epidemiology | EVENT ★ ALL HALLOWS' EVE

ALL HALLOWS' EVE ( OCT 31 )

In Chantes, they say All Hallows' Eve is the night where the veil between this world and the next thins, allowing the souls of the dead to walk the streets. To disguise themselves from vengeful spirits seeking to carry out their last deeds, the cityfolk wear (sometimes outlandish) costumes, allowing them to revel in peace. Lanterns all around the city are lit to ward off evil spirits; wine and soul cakes have been left out as offerings. The civilians ask that you please don't steal them... or do, if you don't care what they think.

The festivities are more extravagant this year than ever before, despite the fact that supplies are lacking. The cityfolk need something to take their mind off of the ever-growing unease. There's a wonderful feast to behold in the city square, if you're willing to spend the coin. Locally grown meats, autumn vegetables like pumpkin and squash and turnips, and — of course — delicious baked sweets of all kinds. There's dancing and singing and general merriment, the people seeming relaxed now that the goblins have been confined into one area.

The revelry is open to all, but the food costs. Those who don't wish to pay can try their hand at begging door-to-door for sweets with the children, make some trades, or literally steal candy from babies.

The goblins celebrate the holiday in their own way, too. In their house of worship, the elder leads a prayer for the lost souls of the dead. There's copious amounts of alcohol amongst the outskirts, although they're somewhat lacking in food — it's difficult to get humans to sell to them these days. Even Graldia and her men are out enjoying the festivities, but they're also on the look-out for outsiders, ready to fight if need be.

All in all, the night goes swimmingly. With everyone on their different sides, it seems they can't fight. Then, like clockwork...

All the candles in the square go out, just as they had at the Festival of Illumination. For a moment, only darkness. Then the flames ignite again to show two bodies in the center of the square, side by side: one goblin, one human. Closer inspection shows they're dead, but they have no signs of wounds or anything that could suggest they were killed. It comes with no symbol, no words this time; it seems the culprit felt they had already conveyed a strong message. The square erupts into chaos as law enforcement pushes them back, away from the square. Word travels fast as they run back to their homes. Only one man looks on, unsurprised. His costume is scarce, and those who were jailed may recognize him, the suspiciously silent prisoner. The moment he notices someone looking at him, he turns his back and walks away towards the outskirts.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ There wasn't much of a need for it, no, but in retrospect, after the people she's encountered here, Graham is the least aggravating of her encounters through her adventures in this rabbit hole. She doesn't dare say that sweets have long since earned a bitter memories and she isn't as overly fond of them as she was, as a child. She gives a small, polite smile- ]

If you like, then I will.

[ Now that they're both not in high points of stress, he doesn't seem to be that at all bad, not enough to earn her ire. He's calmer compared to Gilgamesh, Ban, and Gintoki, and she's grateful for that. ]

( he isn't always the calmest, but he is at a point in his — life? afterlife? some odd happy medium? — that he's likely seen the worst of it. he can't be much worse after dying once, can he? it gives him a different perspective, now that he has another chance.

it also doesn't really help, to be heartless. to be passionate isn't easy for a man without. )

I don't mind sharing. ( he splits it in half as fairly as he can and offers the rest back, and even tries a bite before he furthers conversation. he hasn't spent much of his stipend on luxurious food, so the sweet is a change of pace, but a nice one. ) How are you taking to this place? It's been awhile since we saw each other last.

[She takes it without too much a fuss. Chocolate is still not her bigger favorites and she wishes she could find Gintoki, in order to make sure he has plenty before the night is over. But would be anything but impolite to take food offered up to her and to eat it.

She does, still not as enthusiastic as one should be about chocolate. As for that question, it has many connotations for her. She doesn't seem to be particularly enthused. ]

There are... rather strange individuals in this place. Egoists, thieves, overgrown children, and street brawls. I suppose as much as anyone else that's walked into a disaster.

[ And yet, still better than London. ]

( he doesn't pay too much mind to how she eats her half. it's not really on him to moderate that, after all. he'll enjoy his part. perhaps his manners aren't exactly as peerless as they seem. the sheriff had decent manners but the Huntsman had never had any understanding of etiquette and hadn't wanted to.

she's not wrong about the place being filled with a strange menagerie of personality. he's honestly stayed out of most of it. he's not keen on fighting, he's done enough of that in his lifetime. )

There's an odd collection of us here. They say were taken by random circumstance, and I suppose the personalities gathered reflect that. The town itself... it reminds me of home, almost.

( the conflict, the hatred, the senseless fighting... yes, that was all too familiar of the Enchanted Forest he had lived in, so it goes without saying that it's not the happiest association. )

It almost reminds me a little of where I came from, too.

[ She doesn't sound too pleased with that, either. She glances around, frowning to herself, and her eyes eventually lead back up to him. Alice has a tendency to be very blunt to the point she borders on being insensitive. ]

That's absolutely charming. It must be lovely, being surrounded by thieves and a perpetual, never-ending darkness.

[ Alice decides to already finish off the pastry, realizing that her tone may have sounded pretty smarry, without intending it to be. ]

They seem to make the most of it.

( nights like this seem to show it. despite the bickering, the hatred, the poor living conditions... there are still flashes of normality here. people trying to celebrate and see the brighter aspects of light, even surrounded by darkness. the dark tendencies of life are always easy to see. the brighter ones, less so. he can't claim to approve of the way the village treats the village with scorn and condescension, yet he appreciates seeing their attempts to enjoy the good.

he knows from experience that the good can be hard to find when drowned in the dark. those with the skill to find it and reach for it, they have his admiration. and envy, if he's honest. )

They do, don't they? I suppose it keeps them centered. There isn't anything else in this village, is there.

[ By looking at it and trudging through it through "normal" hours, it didn't seem like anyone had anything better to do. She glances at him out of the corner of her eye. He looks healthy, his skin isn't an unnatural white, like hers. She can deduce from then that his village or city is in sunlight and is fortunate with warmth. Here, it's just cold and dank. Had it been raining or there had been fog, it would be like London during the autumn season. ]

Tell me, where you come from- what is it like?

Ah, it's a place called Maine. Coastal. A friendly place, though a little quiet.

( it makes him a little wistful for the place he's left behind. a place he's not sure that he'll get to see again, thanks to the heart he is still missing. it's crushed there, the rules of magic in his world means that he can't survive without it. he's not sure why he's preserved here, he just assumes the rules are different. )

More modern than this place, though.

( it's odd to be back in a place like the Enchanted Forest. a nostalgic sort of oddness, both not bad and not good all at once. )

You sound as if you're from Europe...? ( and he sounds like he's from Ireland, but hey, he knows he's an odd exception. )

[ Being English and since it has been a while since she's seen a map of Ireland, she's innocently assuming that Maine has to be somewhere on the coast of Ireland. Alice finds herself a little nervous to ask. It isn't as if the English and the Irish have very good relations, with the famine being only 30 years ago. ]

Oxford, England is where I was born and lived for a small while, before being moved to Whitechapel, London. Though, a place by the coast. It must be very beautiful, if a little cold, yes?

( he's never been to any place in the Land Without Magic besides Maine. cursed and everything. that doesn't mean he doesn't have an understanding of Europe, and he's definitely heard of Oxford and London. what he wouldn't have any clue about, though, is European history. if the Irish and English have a contentious relationship, he'd have no idea. )

I've never been, but I hear it rains a lot. Lots of rain, lots of culture. ( it's bittersweet, thinking about a place he'll never get to see. traveling isn't beyond him, though, if he stays with ALISTAIR he'll be traveling a great deal. ) It's true, it is beautiful. I've never minded the cold, but those in Maine learn to bundle up well in the winter months.

EVENT ★ ALL HALLOWS' EVE

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