Imbolc

[undergroundmods]

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The festival of Imbolc marks the end of winter and the coming of spring. It may not seem like it, but the days are getting longer and winter's grip is beginning to thaw. What better time to celebrate new beginnings and make a fresh start?

That's exactly what the witch community is doing, as Samantha Okeke takes her place as the newly anointed Mother of Witches. The event is being held at the Redbright Institute, courtesy of Sylvia Redbright the previous Mother, and will take place entirely outside. Carefully placed warming spells ensure that the air temperature in the grounds is comfortable rather than freezing.

The event begins at 5pm (after sunset at 16.52) and finishes at 8pm.

Order of Events
5pm-5.30pm: Flowers and Candles
The first half hour allows time for guests to arrive and mingle. The main area where guests will arrive first is the lawn and pavilion. Here there are two stalls selling a variety of early spring flowers and candles. A third stall is selling hot drinks where you can buy tea, coffee or brandy, a fourth is selling a variety of fruitcakes, cupcakes and seed cakes, and a fifth is doing excellent business selling plant pots filled with earth blessed by the new Mother of Witches and a variety of plant seeds. A sign on the stalls proclaims that all proceedings will be used to fund a new centre for magical innovation, sponsored by the Mother of Witches.

At the pavilion there is an altar where guests are encouraged to light their candles, lay down their flowers and wish for good health in the year ahead. It is also traditional for young witches to wear flower garlands, so expect to see a lot of flowers around in general.

5.30-6.15pm: The Mother of Witches
At around 5.30pm there will be a ceremony where Sylvia will officially pass on her crown as Mother of Witches to Samantha. Guests will be ushered through to the quad to witness the ceremony. A podium has been set up in the middle of the quad where Sylvia will wait for Samantha to arrive on a raised chair carried by four male witches. Wearing a white dress with gold lace trimming, Samantha represents the purity and fertility of the upcoming spring.

It's then time for Sylvia to symbolically hand over her power by giving Samantha her wand and setting a crown of jasmine flowers on her head. The final act is for Samantha to light the candles that have been placed around the podium, a symbol of new beginnings.

She will then give a speech, addressed to the witches of course, but she is aware that there are others in the crowd who will be interested in what she has to say.

6.15-7.15pm: Offerings
Samantha will be sitting on the raised chair which has now been set down on the podium, flanked by the four male witches. A small white cat sits in her lap. Now is the opportunity for all guests to bring gifts and offerings for the newly anointed Mother of Witches. Every coven will nominate a representative to present a gift and say a few words. It would be courteous for guests from other factions to do the same, though not everyone will.

In the meantime, the gardens are open for guests to wander around with fairy lights strategically placed to help guests find their way.

7.15-8pm: Mingling
The remainder of the event is open for guests to mingle as they please, with the quad, front lawn and gardens all open. The stalls will be selling food, drink and other wares right through to the end of the evening.

Comments

[bellbound]

Why is he getting pointed at like talking is a crime? Mogget rolls his eyes. He blames Sylvia for this. If she hadn't made keeping a familiar so unfashionable, people would be far less surprised at seeing the occasional talking animal about the place.

"It's called magic," he explains in the most condescending tone he can manage. Which is extremely condescending. "Which I possess rather a lot of, being a fae. And before you ask why I don't take human form like the other fae here, I am forbidden from doing so in my mistress's presence. And I am trying to catch a fish."

Technically he's probably far away enough from Samantha right now that he could take human form, but being a cat is better for fishing.

[ghoulaid]

It's hard to feel appropriately offended when so much condescension is coming from such a tiny furry face. It's also difficult to feel intimidated when he supposes he can just pick the damn faecat up and throw it in the lake if he needs to.

Or wants to.

"Your mistress?" Ghoul makes an odd face. That's a term that does not belong in a kitty's mouth, if only because of its very awful 50 Shades connotations in this day and age. He doubts that applies here, but all the same. Gross. It's double-gross once he realizes who that mistress most likely is. "Wait, Samantha, right?" Strike that. Triple-gross. "Feel fuckin' sorry for you," he mutters under his breath.

A moment later he realizes that's not the best thing to say. Maybe kitty likes Samantha. He quickly tries to cover his mistake by asking, "Why don't you use all that fae magic to catch a fish?"

[bellbound]

Watching the range of emotions pass across the young werewolf's face is sort of interesting in its own way, as he oh-so-slowly works through the implications of Mogget's words. At any rate, Mogget has by now given up on the fish for the moment so he might as well give the intruder his full attention.

He yawns, revealing a small pink tongue and very sharp teeth. "Where's the fun in that?"

He doesn't actually have any magic he could use to catch a fish, unless one counts the fact that he can take a cat shape in the first place. But that's the fault of his collar and the small bell attached to it, sealing nearly all of his power away.

[ghoulaid]

The little teeth... Why is he doing cute cat things? Ugh. Ghoul wrinkles up his nose. "Well, do you want fun, or do you want a fuckin' fish? If you can even call it that. You can only catch, what, a minnow? Why don't you turn in to a tiger or some shit and get in there?"

[bellbound]

"And get soaked?" Mogget shudders. "No, thank you." Speaking of which, he starts licking his paw clean, the one that got all muddy thanks to almost falling into the water.

If wolf boy over there wants to go running into a cold lake at night, he can have at it. Mogget prefers a more delicate approach.

[ghoulaid]

And suddenly his current form makes so much sense.

"No wonder you picked a cat. Big baby." He finally stands, brushing his hands off against the legs of his jeans. "That's nasty, by the way. Don't put that in your mouth. Nothin' but dead fish residue and shit-mud."

[bellbound]

"Charming." He must be popular at parties. Mogget ignores the insults, continuing to lick his fur clean all the way up to his shoulder. "Are you done?"

[ghoulaid]

"You're the one lickin' yourself in front of a stranger." Which is kind of weird to watch, now that he knows this isn't a real cat.

"But, yep." Totally done. So done, in fact, that he turns on his heel and begins heading back towards the festival. "Have fun barfing up that hairball, Whiskers."

[bellbound]

Typical, he thinks, for a wolf to act as if grooming is some foreign concept. He looks like he could do with a bath. It occurs to Mogget that he didn't get wolf boy's name when he walks away, but frankly he doesn't care enough to ask.

He'll barf up that hairball later, when the werewolf isn't looking.