STRAIGHT INTO THE FIRE | o, bonfire

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i o t a

[b]☾ IOTA [abbr="self-reference, thoughts"]x[/abbr] info [abbr="attacks"]x[/abbr] PROXY ☾

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Another full moon came and went across the night skies over Tanglewood, although the waning illumination of the space object's glow still accompanied the billions upon billions of twinkling stars across the once-light-polluted sky. The air was filled with the chirping of crickets as the diurnal creatures of the daytime went to their resting places to conserve energy for the next hours of sunlight that would wash over the abandoned landscape. The shabby streets were illuminated by the single glow of a street lamp, its bulb cover previously shattered from Mother Nature's — and humans' — wrath.

This single lonely street had been tread upon by the proxy Iota, who tread lightly under the night sky, toting a single knapsack of goodies as she made her way to her destination. Tonight was a special night for her: she wanted to be the first to start an unofficial post-moon party, surrounding a bonfire. She was still learning even the most basic traditions of the band of misfits, but some of it seemed like Beck was just winging it as he went along, so she was sure something as simple as a bonfire would be acceptable.

"Okay, I think I should go ahead and check to see if I need anything else..." Pulling the knapsack out from around her body, the now-blue feline sifted through her collection of goods that had been salvaged and scavenged from the lonely town. From the abandoned grocery, a few things: an assortment of chocolates, graham crackers, marshmallows, and other candies. At the meeting before her promotion to proxy, Beck had made some delicious treats to go towards her classmates that she didn't end up trying — what did he call them? "Schmoes?" In any case, she would not miss out on such an opportunity this time; she wanted to make some around the bonfire and share them with her friends. Knowing some of her ill-habited clanmates, she brought along some alcohol too, although it probably wasn't of the freshest variety. From the hardware store, some matches. As a young demigoddess deprived of any sorts of fire elementals, she decided that the classic wooden fire-starters would be the go-to. From the clothing store, an assortment of cloths to sit down on. She didn't want her guests to be uncomfortable, did she?

The sun had been rather unforgiving lately, sponging up the water that had belonged to a lot of the fertile land and trees that Tanglewood had to offer — luckily, her greenhouse withstood the minor drought. However, many of the trees in the shabby swamplands weren't so lucky, beginning to die from the lack of nutrition. As such, they were shed of their leaves and their branches, which would make for the perfect bonfire kit. Dragging limb by limb, Iota set up a neat spot in the middle of the abandoned marshlands, away from any other dry trees, laying down individual cloths for her party guests to sit down on. She pulled a match from its cozy box, striking it against the black streaks that lined its edges. "A-ah! Damn, hot!" She accidentally burned the petals of one of the hibiscus on her body trying to set the deadened limbs ablaze. "Well, that's certainly painful..." She couldn't imagine the anguish it'd feel like to be punished by someone with fire elementals. Placing lit match after lit match carefully onto the pile of dead tree, the bonfire lit, crackling as its infernos glowed and painted the dark town a warm shade of orange. Perfect. She'd hope that her guests would have some crazy stories to tell here at the bonfire. She slid the boxes of food and drinks from her knapsack and called out to her friends, eager to begin the celebrations of... whatever they decided to celebrate.

"Hey, everyone! Come join me at my bonfire! There's plenty of food, and, ah... I'm makin' 'schmoes!'" She rolled her eyes and added, "Ah... and I've got drinks too." She hoped to gods this social wouldn't fall flat this time.

// proofread it twelve hours later to realize i put "i have drinks" twice so either iota is hella alcoholic or i'm terrible at writing at midnight

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But Heed this lesson well,
When the weak court death, They find it -

"and here I thought I was the resident arsonist" an amused voice teased as Fenris made his way out of the dark and into the bonfire lit area, sauntering around it until he found a space suitable near Iota and quietly curled himself there, settling his claws underneath him like an overly large wolf-dragon-ish cat.

Ah, fire - the war God hummed as he idly basked in the glow, opening silberine-blue eyes to glance and gaze upwards at the clear night sky with a wistful tone before he turned and looked to Iota "you've certainly set up quite the event" smiling he motioned to the snacks and the like even if he'd yet to go for any - the flames lit his orange fur and made it dance like he was the fire in the evening being so evenly matched near in colour tone, well if it got out of hand he could corral it what with the sun these last few days.

/ugh short.

[sub]TANGLEWOOD - REGENT - TAGS - REF (9FT) - EXTREME[W]isker[/sub]

malphas came, if not only for the drinks. "hahaha, so funny." he muttered sarcastically in response to fenris' comment. he didn't care for fenris. sure, he was terrified of him, but malphas masked his fear with burning anger. a bonfire? he knew that meant social interaction, but he had been pretty numb emotionally for a bit. he was stressed and sick with god knows what, and he didn't want to bother nayru and so he suffered in silence.

"where's the alcohol? if i'm not flat on my ass in an hour i'm gonna be upset," he said flatly, sitting down.  "but.. good bonfire." he had little feelings for iota- he couldn't see her true intentions, ever, and that made him upset. he liked knowing what people were up to. iota was an enigma, seemingly fueled by her lust for nayru. which was fine, he thought. everybody had different motivations. then, he wondered if this bonfire was just a setup to attract the sawbone. there were no good people in tanglewood, after all.

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[b][color=#6b7e99]”You’re too young, Malphy. You’ll just make yourself sick,” Nayru interjected, arriving with a tiny frown. It had been the warm, foresty scent of a bonfire that had drawn her in, the warmth and light beckoning to her, urging her to step away from her magic and live a little bit. To say that she was pleased to see Iota (her darling best friend), Fenris (her dad), and Malphas (another of her dear friends) present was the understatement of the century. She did steal a bit of a heated glance in Vigenere’s direction though, paws instinctively tugging her scarf tighter around her neck. Not only had he insulted her, but now he was offering her patient alcohol? No, no, she wouldn’t have that today. But perhaps she should lighten up a bit. Obviously Iota had put this all together with the intent of getting them to bond and she, ever intrigued by anything Iota did, refused to purposefully ruin it.

Without thinking about it, she brushed absently against the blue-tinted female, a tiny smile curving her pale lips. [color=#6b7e99]”I want some schmoes,” She decided aloud. If they were anything like the ones at the meeting, she planned on eating many of them.

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i o t a

[b]☾ IOTA [abbr="self-reference, thoughts"]x[/abbr] info [abbr="attacks"]x[/abbr] PROXY ☾

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Iota was quite surprised to see the courtly arrival of Fenris as he approached the sizzling flame, the crackling of the wood as it burned soothing her as more of her Tangler friends approached. The fae giggled lightly at his joke, quite content with the notion that she would be able to spend some quality time with the war god-turned-clan dad. "Well, there's always time to try something new, right?" She sighed lightly, stretching and lying down softly on her piece of torn cloth. "Yeah, I wanted to try a little something to bring all of us together. Seems like all anyone does around here is work, so I just wanted to bring in a little relaxation time and fun." She tilted her head, the petals atop her head waving from the force of the raging fire as she stared into its glowing depths. "Plus, I kinda wanted to learn a lil' more about everyone. I'm not exactly the most outgoing Tangler."

She was right; most of the time, the only times she'd come out of her shell were when Nayru or Beck were around. Other than that, she spent most of her time holed up in her conservatory. "I've planned something like this for a little while now, but all my other attempts at a social fell short. Probably 'cause there was work involved." She giggled lightly again, poking fun at her Tangler friends. "So, I decided to set this little get-together on my own. I want us to connect, y'know? Really breathe together as one clan, and not just a band of misfits ..." She choked on her words. "... I-I mean, friends." She blushed slightly, her head turning away from the war god. She didn't really have the right to call them misfits, since she herself was her own flavor of strange. It wasn't that it was a bad thing, but she didn't want to sound hostile.

Next to join the reception was Malphas. Iota didn't know much about the Chaser, other than he wasn't exactly "healthy," by her standards at least. A cannibal who only feasted on the bodies of the long-dead. But, who was she to judge? She'd probably done far worse things in her life. She welcomed the tattered cat, sliding a lukewarm bottle of booze his way. "Come now, Nayru, he's allowed to have just a little fun. I want him to stay, even if it means giving away all my booze to some brat." She smirked, nudging Malphas lightly as she joked about with him. "Glad you came. I know you're not the most social person either, we're not so different."

Vigenere was next, his arrival also surprising Iota. She didn't know much about him either, but hopefully with the help of the party, she'd know a bit more about her guests. The thought excited her; she'd be making much closer connections by the time the party ended. She'd have more people to rely on, and more people to protect. Her heart pounded in delight. "Hey there, Viggy. Grab yourself a cloth somewhere and enjoy the fire." She nudged yet another bottle of alcohol towards the yellow-pelted kitten, lips curled as she smiled lightly at her fellow proxy. "You want some? There's plenty to go around."

Nayru came, without a doubt. She was quite excited to see her there at the fire, although her intentions of starting the party were beyond wanting to connect with the sawbone a little more (although, she did want to, but she wasn't the sole reason for the party's creation). A genuine smile was painted across the blue feline's face as she entered, brushing against her and returning to her seating arrangement, gesturing towards a spot next to her to sit in. Way to be subtle ...

She opened the boxes of marshmallows and candies with sharp claws and prepared a few of the leftover sticks from the fire for skewering. "I'd like some, too. I never had the chance to try them at Beck's meeting, so I thought 'why not make them here?'" She licked her teeth at the thought of scarfing down some sweets; it had been ages since she had a sugary treat, so these "schmoes" sounded like quite the delight. "You guys can dig in first, if you remember how Beck did it. I'll wait!"

    Wisps of smoke unfurling towards the waning moon were enough to distract him, tickling his tar-colored nose as he turned away from the ivy-covered wall he had been repairing and prompting a pitiable sneeze that made his lungs clench in a sudden spike of pain. The muddy feline recoiled back onto all four paws and hunched forward, one arm pressing against his chest to steady himself. Recovering from the sneeze, Beck tentatively sniffed at the air again, slightly parting his mouth as he had observed household cats do many times before. It was smoke from burning wood, and wasn't too far away. Did Fenrisulfr finally set the swamp ablaze? He was certain all the different gases floating around unseen in most wetlands would go up in flame at the drop of a match. A perk and a swivel of his notched ear disproved his theory; there weren't any animals screaming or running from an accidental inferno. For a moment, the poltergeist was stumped, slouching back into his own confusion -- it would probably be easier to figure out the cause of smoke if he just went to the source, right?

    All too eager to abandon his project of using mud to strengthen an uninhabited home, Beck predictably tracked grimy pawprints throughout the town's ruined streets while following the smoke trail, entire bottom half caked in mire. A blossoming orb tinted fiery orange illuminated the blurred darkness of his vision, flames lapping at the concealed stars and giving off the smoke shroud that caught his attention in the first place. Fuzzy silhouettes had partially encircled the blaze, reminding him of an activity he had witnessed too many times to count, be it in the ethereal flesh or through a television screen. "Are y'all havin' a campfire?" Beck murmured despite knowing the answer, head childishly tilting to the right as firelight bounced off his lifeless eyes. Who all was there? No matter how deeply he sniffed and wheezed, he couldn't detect any other smell despite smoke. Their voices were all he could go off of, which wasn't difficult as much as it was a bother to wait for everyone to speak up. He remained silent, intent on listening for individuals through the pop of embers and the crumble of scorched wood. At least until Nayru, who he could tell was the sawbone based on soft-spoken and accented lilt, mentioned "schmoes". Bewilderment twisted his scarred features, shooting a puzzled sneer towards the ex-princess before their mispronunciation dawned on him. "What? Oh -- they ain't called... schmoes or whatever ya said, they're called s'mores," he raspily corrected, rolling his eyes as he slumped further into his makeshift seat of moth-eaten cloth. A twitch could be seen on the unscathed half of his muzzle; he wished he could have one. But by now he had learned that any food he tried to ingest would either phase through his jaw before he had a chance to swallow, or if he tried hard enough, make him throw up nothing but blood and ectoplasm not even a few minutes later. Both of which he wasn't keen on going through in front of the creatures he was supposed to be leading. Maybe he could show off a bit to keep himself entertained? Beginning to knead his sternum to hopelessly get rid of the dormant pain deep within his chest, Beck turned his gaze to the figure he assumed was Iota and mumbled, "Can ya grab me a marshmallow?"

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[align=center][div style=" background-color: transparent; border: 0px solid black; width: 530px; min-height: 9px; font-family:; line-height: 110%; text-align: justify; padding: 20px"]The intense scent of fire was what drew her away from the book of fairy tales she was reading. Ever since she had been young, she was intrigued by the stories in her gigantic book. Princes and princesses, magic, true love. It was all so, so wonderful. She often wished her life was like that, but all her wishing and wanting was soon placed in the back of her mind. The campfire was calling to her, and Freyja intended to answer. Without much thought (which was not surprising in the Firebrand's case), the young goddess rose to her paws, grabbed her book, and followed the scent of burning wood.

When Freyja arrived, she was beaming. The bonfire Iota had made was so cute and quaint and charming - even if there was alcohol involved. Maybe her life was like a fairy tale. Each of the gathered individuals - Iota, Fenrisulfr, Malphas, Vigenere, Nayru, Beck - seemed like they belonged in a fantastical book one would read at bedtime. Her emerald gaze caught Nayru and Iota leaning against one another, and her smile soften. Maybe true love was real too.

"Iota, this is... wonderful! How'd you manage this all yourself?" she asked, drawing nearer. The seal point tabby took a close seat beside Beck, smiling brightly. Her tiny set of wings flapped gently every few heartbeats, an ever-present sign of her happiness. At Beck's request for a marshmallow, she nodded her head quickly. "Oh, can I have one too, please?" She had loved the s'mores Beck and Fenri made for the entirety of Tanglewood! She couldn't wait to have another!

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i o t a

[b]☾ IOTA [abbr="self-reference, thoughts"]x[/abbr] info [abbr="attacks"]x[/abbr] PROXY ☾

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Blue-tipped ears perked as the poltergeist approached, the apparition's incorporeal body chilling her to the bone despite the raging inferno close to her body. She smiled at his arrival, proud of herself to know that she could drag someone like Beck out of his comfort zone to join up with her. "Sure are, Beck. I thought it'd be fun." She hoped he could have fun too, it's the least she could do for all he did for her.

Blueberry paws ran across the bag of marshmallows she toted, ready to tear it open for the "schmoes" -- or s'mores, as the poltergeist so hastily corrected Nayru. "Ah, right, of course, schmoes -- I mean, s'mores! Yep, that's what we're making! Ole classic sch'mores..." She trailed off as she unsheathed another claw, cutting through the plastic like silk and plucking out a decently-sized sugary treat. Noticing that Beck had asked her for one first, Iota lightly tossed the snack towards his direction, eager to see what sorts of tricks he could pull -- if eating it weren't an option for the ghost, obviously. "Comin' up, pal."

Her ears flicked once more as the firebrand Freyja approached, and she turned around excitedly, ready to greet her to the party. "Hey, Freyja! Make yourself at home." She stretched, observing her plastic bag and boxes to see if anything spilled out onto the soot. She didn't think candies would taste any good covered in dirt, so of course she had to watch over the sweet treats like a hawk. She smiled and giggled a little bit, flattered at how Freyja commended her party. "Days upon days of planning. Gets tiring going through those old stores in the town for some snacks." She plucked a marshmallow from the bag, gently touching it to her tongue, and her eyes lit up. She stuffed it into her mouth eagerly, her senses peaking as the sugar gave her a kind of euphoria unlike anything else. "Mmmm ..." As Iota chewed on the treat, she noticed Freyja wanted one as well. Muffled speech prevented her from sounding too coherent as the marshmallow filled her mouth, but she made an attempt nonetheless. Shoving the bag of sweets to Freyja, she replied, "Sure thing!"