SATINALIA

[incaenstrix]

WHO: Everybody!!
WHAT: SATINALIA!!
WHEN: Backdated to the first day of Firstfall
WHERE: Gallows courtyard
NOTES: Drunkenness and shenanigans. HALLOWEENMAS!!

This Satinalia is, perhaps, less grand than in years past. Blockades are still limiting access to luxury goods, after all, so the fine liquors and dainty foods that have been featured before are nowhere to be found. And Tertia, the temporary Morale Officer, doesn't have the connections or deft touch of organizers past, so things are rougher than they've been before - the musicians are less polished, the ale a little more watered-down, the decorations somewhat haphazard.

But you know what? It's still Satinalia. Nothing can really screw up Satinalia. Especially because there are some rather lovely touches, the best of which might well be the ice skating rink. A section of the Gallows Courtyard has been roped off and frozen over with magic, leaving a (largely) smooth sheet of ice covering it. Skates are available to borrow if you don't have a pair. Of course, some injuries are definitely going to result (if you skate off the edge, you're smacking into stone instead of a soft snowbank, which can be disastrous), but hey, it's fun.

Other perks are the bonfires, with mulled wine and cider being served out of cauldrons around them, where people might sit and reflect while watching the flame. There's also dancing, of course, with the musicians basically being any band that's been recommended by members of Riftwatch - so there are lots of half-competent cousins-of-friends playing here. What they lack in skill they make up for in enthusiasm; this is the first gig for a lot of them, and they're thrilled to be here.

One thing that's missing is the Satinalia fool being named ruler. Tertia wasn't familiar with this tradition and didn't arrange it - so there's a last-minute campaign being held, in which people can either nominate others or self-nominate to be named Riftwatch's greatest fool to be celebrated.

Enjoy yourself. Exchange presents. Get drunk. Have a blast. Don't lose any teeth.

Comments

skating time

[overharrowed]

[For a man who grew up, quite literally, on the shores of a lake, Julius doesn't have a great deal of skating experience. But after watching others for a while, and perhaps one other in particular, the pleasure of it is tempting. He acquires a pair of skates and ventures out onto the ice, tentatively at first. He's dressed comfortably and practically, at least, so he's not working against an impractical costume as he finds the trick of balancing.

He'll make his way over to Marcus in a moment, when he's confident he won't fall on his face.]

[ipseite]

( by contrast—

petrana is in her element. she is, perhaps, the happiest that she's ever openly been in front of so many of their compatriots; not the gladdest that anyone here has ever seen her, but the most relaxed she's ever seemed with so many eyes around if not on her. in the new riding habit that marcus had gifted her, skirts full and not buttoned up, she is doing idle and, indeed, less idle loops as they get their bearings.

twirling, with increased confidence, after so long away from the ice. it's muscle memory, after all, and she's long been able to point to her balance and her control over her own physicality as some of her greatest traits.

it's easy, joyous. few things are, these days. )

[luaithre]

[ Marcus imagines that he could have contented himself by staying safely on the sidelines, watching Petrana carve pretty swirls and loops into the ice in her turns, smiling and fluttering. But then he notes Julius' careful entrance onto the rink, and is differently glad for that. He waits with some patience until it seems the other man has the motions of it—

The scrape of metal on ice directly behind Julius precedes a hand in the middle of his back, and the subtle pressure of a push forward to increase his speed.

(It should be noted that Marcus probably only has a little more experience than Julius appears to, made negligible by how many years its been since, and only appears not to be on the verge of disaster at any second.)

But anyway— ]

[overharrowed]

[It startles him, but he laughs, which as reactions go is probably close to ideal under the circumstances.]

Am I holding you up?

[He is getting the hang of it, slowly, but it's different to anything he's done before. (That, and he doesn't have the ability to refreeze the ice as needed.)]

[ipseite]

( off the tail end of her spin, petrana joins them — insufferably gracefully — spinning into and then again out of their path, directly, coming up alongside to say, )

You're doing marvelously, my love.

[luaithre]

[ With a little more momentum encouraged, Marcus transfers his touch from Julius' back to a light grip at the elbow, pulling up more alongside. ]

Only seeing I don't slow you down, [ clarifying. He has yet to embark on his race with Matthias where he will surely leave some blood and skin on the ice, and for now, a cautious pace is desired.

Ish. Eyeing Petrana's easy pirouettes with some calculation. ]

[overharrowed]

I suspect I am being humored, [is directed, fondly, at Petrana.] It's a poor showing for a man who grew up literally next door to a lake, I grant you.

[Still, Marcus catching his elbow makes him feel a bit more stable, and he doesn't try to push himself unnecessarily. Slow and vertical seems preferable to faster and then an abrupt stop.]