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

[notathreat]

"Holden's difficult about anything nice for himself," Ellie says with a tiny scoff. It still hurts for her too, and her eyes look a touch shinier at the mention of his name, but she smiles anyway.

Loss is like that. Sometimes it hurts more, sometimes less. The waves come farther apart and aren't as high.

Ellie thinks for a second, and yeah, while there's a small sting at the thought of dancing with Derrica, it rapidly fades. She almost feels guilty for it, but she's coming to realize that allowing herself to heal doesn't mean it meant less.

"I can make an exception for you," she teases, putting down her dulcimer.

[tender]

There is, of course, the temptation to remind her: You don't have to.

But they are trying not to do that. Derrica is trying not to do that.

So she reaches out for Ellie's hands instead.

Yes, the music is not as good as it might have been if it were Bastien and his people. But it will do. Derrica laces her fingers through Ellie's, as they find a place among the remaining, meandering pairs on what passes as a dance floor tonight.

"I wanted to thank you again," is what she says instead. "For your help with the painting. No one else could have done it right."

And she thinks Marcus liked it. Has a suspicion it was well-received, which is reassuring. Derrica had spent so much time fretting over the rest of what she'd put together for Marcus and his partners, it was nice to know there was something that would simply be appreciated without caveats.

[notathreat]

Music isn't always music, but sometimes all you need is a beat, and thankfully that's the case tonight. Ellie squeezes Derrica's hand and puts her other one on her back, breaking into a smile.

"I liked painting it. I think Kevin was happy to show somebody how handsome he was."

Ellie had given him plenty of treats for cooperating, which may have helped. "I should start taking requests. If they're all that fun, anyway."

Derrica and Ellie have always danced together at these events, and it's easy now, so she doesn't overthink it. She'd danced a little, earlier in the night, but this might be the last. She has to make it count.

[tender]

"You could," Derrica considers. "Bastien has a dog. And the Commander a horse."

If Ellie's looking for subjects, there are options. Maybe not all as cooperative as Kevin, but —

"I meant to thank you," is a slight divergence. A variance in topic, as Derrica continues, "For the gift you made for me."

Something that becomes all the more precious, given their discussions of late. What Ellie gifted her is so clearly a thing made with care, something made important for the attention given to it's creation. Whether or not it was made with her in mind, being entrusted the item feels like a kind of honor.

[notathreat]

Ellie nods along. Whiskey's been one of her subjects before, so maybe-

But that's not all of it, really. A smile ghosts along Ellie's face "Eh, it was nothing," she says, like it's automatic, though they both know it wasn't. The circumstances surrounding it were awkward and continue to be. It's okay.

"I like yours too. The charcoal, and. The bracelet. It goes with the one from last year."

She's wearing it now, like some kind of good-luck charm against the Satinalia parties of a year past. The hamsa bracelet from Dina is nestled alongside it, warding.

Ellie doesn't have to believe in it, but she also doesn't have to risk it.

[tender]

She'd argue, if it weren't so obvious that nothing is comedically untrue. The objection is telegraphed in a light frown, a squeeze of her hands. No, it isn't nothing. Even if they presently occupy some difficult, complicated space, Ellie's gift is something Derrica will treasure always.

"I liked making it for you."

It feels like a very small thing, set against Ellie's artwork.

"I saw you skating," is a gentle subject change. "Was that your first try at it?"

[notathreat]

Ellie presses her lips together, looks up sheepishly like yeah, you caught me, but thankfully Derrica doesn't push more than that. She lets it be easy. She lightly rubs her thumb against her hand in thanks, steps back to guide Derrica into a spin. It's one of the slower ones.

Sweet of her. Ellie cracks a smile, glancing back towards the rink. She's seen Derrica keeping her hawklike eye on it, ever-watchful for hurts. There have been a few.

"Yeah, with actual skates," Ellie admits. "I've gone sliding a couple times, but it wasn't very graceful. Gela has it down, actually..."

Trailing off, Ellie glances back at Derrica, wondering if she's reading into correctly. "Do you want to try? Most everyone's done now, so you don't have to be on-call."

[tender]

Derrica is easily spun, braids and draped cloak and shawl briefly whirling out before Ellie draws her back in.

While Ellie glances at her, Derrica glances out at the ice. Considers the prospect of skating. Kostos had suggested it too, and even Marcus had skirted the idea. She'd had obvious reasons not to partake at the time. (Speaking of Kostos—) And now, she was content in the swaying, easy dance Ellie has swept her up into.

"Maybe," she concedes. "Maybe sliding, rather than skating."

Only because Derrica has the impression it might be easier to stop without blades involved. She crooks a smile at Ellie, self-conscious.

"I hated the cold when I first came here. We had a mission in the Vinmarks, and it nearly drove me off."

Not true. She wouldn't have fled over the misery of a mission so involved in trudging around in the snow, but it had tested her commitment.

[notathreat]

"Maybe," Ellie says, but she's catching Derrica's hesitation. "Or- maybe we could fit in another dance instead."

An easy way to choose, anyway.

Ellie bumps her in response to the little smile. A small nudge that says she doesn't have to.

"Shit, yeah. Especially if you're used to anything like the climate in Antiva." Ellie wrinkles her nose. "The first time you get off your horse and really sink in the snow- that would freak anybody out."

[tender]

"Rivain is warmer," Derrica tells her. "I'd never seen snow. Not until I came to Riftwatch."

They might keep dancing, yes. Ellie would indulge her, Derrica knows. The kindness of it, being afforded this grace.

"I didn't think I'd skate on ice either. But if you'll keep me from colliding with the wall, I think I'd like to try."

[notathreat]

"I don't know if I could handle someplace that hot," Ellie tells her honestly. "No wonder you like the ocean."

But the way Derrica decides anyway, fuck it brings a grin to Ellie's face, a light in her eyes.

"I'll stay on the wall side," she teases her. "If you lose your balance you'll hit me instead. I'm softer."

[tender]

"That's very heroic."

And also generous, using if rather than when.

But they've committed to this now. Setting aside all hesitations, Derrica laces her fingers through Ellie's to tow her from the makeshift dance floor.

She'd observed a lot of skating this evening. Marcus and Matthias' race, their many fellows who collided with the wall or toppled off the ice onto the stonework surrounding it. What's left now is a little melted, patchy in some places. Largely abandoned.

Derrica toes at the edge contemplatively. Maybe trying to consider the best way forward, if boots or strapping on blades is best.

[notathreat]

"That, or I'm just building goodwill for the next time I get myself hurt," Ellie points out uncharitably, and oh man the next time she gets hurt ha ha

Ellie happily lets herself be towed along, parting the other dancers to make their way over to the slippery ice.

While Derrica toes it, Ellie leaps out onto the ice with both feet, braced wide to slide several feet across it. She slips a little, corrects herself, then turns to reach out with both hands.

"I wonder if we could slide all the way across it," she says with a grin. "Maybe not on our feet, but-"

[tender]

"I've seen enough to know that might not be the ideal way to do it," is absolutely a healer's ruling. It's given instinctively, as Derrica considers her approach, where she might put her feet on the ice. There is no sign of what route might provide traction, so—

So she must simply do it. Slide towards Ellie, and hope for the best.

And with Ellie having slid out of immediate reach, Derrica is obliged to follow after her somewhat on her own.

Those first steps out onto the ice are a little halting, a little graceless: arms flung wide, momentum faltering, expression tensed in concentration. A moment of near toppling.

And then she catches hold of Ellie's hands, grips tightly.

Whether or not that stops her fully, who can say.

[notathreat]

"Maybe not the most dignified either," Ellie points out with a grin. Still, she reaches out with both hands, bracing herself as best she can.

Which isn't that well on ice, unfortunately. Derrica got a good start, so she keeps sliding even after Ellie grabs her hands, and they both keep going, Ellie wobbling.

"Shit-"

Thankfully, Ellie does know how to fall so she avoids cracking her head or any other bones on the ice. Instead she sits down hard on her ass, cushioning Derrica's fall- if she does- with a loud laugh.

[tender]

Whether or not Derrica knows how to fall is of little consequence in this exact moment, when Ellie makes herself into a landing pad. She falls into her, a punched out squawk of objection at the entire turn of events punctuating the topple.

The ice under them is slick, still solid enough to coat stone but puddling in places. Enough that water soaks into Derrica's pant leg, into the cuff of her jacket where her palm slaps the ice beside Ellie's hip.

"Is it good to start with a fall, or a bad sign?" is a little breathless, a smile curving across her face even as she follows this swiftly with, "Are you alright?"

[notathreat]

Ellie's laughing, even as they both end up covered in frost and some icy water, smarting.

"Good," she insists, offering her hands for Derrica to brace herself with. "Takes care of that fear of falling for the first time, y'know? Sure, it hurts, but now you know you can take it."

Which is a very Ellie way of looking at things, both for good and ill.

"I'm fine," she insists, putting one skate under her, going to one knee to demonstrate how to center their gravity before they try to stand. "You?"

[tender]

"Cold," Derrica answers, which is better than bruised, surely. "But I'm alright."

As she mirrors Ellie, how Ellie squares herself and sets her weight. Keeps hold of both her hands as they rise opposite each other. Staying still, there is no immediate risk of her boots skidding out from beneath her a second time.

Not just yet.

"You broke the fall. So you might be giving me too much credit about what I can take."

[notathreat]

"Oh, well -- next time, then."

Ellie grins broadly. Is she joking? Well. Probably maybe.

"For... character-building purposes."

[tender]

"Next time, you'll let me break your fall."

Derrica is not quite joking. It feels so inevitable that there will be a next time. She is steady for now, but part of skating must mean moving. Not simply standing in place, Ellie's hands clasped in hers.

"Which way?" Derrica prompts. "I'm not going to race you, but we can try a circle around the edge before I make you take me back to the fire."

[notathreat]

"You'll have to catch me," Ellie jokes, because yeah, that does feel inevitable. But she does take Derrica's hand, angling her skates to show Derrica how to push off, then slide across the ice, wobbling as they are.

"Back skate like this, and then..."