three-fifteen -- event 2: bonfire

[Warringkingdoms]

  [font=trebuchet ms]With the strike of a match and a little patience, fire swallowed up the kindling and spread into a raging inferno.

  Rin was careful not to look into the roaring depths of the flame, watching the borders of the fire pit instead. She carefully pushed one additional block of wood into the pit to feed the growing bonfire, then stepped back and glanced over her shoulder. The sun's last rays were giving way to starry night with every second. The side table was laden with graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallows, various forms of meat, and slices of bread. It was time to call everyone together.

  "Bonfire time," she called out, giving herself enough space from the flames that smoke wouldn't blow in her face if the wind shifted in her direction. Tonight would be one of the worst possible nights to suffer a flashback. Even if Elysium and a couple Typhooners knew she wasn't all there, she didn't need to display it to everyone.

  Do you think Harland is watching you?

  Swatting at the side of her head, Rin set her jaw. This wasn't the time. Taking a roasting stick from the table and putting a marshmallow on one end, she took a deep breath. If she couldn't take it, she'd walk away, citing... tiredness? Tiredness would work. Nodding to herself, she lifted the stick with her telekinesis and pointed it at the fire, allowing the flames to tease the edges of the marshmallow. Her eyes fixed on the closer end of the stick, counting the seconds in her mind.

  If the time came and it turned out the marshmallow was overdone... oh, well.

[CAESAR CIPHER.]

THERE IS NO LIFE, THERE IS NO SPARK !

CAESAR CIPHER. MALE. ELYSIUM. NEWCOMER.

The bonfire would arguably be Caesar's favorite thing about this festival. He found himself home around the flames, though he wasn't sure if it was because he liked the destruction they caused or if they reminded him of home. It was possible that the reason was both, though if it was because he missed home, then why wasn't he upset. That's a good thing. He reminded himself. Showing how much you miss home is weakness. Especially when it caused his body stress. This festival was supposed to be fun, not something that sparked stress.

"Not a fan of fire?" Caesar asked Rin as he came over, noting how her gaze seem to avoid the flames itself, rather focusing on the borders. He wrapped his tail around his paws, tilting his head at the leader.

#psychosocial.

[wormwood.]

☆ HUNG PICTURES OF PATRON SAINTS UP ON MY WALL TO REMIND ME THAT I AM A FOOL. TELL ME WHERE I CAME FROM, WHAT I WILL ALWAYS BE: JUST A SPOILED LITTLE KID WHO WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL —

One could say that bonfires were essentially an old friend of Aurum's at this point. Not only were bonfires especially common around Tanglewood, where most of the group delighted in the large flaming gathering to socialize and share stories, but the lion also had a rather intimate relationship with fire. His fire elementals, although now tamed, still had a tendency to reveal the emotions that he was feeling deep down inside, and one could argue that Aurum had been reborn through flames when he had ultimately chosen Earth, rather than the heavens above. He didn't tend to think so philosophically, but it was a decent argument. Hence why the male had decided to attend this event, rather than some of the others. He had wanted to partake in all of the festival, but his duties as proxy were rather busying and varied, and the flight between Tanglewood and Elysium took a toll, so he found that he needed to choose wisely. Hopefully, this would be an entertaining enough night that he wouldn't regret not attending the others.

Moving over to the large flame, Aurum offered a kind smile and polite nod to both Rin and Caesar, sitting back on his haunches and watching the fire dance. After a couple of moments of simply watching, the angel found himself experimentally reaching out with his elementals, making the flame curl and flick harmlessly. He was glad that he had learned enough that he could actually control his elementals, rather than have them control him. When he grew bored of messing with the flame, he plucked up one of the nearby sticks, skewering a marshmallow on it and holding it over the fire with his jaws. He wasn't too worried about being burned, considering he could turn the flames away from himself. He considered briefly joining in on the conversation that Rin and Caesar were having, but ultimately decided against it, figuring that Rin already seemed uncomfortable enough around the bonfire.

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM

#psychosocial.