grotto_logs | [OPEN LOG] Welcome to Cape Beryl!

Who: Everyone!
When: Spring 2nd - all day.
Where: All across Cape Beryl.
What: You've splashed down into the Harvest Goddess's sacred pond, pulled yourself out - or perhaps been pulled out by an out-of-breath and soaking stranger, shaken off the worst of the shock of the cold and the unexpected trip underwater, and likely by now noticed that the little silver piece of jewelry that put you through this seems to have found its way around your neck.

Now you ought to get your bearings. Leave Goddess Grotto whenever you're ready, take the path out along a beach and up the cliffs to a village - see where you are, maybe if you can get directions. No matter what, you're going to realize that you're somewhere new - but maybe some of the Bower Village townspeople will be willing to help you get sorted out. If nothing else, maybe you'll be drawn into talking to anyone else you might catch sight of wandering the village, disoriented, soaked to the skin, and with a silver heart-shaped pendant around their neck. Depending on how you see it, you're not all alone - not any more than everyone else, anyway.

Headers for open interactions in example locations will be posted - but by all means, start threads wherever and with whoever you like!

Rating: Expected K-PG - subject to change as appropriate.

It's a cool, early spring day - the air and the breeze may not agree with anyone with wet clothes. But apart from that, the atmosphere is pleasant and peaceful; distant chirps of birds can be heard from the mouth of Goddess Grotto to Mt. Throne. The trees and grasses are pale green and flowers are budding in the meadows - not to mention the garden at Florist Lilia and de Sainte-Coquille Park.

And the town at the top of the cliffs is somewhat drowsily at peace. It's far from deserted - stabled behind a house on the town's east side is a healthy-looking mule, and a pair of chickens and a goat hang around in a pen behind an inn, the town's brightly-dressed mailwoman is out and about, as is the town watchman, who will likely be ready to approach anyone with an unfamiliar face before they can approach him, if he happens to catch them on his rounds. However, although anyone may freely knock on any of the doors in Bower Village and expect a polite "come in", no one is prepared for company, and whoever is inside might jump at finding themselves talking to a clearly displaced stranger!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

She stared at her heart pendant and watched the yellow flicker a little. "It's just...I was thinking of a friend. We were travelling together before I came here, and I was wondering if he was okay, so..." But then she looked up and smiled, trying to shrug off her fears. "But then it would've been yellow to start off, not pink, so I must be wrong!"

What he said made sense, so she nodded in agreement. "Maybe if we wear them longer, they'll get clearer!"

"Somebody in town's gotta know more about these necklaces, too, right? Probably a fashion trend around here or whatever. Maybe they can tell us how to get the inky black off of it, too." Sound reasoning! ...Kanji had no freaking idea.

But it was better than nothing at this point. At the very least, standing out in the sunshine like this, his shirt had mostly dried. Couldn't say much for the pants, but he couldn't think about them or they'd start -bugging- him as wet clothes are wont to do.

"Let's grill 'em," he suggested with a nod, before he led the way.

"Sounds like a plan!" And any plan is better than no plan in her book. She decided to give up on actually carrying her hair and settled with letting it trail behind her. They would certainly get some attention when they reached town.

She was perfectly fine with following, seeing as she most likely had the least experience in situations like this. "I hope we're not too far from Corona. Mother will be very upset if I'm not home when she gets back." That was quite the understatement.

"Yeah, my mom'll raise hell again when she finds out I ended up here... wherever here is, but I'm out a lot. Probably won't work it out for a while," he grumbled.

"But, ya know, we're adults! Just tell her ya took a walk, got some fresh air." She looked about his age, even if in reality she was two years his senior. With his arms folded to his chest, if anything to drive out a little of the cold, he marched onward.

"You leave home all the time?" Here she was, taking her first trip away from home, and he sounded like he'd been lots of places! She'd have to ask him about where he'd been later. Maybe he'd seen the lanterns!

His advice would've been useful if her mother was the type of person to listen to things like that. She laughed a little nervously. "You don't know my mother. She's really protective. I'm more worried about...well, I...sort of left home without permission, and she's expecting me to be home when she gets back." That fuzzy pink tint was back in her necklace, probably giving away who she'd been thinking about earlier.

"That kinda Ma, huh...?" He'd heard of overbearing mothers, sort of thought his own was one of them (though that was his juvenile exaggeration), but he had to wonder why she left when she was expected to be home when her mom got back. Then again, he'd skipped out for a little air at ungodly hours and had the police drag him home all the time and had his own reasons for leaving.

He didn't know this mother, and he didn't yet know much about Rapunzel. His gut told him it wasn't the best time to voice his thoughts, so his mouth remained shut on that.

"Well if it gets bad, I can take the fall. Wouldn't be the first time I was somebody's back-up... and ya look like a first-timer about this kinda thing."

"Yeah, that kind of Mom." His offer of solidarity threw her for a bit of a loop and she immediately shook her head. "No way! You shouldn't get in trouble when it's my fault! Besides, Mother'll go easier on me. She doesn't know you and she'd be furious with you."

She really had to figure out what made her look like she wasn't used to this kind of stuff. Was it some sort of look on her face? "Is it really that obvious?"

With a nod, he replied, "I'd run into newbies all the time, people who feel like life's hard or they hate homework or whatever, so they try ta run away from home or prowl around late to do somethin' they shouldn't. Ya looked like one'a those bunnies we ran into back there, or like your mom's gonna jump outta some bush and drag you home."

Kanji's shrug was stiff. Maybe his analogy was poor because there weren't any bushes around, but hey he felt it was sound.

"Either way, don't worry about it. Ya get used to doin' it after a while. Then ya learn to get back before the old lady notices."

His analogy made perfect sense to her, and she thought it over for a moment. "Well, I'd never run away. I was going to go back after seeing the lanterns, and it's not like I'd leave again, so maybe she won't be too mad."

She looked down just in time to notice a snail directly in her path and stepped around it without a second though. She even made sure to give her hair a good flick so that it also avoided the little creature.

Lanterns... was she talking about a Bon Festival's toro nagashi, the lighting of lanterns to send out to sea in honor of the dead? It was a sobering thought to think of it so early in the year- he and his mother would go every summer to light one for Dad.

"She wouldn't letcha attend?" She never mentioned a father, herself. He guessed being forced to acknowledge a loss could be rough on some people, but everything about it bugged him.

"Some're less traditional than others, I guess."

She shook her head "No. We live pretty far away from the main part of the kingdom and she was always worried I'd get hurt." Of course, it wasn't like she was wrong. "I don't really blame her. Obviously I can't handle as much as I thought."

She smiled and looked toward the sky. Her eyes were distant, as if she were remembering something with fondness. "I could still see them, though. Every year there would be hundreds of floating lights in the sky. It was always on my birthday, like they were meant for me."

"Floating lanterns?" He knew it was possible, but the Bon Festival was about humans coming from the sea and turn returning to it when they died. Maybe what she meant was another kind of festival.

"That sounds pretty cool! I wonder how that kinda stuff floats, tho--" Kanji the C student. Thinking nothing of hot air being lighter than cold, his trek slowed when they neared the village, and he held up a hand for Rapunzel to wait a moment. He charged on ahead, passing between two buildings to take a little peek into the place proper. Were they friendly? He knew of towns that treated outsiders like crap...

He turned and beckoned her over, then. Bower Village was sleepy after a loud and rowdy New Year, but there were still people walking around. Groceries still had to be bought, and mail still had to be delivered after all.

"Mailman, huh...?" He pondered aloud, then frowned. He'd probably scare 'em off.

"Probably wouldn't be scared off if you asked 'em where we are instead'a me."

[OPEN LOG] Welcome to Cape Beryl!

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