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 Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2020 5:49 pm
Solo or RP Format
Counts as 5 RP growth Points
Solo word minimum is 750, RP post minimum is 7
Prompt
With so many inhabitants of Tendaji still working the lands, it's common that a festival or party is held to celebrate the transition to a new season. With summer in swing, it's about time to celebrate again. This transition goes from cultivating the land to full-harvest, so many hold celebrations to thank the gods for rain, earth, and successful growth of their plants.
Be it on Tendaji where the Earthlings celebrate thanks for their crops and land, or the Aishans thank their great mothers for prosperous hunts, or even Kahikinan where they celebrate a transition from the heavy rain season, all of Tendaji has reason to gather during the summer months.
[ For this prompt, find someone to celebrate a the change of a season wherever your character is. If your character is alone, now is a great time to consider the transition of the season versus the transition of your life. ]
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 10:49 am
There was really no sense in being pouty at a festival and yet, here she was. Weeks before they were set to return to Jauhar a grand festival had sprung up in the vicinity, and at the time Zakia had been so excited. Earthling gatherings were just so much brighter than Alkidike meetings and there was always something new that she’d never gotten to experience before. The energy in the air was almost visible and for days she’d practically vibrated with it. Each day her mother reminded her that the only way she could go was if she was on her best behavior, and didn’t cause any trouble for their hosts. She’d tried; really, she had, but then Azreal just had to exist....
So, naturally, they’d gotten in trouble. Zakia couldn’t even remember what started the last round of squabbles, but it had almost cost her a trip to the festival. When she’d agreed to do anything just to go she hadn’t expected this!
A length of red, silk ribbon was tied around her wrist, and subsequently, tied around his as well. There was enough room for the two of them to move freely, but not so much that they could escape from the other. While the idea for the two of them to spend more time together had been a mutual agreement between the idea the ribbon had been all her mother. Zakia couldn’t have felt more betrayed.
If either child came back without the ribbon, or if it so much as looked like the knots had been untied, then the punishment would be harsher.
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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2020 8:44 pm
I would much rather run one of Aunt Tally's courses than do this. Azreal groaned as he learned of his newest punishment, courtesy of Zakia's presence dragging down his life once more. Whoever thought that tying the two younglings together was a great idea could go sweep up the mamu stalls because surely that would be just as grand an experience as this one. Still, he bit his tongue whenever they were tied together because his father had even instructed him to behave this one time. Else there would be no more festivals for Azreal for the rest of the year and by the spirits the best festivals hadn't even happened yet! This one was the first of many and the end of the year festivals were even grander....
He refused to let Zakia ruin those as well.
Just thinking about it made him shoot a glare towards the Alkidike hybrid. He wouldn't be surprised if she untied the knots just to drag him into even more punishments without even worrying about her own. She was vicious like that after all. For now though he would at least try to see if they could survive this night. Just a few hours being tied together and then they could be cut loose as soon as they returned home. Azreal glanced at the torture device resting around his wrist before letting out a sigh. "Where do we even begin?" He muttered as he glanced between his prison-mate and the crowds that were starting to bustle in and out of the stalls around them.
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Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 11:50 am
Why was he even looking at her like that? It was just as much his fault as it was hers! When Zakia caught that snotty little glare she returned it with a snubbed nose and sticking her tongue out. If he could make it any worse for her then he would simply out of spite! She really wouldn't be surprised if he ran off right now just to see her suffer.
"I don't know, I've never been to this festival before." She'd been to a few over the years, but they were always scattered. Not once had her mother managed to take her to the same festival twice. She looked over the crowds at the various stalls, and their wares. Some were pretty typical; merchants selling seasonal items and others offering freshly prepared snacks. "We could get some food or look at the shops. Maybe a game?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 11:20 am
[Sabra via her phone (discord)]
Azreal just rolled his eyes at Zakia. That level of maturity was part of the reason that they got into trouble in the first place. Sheesh. Out of all the family friends...Azreal glanced away from her and tried to focus on the festival around them. Maybe just maybe if he walked around she would just follow and they could get through enough of this to please their parents.
But it was somewhat impossible to ignore someone who was attached to him. He had hoped for some sort of direction but when he received a vague answer he found himself sighing once more. "So basically anything." He found himself retorting before he could stop himself. "I mean...there's some games towards the center square. Fish scooping, games of skill tests...the usual. If you want to try and win a prize instead of spending coin that's an option. Surely that's not too foreign a concept?" Azreal gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. Did they just have massive hunts in Jahaur? Did bug women even like fun like this? "It's mostly like any other festival.... hopefully you've been to some others before. The scenery is different but it's still celebrating summer solstice. So games, food and shopping. There's a bonfire at the end..." If they survived the couple of hours before sunset.
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Posted: Mon Aug 10, 2020 11:29 am
[3/7]
"Well, if I would have picked something you would have been a jerk about it, too, so letting you go first seemed like my only option." She groused. No matter what she said around him nothing would make Azreal happy! Zakia just knew that if she said that man's shirt was green, because it was, he'd say something dumb like 'no it's BLUE green'.
"I know what games are." She frowned. "Just because I haven't been to this festival doesn't mean I haven't been to any." The little alk hybrid tugged on the sash, pulling him in the direction of the games. There seemed to be more kids in this area, all running around and having fun while their guardians watched, which was...the exact opposite atmosphere the two of them were giving off.
"What about that?" She pointed to a stall near the back where some of the older children were hanging around. There was a board in the back lined with targets that the stall operator could move by pulling a variety of strings. Each were different heights, sizes, locations, but it seemed like the smaller ones brought you better prizes. All you had to do was hit them with little darts; how hard could that be?
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 10:25 am
[3/7]
"Uh huh." Azreal just shrugged at Zakia's explanation. Obviously it felt more like a trap because it was his responsibility to be somewhat of a host and going first didn't seem to fit the sense of etiquette he had established when it came to leading a guest around. You were supposed to attend to their needs and see what they wanted to do over your own, right? Blech. He simply pursed his lips as she finally tugged him towards the games. At least she had been to some festivals before it seemed. Though he wanted to offer some witty comment, Azreal miraculously managed to swallow the words. He had to be somewhat civil after all else they would never make it through the night.
Azreal followed Zakia's gaze and slowly nodded. "We could try that." He offered before glancing down at their conjoined hands. "Do you think we could manage one-handed?" He did enjoy competitions after all and perhaps having a tied hand could make the game more challenging. He played with darts at home so what could be so difficult? His father had played a few and won before though Azreal felt that something was slightly fishy when it came to his father winning games like this so easily....but he shoved away the thought. His father wasn't here and it was just him and Zakia who had to try.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 1:50 pm
[4/7]
"It only takes one hand to throw a dart." Although, looking at him gave her pause. "What hand do you eat with?" If it was the one that was tied up then he might have a harder time with it.
Personally she'd never tried it before. She'd seen her mother and several other alkidike warriors tossing spears before, though, so it couldn't be that different. Besides, this one she would actually be able to lift! When they wandered over to the counter it wasn't all that difficult to get the vendors attention; after all, two younglings tied together and not looking remotely related tended to garner attention.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 3:02 pm
[4/7]
Azreal pointedly glanced towards his tied wrist at the question. "It doesn't matter. I'll figure it out." He was too proud to admit otherwise. Walking up to the counter, Azreal fiddled in his pockets before slapping some coin down for the merchant. "We'll try." His azure gaze blazed with determination as he studied the targets, his mind already trying to calculate a path to victory. The only thing making him worried was the scratching of the ribbon around his wrist that served as a constant reminder of his current handicap.
The vendor simply raised a brow, amusement in his gaze, but he still handed over four of the darts to each child. "Hit the targets to win the prizes." He announced with a grin before pulling back to wait and see what results would be had from such a strange pair.
Azreal fiddled with the dart in his free hand before glancing over towards Zakia. "Ladies first." He offered with a small grin. Even though she had the advantage he was curious to see how well she would do.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 3:15 pm
[5/7]
Suit yourself, then. Zakia turned her glare towards the merchant and even though her ire was directed at Azreal the poor man behind the counter was taking the blunt of her distaste. He just seemed confused and a little intimated, most likely because of the two angry tied children but relented and gave them their darts.
It wasn't as if Zakia was at much of an advantage, anyway. Her own dominant hand was wrapped up by the ribbon, but it wasn't like Azreal had to know that. How many times had he hung around enough to look at her journals and notes to figure that out? Oh, yeah, none.
Zakia lifted her dart and tried to narrow her focus. The near constant light in this part of Tendaji made it harder for her to see compared to the dimmer conditions in Jauhar. Normally her antennae could compensate, but now...Sticking her tongue out, the little girl did her best to aim and let the dart fly....
....only for it to fall flat.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 4:10 pm
[5/7]
"Pfft." Azreal couldn't help the quiet sound that escaped his lips. First of all Zakia seemed silly sticking her tongue out and then after such effort the dart simply fell flat. He reached out and attempted to rotate a dart in his fingers, the tip slightly pricking his palm before he got it into an awkward position between his fingers. Of course it took one being dropped to the ground for the perfect result, but Azreal simply glared at it before trying again and succeeding with the second dart.
"It's okay, you can always try again." He commented as he moved his own hand back and forth, testing the dart. Azreal's words didn't seem as comforting as they were mocking and it was only karma that his throw failed also. Of course as the dart sailed through the air he had some pride before realizing that it flew completely off course and almost stuck in the merchant rather than the target. Whoops. He gave a shrug of his shoulders to try to play off the mishap. "Good warm up throw. I'm sure yours will be better this time round too. Just....tilt your wrist more." Despite his snarky words there was a little bit of actual advice in there, not that he would admit to giving any help to Zakia of course.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 4:43 pm
[6/7]
Zakia's cheeks instantly darkened. So what if she didn't hit the target! It was a lot harder than it looked...She puffed her cheeks and couldn't bring herself to look at Azreal, instead choosing to focus on the targets now that he was taking his shot. With any luck he would mess up to and- there it was. So his first shot wasn't much better! That made her feel a little better about herself.
It was hard to take advice from someone who almost impaled the vendor, but Zakia let it slide. She loosened her stance a little and took a deep breath to calm herself, just like her mother had taught her. She played with the dart in her fingers for a moment, focusing on one of the targets until she was ready to throw the dart. When the time came she tilted her wrist just a bit and let it fly.
And this time, it hit!
"I got it!" She jumped a little, genuine excitement on her face, until she felt her wrist tug. As soon as she realized who she was still connected to Zakia calmed right back down. "And I'll do it again too, that first time was just a fluke." Surprisingly enough, the next dart she threw hit another target as well, but it barely touched the edge, just enough to stick. Pride made her toss a cocky grin his way.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 4:51 pm
[6/7]
Okay perhaps there was the teeniest of sparks of pride that lit in his chest whenever Zakia managed to hit the target. Azreal had watched her taking his advice and the excitement she had brought a small smile to his face. Of course as soon as she turned towards him the youngling quickly wiped off such a thing. "Yeah, yeah." He replied with a slight roll of his gaze. He threw another dart and this time it did manage to stick into the target but it was barely hanging on to the far side. "I just need to adjust." That stated he picked up the third dart and threw it with burning determination. A satisfied grin crossed his features as he heard the thunk of the dart into the center of the target.
Pure luck which almost made him gasp in surprise before he gave a slight cough and turned a cool gaze towards Zakia. "I guess we win a prize." Straightening his shoulders he gestured towards the vendor. "She can pick whatever she would like, right? Go ahead." He nudged Zakia forward so that she could claim a prize. That was the proper duty of the host after all and perhaps secretly a way for him to maybe make her remember that he had manged such a feat in the first place. Not like he cared what she thought of him! Obviously it was more for bragging rights than anything else!
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 5:03 pm
[7/7]
"What?!" Zakia squealed, taken aback for the moment. There was no hiding the surprise she felt when he hit the center of all things; dead center! Maybe he really was Auntie Rho's kid. Cheeks burning once again, Zakia calmed herself and shrugged. "You couldn't do that again if you tried." But still...it was pretty impressive....
Her eyes widened a bit when he so easily gave up the prize. "Really? This isn't some kind of trick, is it?" Zakia was right to be suspicious of him and yet she couldn't help getting a little excited over the prospect of a prize. They hadn't earned anything too grand, but there was one that she wanted. A little stuffed sailscale, just cheap enough to produce on a grand scale for festivals but shiny enough to catch the attention of children. And boy, did it call out to her!
And when he handed it over Zakia snuggled the purple beastie right to her chest.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 5:25 pm
[7/7]
"Maybe, maybe not." Replied Azreal as he kept his proud expression. He had actually done it! He was honestly still in shock and knew that he would have to burn a candle or something tonight to thank the spirits who had guided the dart to victory. At least he wouldn't have to try again now that he had won a prize. Much better to avoid risking his win for another flop for sure.
"No trick. We're supposed to play nice and so take it." He shook his head though a small smile did cross his lips at her reaction. She could be cute like other girls whenever she wasn't being a beast after all. The thought made him feel embarrassed and he found himself tugging against the ribbon to lead her away, "Let's get some food. They should be lighting the bonfire soon so we need to hurry." Turning his gaze away from Zakia he navigated them through the crowd and braced himself for whatever the rest of the night had in store for him and his fellow captive.
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