awooooo

[actuallyawolf]

Who: Ylva and assorted CR

What: She's decided to have a small party -- a bonfire -- of her very own before it gets too cold to cook outside.

When: Nebulously mid-October

Where: Elsie's clearing (so graciously donated)


Please feel free to tag me directly or to make toplevels for a mingle. New CR is welcome to crash the party or handwave coming along with someone else (she will not stand on ceremony and possibly does not know that idiom anyway).




Ylva has been thinking. On the one hand, she likes many of the things that are at parties -- food, music, friends -- but on the other, they are very noisy and a little overwhelming, and often (though not always) indoors, and maybe, just maybe, she could make herself a little party. The invitations that get slipped into people's mailboxes are printed with carefully but inexpertly formed letters:

I'm having a bonfire before it gets too cold. Elsie said we could use her clearing. Bring things to eat and cook if you want!

On the day of, the wood is gathered and piled high before being set aflame. The food set out is largely simple fare -- bread, cheese, roasted meat, some small cookies and sweets -- but it's the sort of food that fills and warms you on an autumn evening in the woods. There are even some sharpened sticks ready if someone brought sausages (the risk of hot dogs has not occurred to her). It's a camping sort of evening.

Ylva is almost shy, hostess or not, and looks almost startled when someone addresses her, as though this were not a completely normal thing to do. She does try to mingle, though, and is easily flagged down for a conversation.

Comments

OTA | cw: animal death (hunting)

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

Leon debates what to bring along with him for some time after noticing the letter in his mailbox. On the one hand, Ylva's a wolf and will probably always appreciate meat, but on the other, how many other people are gonna have that same thought? It'd be good to get some variety going, but back on the first hand he's not sure how well he'd do at cooking anything other than meat over a bonfire.

Back and forth he goes until he's pretty sure he's overthought it long enough and heads out the morning before the bonfire to see what he can catch, with the intent to give up and buy some gourds (if you can roast them in an oven you can roast them over a fire, right?) if he can't find anything. Perhaps fortunately, he's presented with a pair of pheasants and a clean shot at each early on in the outing, and turns up to the party some hours later having plucked and cleaned them with a little help from one of the local butchers.

"Hey," he says, waving Ylva down and holding up the birds for inspection. "Hope this is enough to share. And thanks for inviting me, it's good to see you again."

After that, he'll set about skewering his catch on some of the pointed sticks and doing his level best to keep them from burning before they're cooked through. He is, sadly, a city boy at heart though, and a solid C- Home Economics student, so he may... need some help with that.

[actuallyawolf]

She flashes him a smile (if a sort of nervous one) and turns her attention to the pheasants.

"I'm really glad you came. I mean, I don't know if you want to be here or where you were before, but I'm happy to see you." Ylva waves her hands, gesturing vaguely. "These look great. Where did you catch them? Will you tell me?"

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

Leon shrugs at the not-quite-question of where he'd rather be, saying, "I've got responsibilities back home, but I'm happy to help out around here however I can. The company here's just an added bonus."

And he doesn't quite have the guts to wink with that comment, but it's a near thing. He thinks about trying it and chickens right the hell out. He does mean it, though. People here are nice.

"And of course. Caught 'em a couple minutes' walk north of where you taught me to hunt in the first place. Seemed like there might've been more around, too, but I didn't want to get greedy."

[actuallyawolf]

"Oh!"

Was that a flirt? Ylva is considerably better at recognising flirting than she once was, having dated two separate people now, but also she's still not great at it. Maybe he's just friendly?

Still, it is really nice to have the lesson she gave him credited, and that's enough to have her blushing, and a little flustered.

"I mean, good. Thanks. I'm glad that I helped."

[nothingbadeverhappensto]

It wasn't not flirting. Honestly Leon's not sure if it was or not himself so much as it just felt like the cool thing to say at the time. But he does think Ylva's cute, and when she flusters he does too, a sheepish smile creeping onto his face.

"You did, yeah. I'm still no pro at this stuff, but I can handle myself in the woods a bit better now." Not that he was a total stranger to wilderness survival beforehand, but Krauser's teaching methods and priorities were a bit... different, than Ylva's. "Anyway, are we celebrating something here? Or just taking advantage of the weather while it's still warmer out?"

OTA

[maltesefalcon]

Cerrit shows up to the bonfire in the same attire he's been wearing out in the woods lately: none at all. He's just beak and talons and wings and feathers, looking more like a wild animal than he ever does in town. He's brought meat, unsurprisingly, in the form of a pair of geese from Crane Ridge.

Whether or not they'll end up cooked is firmly someone else's problem.

[actuallyawolf]

This is not someone she'd thought would come, but she's not unhappy to see him, either. Fortunately, she would rather die than enforce a dress code.

After a little bit of rehearsing, she approaches -- sideways, like a cautious animal. "Um. Hi." Ylva clears her throat. "I hope you're here as a guest and not an enforcer."

[maltesefalcon]

“I tend to wear clothes when acting as an enforcer.” That’s said with wry humor, but it’s also been a rule he’s stuck to. When he’s allowing himself the freedom to be a little more feral, he doesn’t engage ‘work mode’.

“I brought geese. Might see if someone brought drinks, later.”

[actuallyawolf]

She snickers, and relaxes somewhat. It is true that clothing does make things a lot more formal.

"There's drinks now," Ylva says. "If you wanted."

[maltesefalcon]

"Are there drinking vessels suited to beaks? Cups are bullshit."

Birds do not do the sippy.

Re: OTA

[imjustaman]

Sephiroth doesn't know Ylva and isn't in the habit of crashing parties. When sane, he wouldn't dream of it, actually. But he's just out for a walk and sees the gathering, and then Zack the Umbreon starts hurrying over when he smells food, so Sephiroth has to quickly chase after him.

"Hello," he smiles awkwardly at Cerrit as he tries to collar his excited Pokemon. "I'm sorry about this." Zack is jumping up and down excitedly and Sephiroth has to hold on to him with both arms. He's fully clothed now, save for his shirt being unbuttoned, and his hair is silver and hanging down rather than white and in the air, and his eyes are no longer glowing and pupil-less. But the voice is the same as the man from the woods, if Cerrit is good with voices.

[maltesefalcon]

Cerrit is very perceptive. He tilts his head to one side as he recognizes that voice, the feathers along his crest lifting slightly.

“Not sure there’s anything to be sorry for. The creatures seem like they have a mind of their own. Poor Degas at the temple has been corralling two who are bigger than him.”

[imjustaman]

Sephiroth chuckles. "They certainly do." He wonders how Degas is managing. "But I don't want to interrupt your ... gathering." He's not sure what he's interrupting. A party among friends, perhaps? "We'll leave."

Zack yips, struggling to get out of Sephiroth's arms, but he holds on firmly and tries to pet the animal at the same time to calm him down.

[maltesefalcon]

“Not my gathering. I think Ylva over there organized this.” He points out the redhead helpfully. “She’s more at home here in the woods than in town. You knight run into her again, if you spend time out here.”

…especially in that wingy dangerous form. Cerrit is trying to ensure introductions get made to avoid future trouble.

Hello, fellow redhead...

[heatherbythesea]

Heather doesn't mean to party-crash. She's just walking in the woods one evening when the light of the bonfire attracts her curiosity.

It should be obvious that Heather is new, given her simple clothes, and the way that she regards all of the guests without recognition. (After a few quiet questions, one of them points out Ylva and says that she organized the party.)

"Hello," Heather says to Ylva -- because it's just polite to greet the hostess, after all -- "I didn't know there was a party going tonight. You don't mind if I sit by your fire, do you?"

[actuallyawolf]

"Oh!"

Ylva looks her over in surprise, then offers a slightly shy smile. "Yeah, you can stay. There's lots of food if you're hungry. I'm Ylva. You're new?"

[heatherbythesea]

"I am," Heather says. She has a heavy Appalachian accent. "Only spoke to one person off the ferry so far. My name is Heather."

She looks over at the food on offer, and scratches the back of her neck, offering a shy smile of her own. "I feel a bit rude, eating your food without sharing my own. Maybe I can come back after the party with something..? Do you like fish?"

[actuallyawolf]

"Oh, you're really new," Ylva says, surprised. She tucks her hair behind one pointed ear. "I mean, I do like fish, but don't worry about it too much? But if you want to come see me... well, I actually live over that direction."

Ylva gestures off into the trees, vaguely. "I'm not a city person, you know."

OTA + For Ylva

[maximumcake]

[For Ylva]
Ever since she expressed her idea to have a party, Max has been so excited to help her achieve it. He's had to slap himself away a few times from trying to take over for her, seeing her nervousness, but he knows she can do this. He has faith in her. Still, he's obviously going to help every way he can. Right now, that includes preparing the food and space a little ahead of start time.

"That's looking good," he tells her, glancing over to see how the meat she's roasting is coming along. "Smells good, too. You're really getting the hang of it."

[OTA]
Max is calling himself the backup party host (he just made that up but Ylva doesn't know that, shh.) He's flitting around occasionally checking on people and asking if there's anything they need. But, when he's not doing that, he's endlessly gushing about how proud he is of Ylva.

"Isn't this such a nice night? Ylva knows how to throw a good barbeque, doesn't she?" Say no and risk hearing Max's entire speech about why you're wrong and his girlfriend is the best.

[actuallyawolf]

"Ah," Ylva says, uncertainly, looking up from the fire. "Well. I've been cooking more lately, did I tell you that? But other people aren't always so good about their meat still being raw in the middle."

She is pretty sure that giving people food they can't make themselves eat is mean.

[maximumcake]

"Most people will get sick if they eat meat raw, yeah," he answers sadly. "But things like steak can be cooked less in the middle. I actually tend to like my steak really pink inside." So if she ever wants to give him some like that, he will happily eat it.

He smiles and tilts his head curiously, "Who've you been cooking for? I know you and John Rambo get along really well. He actually told me I could use his place as a waypoint to come visit you sometimes if I want. What other friends have you been making?" She will likely notice a particular note of pride in that last question. She's been getting out there more. He's so happy for her.

[actuallyawolf]

"I think the thing where it's cooked on the outside and still almost raw inside is the best, because you get the good things of both ways."

She blushes, though, at the mention of friends. "I've mostly just been cooking more for me? For practice? But... yeah, I've been trying. Um. I've talked to Edgar a bunch too. And Leon, now that he's back."

Elsie PH NPC | OTA

[hereticofthewilds]

Elsie isn't usually the type to frequent crowded gatherings, but she's been better about socializing lately, especially after her father's note said how proud he is of her for making friends. Bolstered by that, she eagerly offered her clearing in the woods as a venue for her favorite off-world woof. Here, at least, she can make sure her friends are kept safe in the aura of her mother tree.

Still, she isn't the most sociable of beings. She makes an effort early on to go around and try to speak with people, cringing internally at her own awkwardness yet persevering. "Hi! I'm Elsie," she says proudly. "Want to meet my friend, Toad?" Toad is, well, a toad that has taken to living in the pocket of her grass-stained jumper. Sometimes, a faint "ribbit ribbit" can be heard from said pocket.

When she isn't meandering around the circle picking out random people to talk to, she can be found sitting at the foot of her tree with her legs tucked up under her, sipping some warm cider and watching the merriment with glistening eyes. Whether those are tears of joy or melancholy is hard to say since the rest of her expression is rather flat and unanimated, as if she's lost in a daydream.

[configuration_birdwatcher]

One of Ylva's friends is someone Elsie's probably seen before, passing through the woods or talking to Nimona. The tall blocky construct armoured in mossy stone. They seem very interested in Toad, answering her question with an affirmative beep and a telepathic // Yes.

// I go by Bastion. Nice to meet you both. They're including the toad.

[hereticofthewilds]

Elsie does recognize this friendly construct. The first time she saw them she wasn't sure what to think, but her quiet observations have proved there's nothing to fear. So, she's openly friendly in her response.

"Bastion!" At last, she has a name for them. "Nice to meet you, too. Say hello, Toad."

The toad in the front of her jumper hops up and pokes its head out. "Rrrrrribit."