SATINALIA 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO.

[deuselfmachina]

WHO: All
WHAT: A second crack at celebrating Satinalia, because we deserve nice things.
WHEN: Mid-Firstfall
WHERE: The Gallows, in the gardens.
NOTES: n/a

It's twilight when Second Satinalia is in its fullest swing. The weather is unseasonably warm, and so they've made use of the gardens as the site for partying. Carefully placed lanterns shine through the odd tree or hover over bushes that have since lost their flowers.

However, decoration makes up for the lack of springtime flora. The space is decorated in shining garlands of gold and silver ribbons, paper flowers, and hanging ornamentations that flip between moons and suns. (If they look a little used, it's because these are second-hand decorations from slightly more affluent Satinalia parties been and gone, borrowed or donated.) There is also a firepit, providing a source of warmth and light.

In the invitations that went out, everyone was encouraged to come in costume as they'd intended to, but noted that for those whom their costumes were ruined or they would simply like to wear something different, there will be masks available, along with some costume pieces—fake jewelry, big hats, faux-velvet and harlequin coats, and so on, though they must be given back, s'il vous plaît. Florent will also offer his abilities in face painting and makeup prior to the party beginning, and will talk you into going spooky in case more skeletons come and they need to blend in to throw them off. (He can be found with his own stylish paintwork, a skeletal design in silver and white and grey.)

Everyone has also been invited to bring along some food and drink if they have it, as their budget is run a bit thin, but there will definitely be enough wine to go around, and some fruits and sweet pastries purchased from the market that day all offered on a table.

There is some music, a few local musicians (who have been promised, variously, tickets to shows, or work opportunities with certain prominent Orlesian playhouses, which may or may not be legitimate) set up with a fiddle, some percussion instruments, something that resembles a very elaborate xylophone, all playing a diverse array of up tempo tunes that allow for a bit of dancing in the more open area of the garden, but otherwise suffuses the shadows and fractured conversations with pleasant noise.

Drink, be merry, don't kill anyone.

Comments

[lumelume]

Unfazed by the chaos of the last week (or at least appearing to be), Mado comes out for the party with his full capacity for enthusiasm-- which is a lot, but he's learned by now that people prefer he not get it on them.
Sometimes drumming along with the musicians, sometimes dancing, and only occasionally drinking, he occasionally casts a glance over at the unfamiliar face of the silver-haired wallflower, eventually making his way over with a friendly grin.

"Haven't seen you before," he says cheerfully, "are you new to Riftwatch?"

[rebellionyell]

"Haven't seen you before is my middle name," Dante said lowering his stance like a dog in the presence of a small yet lively animal, interested, but not wishing to trample on it. Parties were very often hell for him as was adapting to the variety of personalities involved with attending them, "but you do have a keen eye, I'm fresh as a daisy. You?"

[lumelume]

"That's a long name," Mado replies in a tone that suggests he might not realize it's a joke, his eyes bright and mouth smiling in such a way that it clearly makes no difference whether he does or not.

"As a daisy!" he gasps, delighted by the comparison, "no, amico, I've been here for... a year? The better part of one?" He cocks his head-- also rather like a dog, come to think of it-- as he tries to remember.
"Times moves swiftly in a place like this. You'll be settled in no time, I'm certain of it!"

[rebellionyell]

"I'm a disappointment to my family and my parents hated me, what can I say?" The humor in his voice belies the statement at large. Dante was very much loved, by his mother at least, he suspected his father as well, and underneath a thousand layers of stubborn pride and bitter sibling rivalry maybe Vergil did as well. Of course, he would also argue that lacking Vergil's drive for constant chase for power was probably a never-ending source of disappointment for his twin, but that was neither here nor there.

"I consider myself to be pretty adaptable," Dante had to survive on his own as a child and surviving meant utilizing his skills to carve out a decent living and eventually a business. It had ups and downs, but success wasn't the same thing to everyone, "granted I'm adjusting to a few things here and there, but once I've settled some things, I'm sure I'll feel right at home."

hi I was traveling and now I am BACK

[lumelume]

"Oh," comes Mado's gentle reaction, with a smile perhaps as sympathetic as it is pleasant. "Well, you will be in good company, amico!" It's nice to know one is not alone in being completely disavowed by family, even if, unbeknownst to him, it was a joke.

"What is it you do?"

welcome back!

[rebellionyell]

"I do a lot of things, but if you're talking about job specifics, I'm a demon hunter where I come from," he's also a demon, but he's been made aware that the locals might not be too amenable to that piece of information and unless it inevitably reveals itself, he'll keep that to himself for now. It's not that he's afraid of consequences for himself, he's just attuned to how unpredictable humans can be.

"Seems like a skill that can be applied here."

[lumelume]

"Demon hunter."

Mado's eyes go wide, likely much in the way of any other Thedosian who hears those words put together.

"Yes, I should say so! Although I don't know that many demons have breached Riftwatch itself." He grins.

"...although I suppose I might not know if they had." There is always that.

[rebellionyell]

Dante is well aware of the fact that the word demon was tabboo in this world and the natives were terrified of them. It was the only thing that kept Dante in check and well away from people most of the time given that so few of them knew about his identity, only one person, in fact, had an inkling.

"I suspect they keep us well informed when it comes to demon sightings and attacks...or do you just have access to that kind of information," it would actually be useful to know who was apprised of which situations to be honest.

[lumelume]

That's a good question, and one to which Mado does not immediately know the answer. He opens his mouth as though to answer, then closes it again, smiling in his quiet revelation of ignorance.

"I hear one attacked last year or so," he offers uselessly, "I suppose it isn't common knowledge, otherwise? Whether people are courting demons in their own time is their business, I suppose."

That's a bad answer, he knows, but he doesn't have a better one.