Eleanor tucked her hands in her pockets, glaring down into a blazing fire. Around this flame, many others lingered, dressed in furs and cloaks. Through a mixture of exploring and curiosity, the girl in blue had found herself amidst a great festival of sorts. Around wooden benches and tables, men and women gathered around the great flame. Mugs clashed together, and cries of laughter and joy echoed throughout. The stomping of feet against the ground, as pairs and flocks frolicked about in dance. It was a lovely display to see so many people rejoicing together. It was impossible to keep a pleasant smile from creeping across Eleanor's face. Though even if she shared a bit of their joy, her clothing set her very apart from them. Being clad in what might be called 'city clothes', she appeared much cleaner and more proper than those around her. Also, it seemed she was not adept at dancing as the others around her did, or at least did not wish to. "It's nice, don't you agree?" The blue cloaked girl made her way towards another who appeared somewhat out of place in it all, a figure with long, white hair. "It's good to see people happy." Eleanor couldn't think of a better way to word it, amidst all of the loud noises echoing around them. @Claire Thalassa
Claire lingered around the edges of the dancing crowd, content with not going anywhere. Her curiosity had been piqued when she first heard about a festival to celebrate a dark goddess, and she could fairly say that this spectacle was not what she expected. But that wasn't bad. Thus far it had mostly been feasting and drinking, and strangers eager to talk and keep company with one another. There were worse ways to honor a goddess of destruction. It was getting quite chilly, so Claire moved up closer to one of the burning fires. She pulled her scarf up as she did so; the wind was quite biting at this hour of night and even the heat of the bonfire didn't fully keep the chill at bay. She looked up when the blue-haired girl approached her. Claire gave her a smile, though she forgot she still had her scarf pulled across her face. "It is," she agreed, voice slightly muffled. Finding it hard to hear herself over the roaring crowd, she sighed and pulled the scarf back down. Looks like she would have to deal with the cold wind at least for a little. Dawn was approaching soon anyway. "Yes, this festival wasn't quite what I expected. But I agree, it is quite nice." The past two days were all loud activity that she had stayed on the periphery of, but there was no denying that people were welcoming. She had been meaning to leave, but she heard that the third day was the climax of the festival. And, well, she could hardly imagine what could top all this. Perhaps the other girl knew. "Have you heard of the ceremony they're holding tomorrow? I haven't been able to find out what it was, so I'm staying until tomorrow to see. Care to join me?"
Suddenly, Eleanor realized what a waste it was to leave her somewhat chilled hands in her pockets when a great bonfire raged in front of her. Pulling her palms from the cloth pouches, she placed them facing towards the flames. While they warmed, she idly glanced about to the rejoicing festival-goers. Quietly, she nodded in agreement to the woman next to her as she described expectations. Being sociable was one of the many weaknesses Eleanor seemed to have, so she figured she would at least make an attempt to somewhat strengthen those weakened muscles. "That is a nice scarf." She spoke softly, nearly grumbling the compliment. Of course, it was rather awkward, considering she didn't know what to say after. For all she knew, perhaps this other saw her as a male, as she dressed and appeared rather androgynous. "I have heard about the ceremony, yes." A subject change, right on time to save her from her own eventual social-implosion. "I've heard a few things about it. Certainly." With a bow of her head, she accepted the offer. "Something rubs me the wrong way about human sacrifices though. Even if they are sacrificed under their own free will." Eleanor shifted a discomforted gaze around the premises.
"...Human sacrifice," Claire repeated slowly. Well. That cast things in an ominous light. That was more in line with what she had thought a festival dedicated to Ahra would be like. "All of a sudden, I'm second-guessing my decision to stay and watch," she muttered to herself. But the woman did say that it was under people's own free will? It was a comfort to know that there apparently wouldn't be any slaughtering of terrified people, but only slightly. A large man stepped up to the two of them with a big grin on his face, clapping them each on the shoulder. He jovially shoved a mug into each of their hands, filled to the point of sloshing with a warm fragrant drink. When Claire took a sniff, she could make out apples, and some spice that she couldn't identify. It wouldn't be the first beverage that Claire accepted from the locals during this festival, so she figured it would be safe to drink. His offer to dance, though, she politely turned down. He didn't seem to perturbed, and quickly found a willing partner. Claire turned back towards her current partner. "So, disconcerting news about human sacrifice aside, how have you found the festival? Ah, and my name is Claire. Pleasure to meet you."
Eleanor took a cautious step back, to somewhat cushion the sloshing of the mug thrust towards her. So far, she had been able to sidestep most of the odd beverages being offered throughout. Carefully taking the hefty glass in both hands, she stared down into it's contents. No doubt, with festivities like these, there had to be some alcohol in the beverage. Wary not to drink to much, she took a controlled sip at one rim. The taste was strong. Potent enough to send a shiver down her spine, but perhaps not so powerful to the others around. Eleanor had a weak stomach when it came to those things, so it was of no surprise to her. This uncomfortable feeling soon washed away, and she proceeded to only take fake sips from her glass for the remainder of her standing there. Her eyes glared towards the other she was with, listening intently as a question was posed. "I heard of the festival from rumors throughout Dunnstads. Listening to the streets for that sort of information is a... Pastime of mine." Introductions! How could she have forgotten. "Eleanor. Lovely meeting you as well." Of course, such introductions could often be bypassed by a simple transition through a menu or two, but the girl in blue still enjoyed a good, old fashioned introduction. It made things feel more... Human within the virtual world. At least to her. "Have you a place to stay the night?" Eleanor did not mean to pry, but it was a question of some importance. If her new acquaintance needed assistance with room and board, she could, at the very minimum, try to make some accommodations.
The drink burned as it went down, which was slightly unpleasant. But the subsequent warming sensation that spread throughout her body was quite a bit more pleasant. So in the end, it kind of evened out, in Claire's opinion. The warmth was a phantom one, as with all alcohol, but for the time being it felt good. She'd deal with it later on. She nodded as Eleanor explained her information-gathering. "It's a good pastime to have," she agreed. Information was key, after all. Claire herself did try to keep up with rumors and similar tidbits of knowledge that spread around the game world, but she obviously had nothing on Eleanor. Her lack of knowledge of this celebration demonstrated that quite clearly. At the question about accommodations, Claire smiled, touched by this bare acquaintance's concern. "Well, I've mostly been sleeping around." A second passed before Claire realized what she said and how that could be misconstrued, and she felt herself blush. That came out... very wrong, to understate it. Whatever was in this fantasy alcohol, it was potent if she was already mixing up her words like this. "Um, I mean. I've been staying with some of the locals for the past few days." She gestured at the general area. "Most of the people are welcoming enough to offer their spare beds, especially while the festival's going on. Do you have our own place to stay?"
Being quite the lightweight, the ramifications of the sip of alcohol attempted to pry at Eleanor's steadiness. With all she had, the woman in blue kept herself under control. Between the sharp consonants of each word, and the balance in her legs, she clung to her stability and reason, as if her life itself depended on it. These antics, even when faced with a mere flash of light, were not uncommon to the hair trigger detective. Eleanor nodded without judgement, as Clair spoke with little filter. Noting this effect of the alcohol, Eleanor set this information aside for later. Perhaps the powers of intoxication could be used to her benefit in the future, within her just pursuits of knowledge and influence. A tool to sway the mind. "I haven't a place of my own, per say. I too am staying with a local. An elderly man has allowed me to reside in one of his structures." As a drunken festival-goer made his sobering way past them, he stumbled into Eleanor. Glaring at him, it seemed the others around were teasing him with a false promise of their beverages. With a mischievous smirk, she tapped on the drunken man's shoulder, offering him her mug. With a wide smile, he clapped her on the back, before going to sing slurred words throughout the festival. Turning back to Clair, Eleanor's strained, foe smile faded back to her general seriousness. "I've quite a bit of space there, and a second bed if you'd prefer it over your current place of residence." She shrugged her shoulders, turning her gaze to face the fire. Her hands slipped into her pockets. "Up to you."
"That would be helpful," Claire said. "I haven't gotten around to asking someone if I could stay with them for tonight. If it won't bother you or your host, I'll take you up on that offer." Claire was about halfway through her own mug when Eleanor's brief interaction with the drunk. She hadn't quite noticed how quickly she was drinking. Hm. Probably best to stop for the night, lest she end up like one of them. She looked around and saw people leaving their drinks at a bench as they danced. People stopped by to pick up glasses and drinking horns, though it was likely that they were grabbing whatever was available rather than checking to make sure it was their own. Oh well. Claire wouldn't be having any more, so it hardly mattered to her if someone nicked it. Drink dealt with, she glanced up at the sky. The moon had made significant progress across the sky, indicating the late hour. Or rather, the early hour. "If we're going to watch tomorrow's... activities," Claire began, with a brief pause to search her intoxicated brain for an appropriate word, "we should probably turn in? I'll follow you, since you're the one who knows where to go."
After a glance towards her comrade in this situation, she followed Clair's eyes towards the sky, recognizing the late out as well. It was not completely the case that time had flown since her arrival at the island, just that it seemed the night sky caught up to her quicker than usual. "Alright, follow me, if you would." With a bow of her head, Eleanor lead the way, turning away from the fire. Navigating through the flock of rambunctious, disorderly folk was something that appeared difficult at first glance, but was a fairly easy task. Glaring up with cold, stern eyes, Eleanor had a tone set about her that struck an chord of key with many of the jubilant people. While it disrupted them slightly, it made things quite a bit easier, when it came to weaving between them. Peering to her left, as they journeyed the short distance to their destination, Eleanor took a brief moment to gaze towards the open ocean. At night, the waters seemed to have a calming effect, and it was rather appealing on the eyes. Dark shades of the sky reflected of the faces of the waves, as well as the spotlight moon. For a fake world, it definitely had some aesthetic appeal. Coming to a stop, Eleanor held a hand up towards a small hut. The circular home sported a twig door, the entire structure dwarfed by the much larger, but similarly shaped one next door. "Here we are." Sliding open the door carefully, Eleanor made her way inside. The room was small, but by no means uncomfortably so for two to stay. A pair of beds, one resting on either side of the room, were evident. "The man who owns it, I told you he was elderly." Making a final shot of her eyes towards Clair, she made her way towards one of the beds. Sitting upon it, as if she was claiming the cot for the evening. "He has a rather large family. This is a shed of theirs that they organized, knowing visitors would be coming to witness the festival." A hand gestured towards one of the makeshift walls. "It seems they craft their own homes. An interesting practice, I'm certain."
It was easy enough to follow after Eleanor. She seemed to have an air about her that parted the crowd in front of her. Neat trick, that. Maybe Claire would remember to ask after it in the morning. For the time being, she was content with trying not to let on just how much concentration walking steadily took. Thankfully, she'd had plenty of practice in the real world with walking home with friends after too long a night at the club. She couldn't take in much of the scenery in this situation, so it was with a bit of mild surprise when she looked up at Eleanor's words to find herself at a hut. It appeared to be a bit of a ramshackle construction, but it evidently had held up over many years, given the signs of aging on the walls. Claire followed the other woman inside and moved to the other small bed. "Very interesting," she agreed. "It's a useful skill to have. I guess it makes repairing any damage easier, if everyone knows how to build houses. Do you think that they see a lot of natural disasters around these parts?" Her sleep meter blinked insistently in the corner of her vision. She had stayed up rather late these past few days, and gotten up early to make the most of her time. It appeared that the lack of sleep was finally being reflected by a flashing red warning. Also, she yawned. Quite loudly. Sheepish she said, "I'll be going to sleep, then. See you tomorrow, Eleanor." Would she snore? She didn't in real life and she hoped to God that she wouldn't spontaneously start snoring in the game. If there was anything that would be more embarrassing than the behavior she'd shown to date, snoring would be it.
"Perhaps they do." She responded to the comment about natural disasters. "Being so close to the water." She need not speak too loud. The quarters were small enough that all but a small whisper would travel well enough. "Though, perhaps those things don't happen in this game. Who knows." "Rest well." Eleanor commented, pinching her eyes. After a glance around the hut, once it seemed the other had fallen asleep, Eleanor took off her cap and set it next to her. Without her hat, she was in a state of being that many did not see her. It was as if the moment the accessory slipped from her being, she seemed much more human. Much less deadly serious. Finally, after a few moments of waiting, the quiet sleeping sounding from Clair, Eleanor stood from her bed. Heading to step outside of the structure, she took a few moments to admire the world around her. Entering investigation mode with two fingers on her temple, she silently noticed each of the colors in the virtual sky. The slight echoes of the continuing festivities reached her ears. All the while, she set her internal alarm clock. Just as she was in real life, she wanted her virtual resting to be on a strict timer, not to waste any time. Stepping back into the hut, Eleanor traveled closer to her bed. To the unconscious relief of her sleeping associate, there was no snores to be heard. Pulling her cap back on, Eleanor rested her head upon the pillow of her bed. Closing her eyes, she soon fell asleep as well. When morning came, she would be waiting for the sun. With the door left open, Eleanor would glance towards the other. "Good morning."
Claire usually slept with the curtains pulled back so she wasn't unfamiliar with waking to the sunlight. For a brief and highly disorienting moment, she forgot that she fell asleep in the game, and woke to a stiff and scratchy mattress that was definitely not hers. For a moment there was panic, but then she noticed that the strands of hair falling in front of her face were pure white, and her memory came back to her. She looked towards Eleanor, finding the other woman composed already. Sparing a second of envy for how she always seemed to be put together, Claire returned the greeting. "Morning to you too. So, this is the last day of the festival, then?" She was quite pleasantly surprised when she didn't feel any unpleasant effects from last night. Seemed that sleep really was the best cure for any negative effects. She'd have to remember that if she ever got poisoned or something along those lines. Claire stretched her arms over her head to get rid of the last of the stiffness, and then got out of bed. "Did you sleep well?" she asked her companion.
Eleanor sat straight up her bed. She had been quietly pondering whether she should wake up her companion, though it seemed the rising sun had done that bit for her. Her gaze remained rested upon the doorway, peering out towards the open world outside. Sounds of footsteps around marked the beginning of early festivities for the day. "That it is." She responded. Hands slipping from her pockets to her knees, Eleanor leaned forward and rose to her feet. "It seems the locals are already launching their duties. Or, perhaps for most, their lack of duties." She cave an awkward chuckle, rubbing the back of her head, fingers sliding just up under the back of her cap. "I suppose I slept fairly well." It wasn't often people incurred upon the topic of her rest. She figured it was only respectful to return the gesture. "And you?" Turning to glance at Clair, Eleanor gave a polite smile, a hand reaching up to adjust her hat. It seemed that, at least in the mornings, Eleanor was much less serious than she was at the end of each day. "Odd how the game can really make you feel like you're... Waking up. And sleeping. Such interesting functions, if you ask me." Eleanor reached a few fingers up to pinch at her own face, a finger or two tugging at her eyelids. She pulled and moved below and around her eyes. "Oh well." Shrugging her arms down next to each other. "Shall we head out?" The woman in blue gestured for the other to exit the hut first, standing at the doorway.
"I slept very well," Claire said. It normally took her a while to get going in the mornings, but she seemed a bit more clear-headed now than she normally would. Interesting. Was the game affecting her somehow? Would that transfer over to her actual body once she logged off? Ah, well, those were questions for another time. For the time being, Claire took the invitation to leave the hut, nodding to Eleanor in thanks. "It is pretty strange. I really do wonder how the developers have managed to make things so realistic. The potential applications for technology like this... Even just the medical applications could be immense." She refrained from saying any more, though, as medicine was hardly her area of expertise. As they left the hut, it was quite clear that people were getting into the swing of things already. Some were tending to the fires again, others were cleaning up the main square after last night. But the largest group of people were moving to the nearby lake in the forest, and Claire turned to Eleanor with a slight smile. "Well, I guess we have our destination?" Getting closer to the lake, it became obvious that despite the early morning chill, the locals were submerging themselves fully in the clear waters of the lake. A few youngsters even cannonballed into the pool off a nearby rock. Well, this was yet another activity that was definitely wasn't for Claire. She made sure to stay well clear of the lakeshore to avoid getting splashed.
She nodded in agreement to Claire's recognition of the possible therapeutic applications of such virtual functions. She too had thought about such things previously, being not one adept at sleeping within the real world. It would be interesting to see how these functions evolved in the future, to claim and mutate many of the common facets of society. Making their way to the lake, Eleanor observed the people entering the waters. While this seemed to be a rather spiritual festival, the celebrations were seemed void of much seriousness. Scratching the back of her head, she wondered how exactly literal human sacrifice would fit in smoothly to all of this. It seemed more a celebration of life than anything relating to death. "Hm..." At the lake's edge, it seemed difficult to fully witness the celebrating. Eleanor quietly began removing her shoes, before rolling up her pant legs on her bare shins. "Might as well join in. What's the worst that could happen." The now barefoot woman in blue took a final look towards Clair, before making her way towards the lake. The splashing of local children shot small spots of water onto her clothes, while the hum of many conversations lingered in the air, like cicadas. As she stepped into the water, it seemed to offer some sort of resilience against the morning breezes. The water felt warm, and even seemed to make her muscles within her legs relax a bit. Perhaps this was the power of the festival, or rather, perhaps just a function of the waters itself.
