they aren't always in the same place at the same time. Or the same time at the same place." That may or may not make sense to her. "Sometimes who I would like to aim for aren't close enough for me to reach." After another awkward pause, he gave a small half-shrug.