and the bass keeps runnin runnin

[250mhzwabl]

Who: Anyone who heard the announcement, caught a flier in the plaza, of heard by word of mouth. Everyone's welcome!
What: A rave! Well, "rave." Luceti makes everything a little different.
When: June 21st, nightfall to early morning
Where: the beach near Adele's house
Summary: It's the first day of summer! This calls for bonfires, naturally, but why not spice it up with loud music, flashing lights, drinks, dancing, and a conspicuous lack of curfew?
Rating: PG to PG-13, please move anything steamier to appointments or Adele will take the hose to you



Getting all the firewood, food, and drink out to the beach had been, honestly, the hardest part of preparation. Whatever else one might say about running things on magic, it certainly did cut down on the trouble of constructing edifices and machines to run the entertainment side of a party. As it stands, the setup is labour-intensive but otherwise minimal, and there's not much to do by sunset. Escape the house before Max and Zevran, the culture-displaced madmen, can put any more eyeliner on him. Arrive at the beach. Light the bonfires. Make sure the bonfire-cooking-compliant food is set out. Put up a table loaded with bottles, cups, ice, and permanent markers. Thank the resident doctor and quartermaster once more. Plug in the stereo system.

The speakers and light show have been with him since he left his house, in the form of the resident god of mischief, and they confer over sheets of paper with track names and times written on them for a little while just before the start. That's the last of it, and by the time the sky above the mountains is beginning to darken into twilight, the first thumping, trilling strains of dance music begin to echo out across the sand.

It's the shortest night of the year. Best make every second last.

[OOC: Feel free to post your character for mingling, since this entire event is very free-form anyway. For everyone's enjoyment there is a drinks table, food, several bonfires, the ocean (lifeguards not on duty, splash drunkenly at your own risk), and of course a dancing area with lights and music. Music will probably be primarily EDM with a heavy bass line, but occasionally wander into the territories of electro-swing and the like to give even less modern partygoers a chance to show off. The light show as well will stray out of the typical at times, with the expected abstract wheeling and flashing lights giving way to more complicated illusions. Don't be surprised to find yourself and your fellows occasionally dancing in a forest glen or a Rivendell look-alike for a few minutes at a time. Loki is working the tech booth, after all.

The party will go as long as people stay and are enjoying themselves, so have fun and tag around!]

Comments

[relictusdeus]

Rarely is a word from his lips or a gesture little more than what it appears to be, and now is no exception as his hands move to his belt to produce a small cloth pouch drawn shut at the top by a string. It’s light, the metal pieces within clinking like coins as he tosses it towards Eugene.

A childhood of being pecked at and browbeaten into feeling sick with guilt has made a grudging, humiliating thing of apologizing and humbling himself, and in the wake of his mother’s death it had always been easier to convince himself that he wasn’t sorry when he was. Or that he wasn’t guilty when he was, and that blame rest solely with someone else. Anger, too, would blind him. But he is beginning to understand now, at his lowest, that there are times where the benefits of swallowing one’s stubbornness and pride might outweigh the trouble. What pride remains within him.

What's done is done. He would not know how to explain to Jack or to Eugene that the only search parties he has ever known were those out for his head, making their choice to refrain from attacking him before and during his bloody struggle with Zevran an anomaly. Whether forced or of their own free will, they had set out after him not too long after dawn when they could have curled up in the warmth of their beds.

He would not know how to tell Eugene that he will forever remember the wine and the welcome when he had done nothing to deserve either.

Nor would he know how to tell Zevran's lovers that he is attempting to make peace - to familiarize himself with this unfamiliar idea - out of the desperate need to ensure nothing would stand between him and his only friend. What little of value he had left in the world.

Perhaps, he thinks, they would not care to hear of it at all. And to believe as much saves him the trouble of wondering how he would ever find the words for it if he could compel himself to do so. Still, he will offer his acknowledgement tonight and in the way he is most comfortable. Afterwards he'd be free to dust his hands of it and drink his way into state of blissful numbness. Or to attempt as much.

Eyes on Eugene's, he waits to see if he will open it.

[z_jay]

The inner monologue going on with the other man went completely over Eugene's head, left instead with a curiosity about what this small pouch held. Grinning, unsure but also daring, he opened it without hesitation, making sure to have a certain dramatic flair accompany it. The genuine surprise when he saw a whale pendant, fashioned after his tattoo had his brows coming together in confusion.

Then he glanced at Trevor and gave a chuff of laughter, rubbing the back of his head.

"It's-- wow, thank you! This means a lot to me, actually. I didn't... thanks."

Maybe Trevor was just the messenger? In that case, he'd let it be,but he was entirely curious now as to who this person was that would get him something so... personalized. Maybe it was Jack, but he wasn't always this subtle. This came out of the blue, entirely.

"I'm not sure how you knew, but thank you-- or whoever made you give this to me. I do appreciate it! Hey, have you tried some of Loki's booze? Don't go too crazy with it, but it's really nice if you want to try some!"

[relictusdeus]

There's surprise and bemusement and uncertainty playing across Eugene’s features and he knows not why he had expected something else, something more. A flicker of anger or disgust. Perhaps it’s out of habit. But he’s satisfied, more at having carried out what he set to do than anything else, and that the conversation is redirected spares him the need to fabricate some explanation behind the gift.

“Perhaps I might...” He lies easily and manages a hollow smile just as easily, gazing far past Eugene’s shoulder into empty space. “But for now, I believe I will take the air by the ocean, if I may.”

[z_jay]

Something was unsettling about the smile and lack of eye contact, but he wasn't able to put his finger on what it was about it that was troubling. Offering a helpless smile he snagged Trevor's arm before he was able to walk to far past, gripping and tugging him in a little closer before indicating the back of his neck.

"Mind giving me a hand? It's really nice, I wanna wear it!" drink made him bold, under normal circumstances he wouldn't dare be so demanding.

[relictusdeus]

No amount of time between the days of strugglingly climbing the castle hierarchy and now has dullened the reflex that sends a jolt through him when his arm is snatched and tugged at. His head snaps to look Eugene’s way, eyes sharp and alert and pupils slightly blown, lips parted in silent protest. But there’s no threat now, and it takes a brief bit of convincing by way of a blank, searching look into the man’s face before some sense dawns upon him. Then, blinking, the request finally registers.

And there is anger. It flares through him and his heart rocks his skull and yet he sees himself extend his hand to take the chain and stand behind Eugene as if this had been a part of the plan from the beginning.

There is too much trust placed in him now. More than he deserves. He could twist it around his neck, a voice coos; the voice of raw, unthinking impulse. Strangle him quietly as he had many men, and have Abel cast his corpse far out into the ocean.

Vivid images flash behind his eyelids.

Pale, cyanotic skin.
Distended veins.
Gasping lips and scrabbling, white-knuckled hands.

The pendant feels heavy in his hovering, faintly trembling hands and his head heavier still. And through the haze he suddenly hears a crisp little snap and realizes the chain has been clasped, knuckles brushing against the nape of Eugene's neck.

It’s done.

Pulling in a breath, Isaac steps back two paces, mind reeling.

It’s done and he's done and he desperately needs to be somewhere far away. Away from this, from Eugene and Zevran and Jack and Luceti and all of it, every smiling, happy face, before he tears at his wings. He can muster neither the patience nor the grace to wait for anything the man might think to say and twists around to head away from the droning music, head down and jaw set.

[z_jay]

Turning around, he felt his smile dampen slightly when Trevor advanced away so quickly, intent on being elsewhere. Briefly he considered calling after him, but the man seemed determined and he wasn't going to stand in the way of whatever he was seeking. Solace? Quiet? Space?

Regardless, he brushed the pads of his fingertips against the charm and grinned softly to himself. That was... well, he was too drunk to think too hard on it.