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

[incaenstrix]

Oh, is that all? Just faster and more confident?

[ She gives a little huffed laugh that's ten percent exasperated and ninety percent delighted. ]

Confidence isn't something you can make yourself have, you know -

[ But speed's a little easier. She awkwardly pushes off with one skate, which leads to a slight increase in speed - which might be good, since it makes her more stable, or might be bad, since it narrows the distance between them. All depends on whether Matthias is good enough to skate backwards a little faster. ]

[inkindled]

[He clicks his tongue, brisk and dismissive.]

'Course you can. You've just got to keep at it--being confident, I mean--and if you keep that up--believing it, like--then you'll manage.

[Can he manage, is the unspoken question here. As Tertia pushes forward, Matthias shuffles a fast little skate to keep both his balance and some of the distance between them. It's nothing personal. They've just got to keep upright is all. He laughs.]

Only if you get overly confident right here and now, I'm like to end up falling on my arse, and I don't want that.

[incaenstrix]

[ She giggles in return. ]

Definitely not. It's too skinny. There's no padding at all. You'd break it if you fell on it. Oop -

[ Her expression of mischief gives way to surprise as she wobbles - but she recovers and they stay upright. ]

[inkindled]

Shut up!

[His grip had tightened when she wobbles, ready to hold her--and go down with her for his trouble, probably--but she doesn't fall, so Matthias is now free to laugh.]

Making fun of the infirm--s'not on, y'know. Anyway I do mean it, about confidence. Everyone's faking. Helps to keep that in mind when you're doing anything for the first time, or the thirtieth time, or the five squillionth time, even.