PLAYER EVENT ★ HELIOLOGY

[ricksybusiness]

INTRODUCTION. It's difficult to tell time without the presence of a sun or moon. There are no stars. The world is in constant blackness, the heavens barely visible from below and the only light artificial. It's been like this for months. Suddenly, those who expressed interest in observing the sun (or lack thereof) will all at once receive a text message on their ALASTAIR jewellery from 82736775: Get your shit and go look at the sky. Now's the time. If you need me, I'm around. It's time to get to work. OBSERVATION. Find the highest point you can and point the telescopes at the sky. Should be easy, right? Be mindful that there are still guards patrolling the city, looking for escaped prisoners, and some citizens would be very happy to tip them off to your presence. There are still animals in the forests to contend with, and there are still nosey citizens who may ask you too many questions. There are also your fellow ALASTAIR agents, who may not be very willing to share the spot they already staked out before you just showed up. People and animals aren't all you need to look out for, either. Seven hours after the observation starts, there is a lightning storm. It lasts for 30 minutes, bolts of electricity arcing across the sky. It might be a good idea to scurry down someplace lower when this happens -- you know what they say about lightning and height. 82736775 doesn't contact anyone after the initial text, so observers are free to give up whenever they decide they've been sitting out in the freezing dark for long enough. [ note: even if you didn't sign up, feel free to tag in! your character won't have a telescope but that doesn't mean they can't mingle. ]

[ previously: ic info | ooc info ]
[ direct questions here! ]

Comments

[digophelia]

[ She's right, it is nice. It's beautiful, in its own way, when they've gotten used to the black void that was the sky above them. Come to think of it, it was unnerving, in a way, that after the revelation that Shiki provided that it was a shield, of the sort, blocking out the rays of the sun. Hopefully, it could be a sign that things were about to change. ]

Indeed, it is. I hope this means we'll actually be able to see without relying on lanterns.

[winces]

[ olivia ponders on that for a moment, turning her gaze back up to the sky. ]

I don't know if I want a lightning storm to last that long, [ she admits, in a tone that seems rather bashful about the confession. ] It would make it seem a little less special, I think.

[digophelia]

Why, you don't think it's nice to have some light in the sky?

[ How long would it last? How much longer would they be sent into the darkness? Alice is actually enjoying it. ]

It's special, it must mean something. Someday, I hope we are able to see real stars and a blue sky. I haven't seen any of those in years.

[winces]

Oh, I'd love for more lights in the sky. I'm just not sure this is the kind I'd want.

[ she smiles a bit wistfully, lifting her shoulders in a shrug. lightning storms were beautiful, as were the rains that inevitably followed them, but they were the sort of beautiful that's meant to be fleeting. evanescent.

the young girl's next words, though, has olivia pulling back from her own thoughts, blinking owlishly back at the brunette. ]

Years...?

[ a pause. a venture, ] Have you been with ALASTAIR for that long...?

[digophelia]

No, I've only been with them a few months.

[ She was used to the dark; lanterns were deplorable and Alice refused to have them anywhere in her room. The sky lit up like this was a joy, even beautiful in its own way. ]

The city I lived in was very polluted, it would be hard to see the lights of the stars in London, even if it wasn't cloudy.

[ Never mind those ten years she spent locked away. ]

[winces]

Oh gosh, [ olivia breathes, looking shocked. ] I can't even imagine...

[ she, in turn, has spent a good portion of her life out under the sky, stars and all; commuting from region to region, spending nights in tents and caravans where only a bit of cloth separated her from the expanse of the universe.

she think she'd feel so unbearably lonely if all she ever saw was black. ]

...I hope you get to enjoy these lights for a little while longer, then. [ a pause, and she glances up, taking in a deep breath of the air. it hangs heavy, damp. ]

The rain will be coming soon, though.

[digophelia]

Ah, rain -- that is an all too familiar sight, I'm afraid.

[ She hopes so, too, and possibly is a little too calm around the loud noises and the bright bursts in the sky. It's still a nice change of pace of the darkness that's clung over the Chantes. ]

Where I come from, that seems like it all it ever does, sometimes. There's nothing but rain.

[winces]

Rain it's all bad, [ she murmurs after a moment.

olivia steps forward then, slowly lifting a hand to gently rest over alice's shoulder. after a moment, as if to make sure she's allowed to do so, she gives it a tentative squeeze. ]

It's a wonderful stage for dancing.

[digophelia]

[ While it's not the full intent of Olivia, Alice still, unfortunately flinches with the lightest of touches. She immediately turns around looks up at Olivia. Poor Alice, she's still smaller than most women. ]

How does it make a wonderful stage for dancing?

*isn't.......

[winces]

[ olivia isn't offended by the flinch, but she does feel instantly guilty for it. she adjusts her hold on the other, keeping it more of a presence along the girl's shoulder than any actual grip or weight. ]

Give it a moment, [ she instructs gently, keeping her eyes turned skyward. ]

You'll see.

it's all good!

[digophelia]

[ Alice glances at the sky, back to Olivia, and back to the sky once more, hoping for a better explanation. ]

What am I looking for?

<3

[winces]

[ patience, alice, patience...! olivia doesn't actually answer, so it's fortunate that it's only a few more minutes before a roaring thunder rolls across the sky, causing it to open up and the downpour to immediately start.

they get caught in it, of course, being one of the few who didn't think to scramble for shelter when the lightning already began. but olivia doesn't seem to mind, tipping her face up towards the sky to let the raindrops fall over and wash down her cheeks. she takes in a deep breath, breathing it all in. ]

Listen, [ she says quietly, letting the sound of raindrops drown out her voice. ] Do you hear the music too? [ pitter patter pitter patter, a symphony of nature. ]

[digophelia]

[ How could she miss such a simple thing? Alice stops altogether, listening to the sound of the raindrops and the thunder. She pulls her blanket tighter and throws up her hood as a result, not wanting to have any raindrops hit her hair. ]

Oh.

[ Oh is probably the least bit eloquent thing Alice can say right now, as the sound of thunder falls in after the soft raindrops. It's enough to make her shiver. ]

I do hear it, I promise that I do.

[winces]

[ olivia has spent a long time out in nature, many nights with only the wind and the rain to lull her to sleep. nature's music is one she's grown intimate with when the fires of her camp have died down and everyone has turned in to rest, leaving her with her thoughts and her imagination. with no musician to accompany her, she's constructed some of her best dances using just the sounds of the world around her. like now, letting the wind and the rain and the thunder reverberate in her chest and in her cells, pulling her body into a gentle sway that soon grows into something more.

with one last squeeze to alice's shoulder, she draws away, walking further into the clearing, unafraid of the rain that falls down all around them. a simple song has risen to her lips, her gentle humming a soft harmony amidst all the other sounds. eyes closed and lips smiling her hands stretch out at her sides, the golden chains around her hips adding more to the melody as she spins and twirls on her toes. ]

[digophelia]

[ It's easy for Alice to get distracted once she's lost in her thoughts. Thunder and rain aren't an uncommon thing where she comes from. It is what she told Gintoki -- it rains quite a bit in London. It's not an unusual sight, though with the burst of lights and the cool breeze drifting through the air that has Alice pulling her bundle tighter, it was a more meaningful rain shower.

Alice wasn't restricted as she was before, bound to the orphanage due to poverty. Even as Alice enjoyed the honest freedom, she still wondered about the children. It takes Alice a moment or so to notice Olivia isn't by her side, her eyes dropping down to Olivia, watching her. She shivers, notice her choice of attire. ]

Aren't you cold...?

[winces]

[ she's freezing, if she had to be honest, but she doesn't feel like stopping either. how long has it been since she's last danced in the rain, this peaceful and free?

just a few more minutes, she thinks, as goosebumps dot all along her arms and legs. a few more minutes, and she can shift back into reality. ]

Doing what you love warms you like nothing else, [ she intones somewhat carelessly, kicking up some rain that had puddled around her, adding another note to the melody. ]

[digophelia]

[ Maybe she's a little jealous of Olivia's comfort level to dance like that, especially in the cold. Doing what she loves... Alice officially cannot say what she loves to do. None of her pass times seem meaningful to her, except caring for the native children here. Maybe that counts. ]

I suppose that's true, then it doesn't bother one as much, does it?

[winces]

No, not nearly.

[ or maybe olivia's just used to compartmentalizing these kind of things. given her usual attire, she's had enough experience simply "toughing it out."

she turns to alice then, pausing briefly in her dance to smile warmly at the girl. ]

Would you care to dance with me?

[digophelia]

Oh, I couldn't possibly-

[ She stands there looking around her for an answer. Alice clearly unsure, wringing her hands and fidgeting with her blanket. ]

I don't know how to dance.

[winces]

[ olivia laughs gently, a warm note amidst all this rain. ]

Of course you do, [ she assures the younger girl. carefully, she reaches over to touch her fingertips along alice's pale hands. the wringing is a gesture she's intimately familiar with. ] Everyone does.

All you have to do is listen. [ her free hand comes up again, indicating the falling rain and low, rumbling thunder. ] Then move. [ after a few moments, she begins to sway, moving in time to the natural melody. ]

[digophelia]

Oh, goodness.

[ As long as Alice sees her hands, she isn't as prone to flinching. It's not often she grows flustered, and it only really happens around Sion. A soon as she starts to sway, it takes a lot for Alice not to grip her hands out of nearly panicking. She's normally not this shy. ]

I envy you, in a way.

[ She really wishes she was that confident to dance like that. Instantaneously, Alice thinks of her older sister, playing "Ring Around the Rosie" as a little girl and how confident Alice was back then. Had it really felt that foreign? She does what she can to mimic her, completely stiff movements as Alice ducks behind her hair. ]

[winces]

[ she does well enough for someone whose shyness can be debilitating — olivia definitely knows a thing or two about that. the older woman takes care to keep her movements easy and gentle, with years of learning and teaching dance to tell her how much is enough to push without asking for too much. ]

Envy? [ she echoes, and somehow she can make even the curious tilt of her head seem like part of the routine. ] Me?

[digophelia]

[ She can't help but think of the days she spent with her older sister playing in the gardens and out in the front of their house, around the creeks. Lizzie and Alice would be frolicking out in the front like this -- though, Alice was a much more lively girl back then. She didn't have the crushing lack of self-confidence and worth that weighed on her shoulders. ]

Well, yes.

[ She could relate to Olivia's feelings, to a degree. It was easier to focus on her, sort of. But Alice kept her head low, hair covering part of her face. She doesn't say she's nearly as pretty as Olivia (in her opinion) or bright as she is. ]

You're focused and composed. You can move without any restraints or worries.

[ She wishes she could be just as normal. ]

But I sound ridiculous, don't mind me.

[winces]

[ suddenly, the swaying stops. there's nothing particularly graceful about it — abrupt and almost crude, like a physical record scratch to an otherwise beautiful sonata.

there is a look on olivia's face that suggests she can't quite believe what she's hearing, and something the streaks of rain that fall over her cheeks only seem to highlight this disbelief. there is an odd quirk to the corner of her lips, but it seems a far cry from an actual smile.

she feels a bit like laughing, but she knows doing so would only make her sound cruel.

if only, alice. if only.

for while it's true that in dancing, she is in her element, and is quite possibly the only time she ever feels anything close to confident. she is still nothing at all like this grand picture alice paints her to be, whole and colorful.

very gently, she brings alice's hands up in the air between them, pressing them close together as if in prayer. in truth, she merely wishes to hold them close, so that when she leans in and down to rest her forehead over the other girls' their hands rest almost perfectly over their chests. ]

Skill and technique... those are great things to have in a performer, [ she concedes. ] But a careless dance is just steps in a pattern. A dance full of emotion, though... even if they aren't necessarily the happiest kinds... That's the most beautiful dance of all.

[ she actually does laugh now, soft and short and somewhat helpless. ]

I can only move like this now, because in every other situation I'm always frozen.

[digophelia]

[ Alice takes this interaction in stride, as much possible, still finding it difficult to not flinch any time she's touched. It's a slow process, something that will take a while to undo those dark years. Truth be told, she hates it, she hates it anytime anyone touches her.

But she doesn't have the heart to shove or punch Olivia off of her. She means well, Alice can admit to this. She still can't help but stiffen, each time, hiding behind her long dark hair.

Olivia's laugh is anything but cruel, if anything, Alice feels like the cruel one, her lips pressed into a line. She disagree,s of course. ]

It still takes courage to dance, when there are some out there who would be very frightened to do it, even if no one was watching.

[ Like her, of course. Modesty isn't an issue, Alice just doesn't think she's that great, at anything. ]

There's nothing wrong with being frozen in some situations; sometimes they're greater than what we expected.