undergrounds | Litha Feast (Open to all court members and human guests, dated for the 21st)

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Litha Feast (Open to all court members and human guests, dated for the 21st)

The grounds were brightly lit and festooned with decoration: trees covered in sweet-smelling dew, leaves of gold and red, vividly-colored streamers woven with thread finer than spider's silk. All around, the tables were piled high with all the food and wine one might expect of a grand feast. (Apparently, the fae had spared no expense.)

The Seelie King and Queen were present, though distanced from the rest of the revellers -- and quite a few revellers there were. Men and women with petals in their hair, clothes of vibrant silk and satin, and a rainbow of rare feathers and gems. Some looked human, some looked animal. Some, such as in the case of a well-dressed gentleman with skin like birch bark, looked like none of the above.

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There was one person Heiji immediately thought of when he heard about the party: Stiles.

Considering that Stiles would probably have snuck in anyway, this was the best chance to let him satisfy his curiosity in the context of an actual, (semi-) legitimate reason to be there rubbing elbows with other fae. Sure, he wasn't likely to win the title of Miss Fae Universe, but at least this way, Heiji wouldn't have to worry about one of his fellow members giving Stiles space cancer.

For that reason, he was waiting for Stiles outside his place before the evening festivities started. "Hey, you free today?"

In addition to the fairy feast, it seemed that someone had been providing slightly more pedestrian fare in the form of... takeout? Tonight the menu was apparently Thai, with plastic forks for those of you human heathens that couldn't use chopsticks.

There were also several different kinds of bottled drinks, including those of the alcoholic kind. In fact, there had been a particularly nice bottle of rosé along with that pasta for lunch...

[Because reasons, Heiji has arranged for characters to be provided with food other than fairy food. Note that if your character has refused to eat anything beyond a day or two of fasting, they will have been returned to London. No one wants to watch you wasting away.]

As the evening continued, a spritely fellow with hair like golden leaves leapt up on a table strewn with fruits and flowers. "Lords and ladies, your attention please! The hour has come to announce our most honored guests!"

"First, the Summer Prince: Wait, is this a joke? What kind of name is... er --

STILES STILINSKI!"

A pair of young girls, all smiles, came forward with a crown of oak leaves that glittered in the starlight as if brushed with diamond dust. All around the new prince, the strange collection of supernatural beings clapped and cheered, raising toasts to the glory of summer, the sun, the king and queen... and of course, the fairest dude in all of London somehow.

Edited 2015-06-23 04:30 (UTC)

When the applause and attention had died down a bit, a large black fox with six tails approached the victors. "I'm here to take you back," he said. "Whenever you're ready."

Mab wasn't precisely late, but she definitely wasn't early. Finishing a conversation with a pixie perched on her finger, she watched the tiny woman flit away, aurora eyes following it before letting her hand fall to her side. The grass all around her feet had frosted over but the cold clearly did not bother her as she was still barefooted, despite the formality of the dress. She wore a circlet of thorny, blood red roses rested on her head, preserved in ice. Her nod to the Seelie festival, the air around her was noticeably cooler and still she moved to stand in the shade of one of the trees around the clearing. A small, childlike fae appeared at her side and held up an crystal glass with something golden inside. Mab took the proffered drink and let her eyes scan the crowd, settling for a moment on the Seelie King and Queen in the distance.

Heiji was dressed in deep violet and maroon for the occasion, with a golden decorative costume mask over his face. To western eyes, it probably resembled a coyote of some sort.

"Having fun?"

Mab let her eyes slowly leave the summer royalty and take in Heiji in all his masked glory. She took her time answering as she appreciated his regalia and finally let her lips curl up slightly at the corners. "I am entertained."

Her hand lifted to run a finger along the chin of the mask, as though it was a real animal's head. "This is lovely."

Always touching on faces, Mab. Heiji quirked his head slightly to the side. "Thank you. I thought I might as well dress for the occasion."

Of course, he couldn't drink anything with the mask on, but he wasn't really here to imbibe, anyway. "Glad you could make it."

Nancy knew better than to eat or drink while she was here, even if there was take-out. She knew far more than the average human here, and she was aware of it. Being raised by a fae meant she knew some of the ins-and-outs of their world.

This was why she was here, of course. Year after year she was the designated date of her foster father, the necklace she'd won years before in the contest around her neck. For Fagin, it was a point of pride. Look at the beautiful witch he'd raised, how she'd won the most beautiful. Prove that he still had it. It made her sick. But, she came with him, like it or not. What other opportunities were there to enjoy the other realm, to look around and see what there was to see? Despite the risks, she knew better than to say no to Fagin's invitation.

Bidding the old man a brief adieu, his hand encircling her wrist until she gave him a chaste air-kiss, she made excuses to wander away from him.

Does a mask really count as a face? Mab likes touching when people let her. And sometimes when they don't. "Appropriate." And yes she did notice the thank you. It sent a little thrill through her at his open, easy thanks. That… could be construed as a favor. Heiji is unlike any fae she has previously known. It is fascinating and makes her feel oddly wary.

Inclining her head, "I was pleased to be invited personally." Her eyes drifted from his, "So much of a human presence." Another thing she wasn't used to. The norther courts did not interact with summer nearly as much, and when humans were involved there was a lot more bloodshed so to speak.

Another Fae-raised witch was among those gathered. Unlike Nancy, however, she had no prior exposure to this feast or her guardian to stand beside her. Instead, she stood demurely beside a brash, young (for a fae) knight of the court who had thought it great sport to kidnap the girl. From what he'd said -- talking to her over what had felt like a mere hour or two -- she reminded him of some lost love over whom he'd duelled with a mortal prince. It was a charming story, but Abigail knew enough about the fae to know that their affections were fickle. So, she smiled when he looked at her, never strayed too far, and politely refused the honeyed wine he offered.

He and a woman close to him (whether she was his wife, sister, daughter, or lover was difficult, as he spoke fondly and familiarly but with lines blurred from a lack of proper knowledge about her surroundings and 'host' had dressed her in pale blues and an outfit that looked like it had come out of a Renaissance painting. Or perhaps the dress had been inspired by one. When her escort was distracted, Abigail stepped briefly away from him to approach the girl she hadn't yet met.

"You look a lot more comfortable than I do," she said, trying to smile. "Have you been here before? In the Other Realm?"

Abigail was attended to by a youth of the Seelie Court, though she knew his age was, at best, difficult to determine. He spoke like he might have been around humans last in the Victorian age. But he also had mannerisms she'd only really seen in poetry and stories from the Age of Chivalry. Still, he sought to gain further influence (standing as a knight in the court right now) with his king by bringing a 'guest' to the feast.

He brought her wine and bits of food, though she ate or drank none of it. She never refused it, however, and she had secured a promise that she would be unharmed and taken safely back to her home. For those reasons, she was a little at ease. Hungry and thirsty with all the good things around her but overly cautious because of her upbringing by Unthank. Still, she would remember the name the fae gentleman had given her. Whether or not his true name was Culann, son of Conchobhar, she'd find out later, should she attempt her summoning. It seemed a fair price to ask.

At times, she did lessen her guard enough to be pulled into group dances, especially around noon and sundown, keenly aware, though it felt like almost no time had passed since she was properly home, that Midsummer was close at hand. That this festival was Midsummer in the mortal realm. Whether dancing or socialising or forcing herself not to eat from the delicacies offered, Abigail kept, at the very least, a polite smile on her features so as not to offend her hosts.

Sort of? Maybe.

"Yeah, 'pparently it's all to present to the King and Queen. Makes sense, I guess, though it does make things a little awkward..." Namely in the way that he knew a few of the contestants.

"I brought someone over, but I don't really expect him to win. Kind of a long shot for anyone, I guess."

Miss Fae Universe has his name on it. Just you wait, Heiji. Eat your heart out, Seelie Court.

“Yo,” he greets Heiji, not exactly his bright-eyed and bushy-tailed self; it’s far too early in the day for him to have fully woken up yet. “I guess. What’s up? We gonna kick ghost butt or something?”

"Near every year since I was a child," she says calmly, giving the girl in the dress (a beautiful dress it was, too) a small smile. "It's a sort of tradition, I suppose." Fagin didn't really give her an option. And he was the one that kept her in her apartment, working some of his own magic to allow her a better life than she would have otherwise. But just a bit, he was still a miser. You'd think with all the wealth he'd acquired over his centuries...

"And this is your first time- so you're not fae. What brings you here, then?" Names could come later. She was mostly curious.

He laughed. "Not exactly. You ever heard of Litha?"

With the way Stiles was snooping around all the time, he might very well have, which would have made explaining things a bit easier.

Heiji was dressed in formal robes of violet and maroon; he was wearing a pale yellow fox's mask over his face that in practice probably bore greater resemblance to a coyote. Eh.

He'd thought he might run into a few familiar faces at the party. He was not, however, expecting to see --

"Nancy?" Whoops. The name was out of his mouth before he could stop himself. There was a chance she might not recognize him, though. I mean... there was always a chance.

"That young man who is pouring himself a glass of wine," Abigail murmured, nodding her head to his discreetly, "is hoping to win favour with the Seelie King, from my understanding."

She smiled just a little, though there were definitely nerves under it.

"I've heard of fae parties before, but I've never been to one."

Her name was heard and she turned quick to see the man in robes. The mask was a curious addition, but she didn't say anything about it. The Other Realm was a strange place, and she'd long-since learned to just let it go and roll with it. Otherwise you'd get stuck on one minor thing and miss the rest.

"Yes?" She asked sweetly. "I'm sorry- Do I know you? I can't recognize you with the mask."

"Uh..." The worst thing about this situation was that he couldn't actually lie about it, and he felt sort of bad about lying by omission. At least in this case.

"N-nice night out, isn't it?" He was terrible at this. "...Are you in the contest?"

"Mmmmmaybe?"

That innocent facade would fool exactly no one. Stiles only holds it for a moment or two before waggling his eyebrows with a wide grin. He's definitely heard of it, then.

"Do you know how much pagan superstition is on the Internet about the fae and Litha? It's crazy."

"...It's not a sex thing, is it? The rumors. Because the real thing is. Definitely not. Don't believe everything ya read on the internet! And there ain't any bouncy castles, either!" Heiji was being weirdly specific about this, but he was absolutely 100% telling the truth.

Stupid internet rumors, stop slandering his really distant relatives and therefore by some extension himself. And Stiles, stop waggling your eyebrows stop it at ONCE.

"Ahh a rade." Litha was a known time for fae mischief. "To present like one might a feast?" She asked, all curiosity as though this is something she thinks would be the most likely explanation.

Her gaze shifted from the humans back to him. "You have brought a human along?"

"Well, maybe more like a tribute? The point is to present the most beautiful human you can find." He craned over at the crowd, trying to locate Stiles.

"I did, but I don't see him anywhere. Bit tough to keep track of one person with all this crowd."

"That explains it," she said faux-sagely. "I should have guessed- I helped win for my foster-father years ago." Hazel eyes glanced towards the crowd, hoping not to see him. He was better off picking pockets of those in the crowd, sniffling up to the most important lords and ladies of the court. He was vile.

"It's a great time. I'd say it was better if we could eat and drink, but..." This was her cue to reach into her small bag and pull out a flask. Uncapping it, she offers some to the girl.

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Page 1 of 8

Litha Feast (Open to all court members and human guests, dated for the 21st)

Come on Barbie, let's go party (for Stiles)

MINGLE (Open to all at the feast)

CONTEST RESULTS (Placeholder for now, please don't comment yet!)

DEPARTURE (for the victors)

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KISS ME HERE TOUCH ME THERE HANKY PANKY

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this is getting weird with the other thread

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$10 that it'll only get weirder

that's a sucker's bet because

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