nysalogs | ❪ event ❫ harvest valley

❪ event ❫ harvest valley

THE GREAT HARVEST

While change is inevitable and those on El Nysa have always been adaptable, it’s clear that some things do not change. Citizens in both cities have began finding ways to return to a sense of normalcy, and most have done this by partaking in seasonal traditions and celebrations.

With the heat of the previous months finally simmering down, the cooler air signifies the passing of the summer and the start of the great harvest. Though many crops were destroyed in the battle that preceded this event, those that have survived seem to have grown healthier in light of their hardships, and many believe this to be an unspoken blessing.

In Wyver, festivities begin earlier in the month. Copious amounts of food are prepared from the first, and refugees will find that the people of Wyver are always hungry. The daily contests of strength are easily turned into contests of appetite. Not partaking, like many things in Wyver, can be taken as a sign of weakness. Losers will find themselves expected to do the bidding of those who win one of these contests. But it's all in good fun, right?

Outside of contests, Wyver is keen on creating a festival-like atmosphere. Throughout the month there will be multiple food stalls open featuring food made from the harvest and game available to the city. Due to its popularity, many of the stalls will feature Shanrian’s favorite meat jellies. Refugees will be encouraged to assist in preparing delicacies for the stalls and will be rewarded for their efforts by being given specialty ingredients. When consumed, these foods can heighten one's senses for a period of time, so they're perfect to eat before heading on a quest or hunt.

I. With their emphasis on cooking enormous portions of food and gorging themselves for days, it should come to no surprise that a lot of the age-old Wyvern traditions revolve around the act of eating. Particularly, of dining beside their scalier brethren. It isn’t uncommon to see the people of Wyver feed from the claws of dragons, or to mimic the act of a dragon eating on all fours— often sharing the same game (not always cooked either!). The trick to this is knowing how hungry the dragon is and finding the appropriate timing to take a bite without offending the creature. Some dragons are known to be a little more disciplined in this regard, while others are loose cannons. It’s important to be able to gauge this, and the people of Wyver are more than delighted to teach the refugees the tricks of the trade! The bigger question is... does everyone have the stomach for this?

II. Maybe from all the eating they do and all the grooming, the dragons tend to avoid people during this time of the year, but some also start to look like they need a bit of help. During this time, native Wyvers use their free time after the steady and grueling days of harvest to maintain and care for the dragons. They help wash them up, take a look at their claws, and even pull some decayed teeth. However, precisely because this is such a tedious process, there's always a need for a helping hand or two to get the job done. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Wyverns are extra keen to grab a refugee or two for the job. They say pulling teeth is easy, the trick is simple after all! Don’t get bitten and don’t let the smell get to you!

Seriously though, they advise that the work goes more smoothly in pairs. One person is typically in charge of making sure the dragon’s mouth remains open, while the other does the actual dirty work. While experts can mix this dynamic up a bit, or even work between those roles, it helps to have a starting point at least!

III. These months are crucial to the people of Wyver as many of their dragons lay eggs in the later half of winter. In preparation, they believe now to be the most essential time for establishing bonds and building on pre-existing relationships, either between one another, or with the dragons. As they are a people who are proud of strength, Wyverns often display this in every aspect of their lives, including their blood exchange ritual. During this process, they will physically show the closeness between themselves and their companions by using a ceremonial knife to cut into their flesh. The wound they make on one another is meant to act as a symbol of the impact they have in each other’s lives. They are then meant to smear the blood of the individual they cut and mark some part of their body with it. Due to utilizing the specially crafted ceremonial blade, this streak of blood will stick to their skins for the duration of the month— a constant reminder of the bond they’ve formed. There are some variations to this, and there are no rules to how deep the incision must be… some Wyverns are known to take this a little too far, and so this ritual is certainly not for the faint of heart.

In Olympia, the celebrations will begin a little later than they do in Wyver. The focus in Olympia seems to be their fruit liquor. Considering their newfound interest in “Thesaens,” it’s no surprise that refugees will find themselves target #1 for trying these various flavors. Additionally, as this act of liquor-making is often experimental, those brave enough to try it will find that the vintages' tastes and their effects will vary in extremes. As these fruits are produced from a vine with magical properties, it won’t be unusual to discover oneself overtaken by a series of strange inclinations that typically amplify whatever positive emotions the drinker is feeling. If they're feeling open and friendly, for example, they'll find themselves oddly handsy and affectionate. If they're feeling inquisitive, they may find themselves oddly invested or overly fixated on something— maybe it's that stray hair on that stranger's face or their unusual eyebrows?

But, while the city is full of life and action, this is also a period of time that Olympians celebrate some of their oldest myths. According to their ancestors, this season marks the time of reunion and connection with those who have passed on. It’s said to correlate with the appearance of the constellations that best fit their most notable heroes. For Olympia, this is a time of coming together as a community and displaying a sense of gratitude for the harvest and the people of the city who make it all possible.

I. One staple of the season is wine sharing. A form of showing closeness and intimacy with ones’ companions, people often will share a drink together, though, not exactly in an orthodox way. As an icebreaker for joining in a number of gatherings (especially those near temples), people are often seen transferring beverages mouth-to-mouth. The act of swallowing shared wine is meant to display acceptance and tolerance. Even rivals and old foes occasionally partake in this ritual to show mutual respect for one another. Declining can be seen as offensive, however with everyone swiftly becoming intoxicated, it may be easy for the more reserved individuals to bluff their way out of this.

II. Food isn’t the only thing harvested during the season. The special magical vines that thrive during this period of time can be utilized as a material for weaving protective accessories. These accessories are traded between friends and lovers all throughout the month. They have a small energizing effect and will permit the wearer to exhibit a little more strength than they normally exhibit. The only catch is that the accessories must be tied on by someone else and be kept for at least a week. When the wearer feels the effects fading, the vines must also be removed by the same person who tied them on. If anyone wears the accessories past this period of time, they will find that they often feel restless and be prone to experiencing sleep paralysis and night terrors. Some Olympians claim that during that state, you can sometimes hear the voices of loved ones from beyond the grave. But, that’s probably just an old wives' tale...

THE (IM)POSSIBLE MAZE

Midway between the cities, a vast maze of corn has been erected. Its purpose is twofold — to demonstrate a camaraderie between Olympia and Wyver and to be harvested by each side at the end of the celebrations. Both the Olympians and the Wyverns agree that the first maze of this kind was created in recognition of a treaty from long ago — decades ago, when the treaty was first signed, representatives from each city went into the maze together to demonstrate that they could work in tandem, but instead of emerging victorious, dead Wyverns were found on the Olympian side of the maze, and dead Olympians were found on the Wyvern side of the maze. Depending on who you ask, the specifics of this slaughter vary — some claim that those found dead were killed in self-defense, while others insist it was merely a misunderstanding, and others tout the theory that the truce was deliberately sabotaged.

What the people can agree upon now, however, is that with the Thesaens among them, perhaps they can try it again and bring in a bountiful harvest together. Locals are charged silver to enter the maze, but refugees are allowed in for free to experience the tradition for themselves.

I. The maze itself is long and winding, with overgrown stalks that block out most of the sky. It is, the promoters insist, not an easy trial to overcome. Those who enter the maze are given sparklers to signal their position for extraction should they become hopelessly lost — but if you manage to make it through the maze, the sparklers can be surrendered to those waiting on the other side for a modest sum of 30 silver each. Team up with someone to make it through… and don’t get lost!

II. While this is a time for celebration, there are always some hooligans who don’t quite get into the spirit of things — or who, perhaps, get too much into the spirit of things. Unofficially, some of the locals have taken it upon themselves to sneak into the maze in costume and chase the participants through it. The motivations behind this vary — some are in it for a laugh, some insist that they’re doing it to help strengthen the bonds between the people they chase, and some claim that they’re doing it to prove a point: that the Olympians and Wyverns will turn on each other at the first sign of adversity, and they will even draw blood to show it. Will you make it through the maze despite these unexpected setbacks? Or perhaps this sort of mischievous thing is right up your alley…?

III. Of course — and unfortunately — there are also those who get in over their heads. Midway through the festivities, on both sides, parents begin to notice that their children have gone missing… and that there are some decidedly child-like screams coming from the maze. It seems the kids have decided to sneak into the maze themselves and now require some rescuing — luckily, there are plenty of Thesaens around to lend a hand.

FINAL OOC NOTES

As a reminder, REP will now primarily be given for completed QUESTS that are available throughout the month, and will not be offered through this event log.

Additionally, as stated in the monthly outline, Nadril will still need the assistance of the refugees and there will be an IC call to action for that later in the month.

Then as a final note, our Test Drive Meme will be up on October 24th! Thank you!

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[Peter just watches him. Not expectant, no, but not unreceptive. Of course, he wants Juno to kiss him. Of course he wants that, but he doesn't know how much showing his desire might make Juno balk.

So he watches Juno sip from the glass and watches the way his hand is less than steady as he puts it down. The hand on his shirtsleeve, those light fingers...

Alright then, he'll take some pity on the detective. Peter shifts closer too, lifting his hand to the back of Juno's neck. His hand is steady. Not insistent or a trap, but not shy either. Then there are fingers under Juno's chin, holding him in place slightly as Peter leans in to seal his lips over Juno's.

...For all his confidence, his eyes immediately slide closed. He's really not...unaffected....]

[ the brush of nureyev's lips over his feels like someone's lit a match to a fuse and he's only got seconds before he completely combusts. the soft touch on his sleeve turns into a tighter grab now as their mouths press together fully. their last kiss feels like a mirage, something distant and too far to even compare. it'd felt... right. so damn right, even if he hadn't deserved something so perfect. even if maybe he still doesn't deserve it.

just like this.

(stay in this, a small part of his mind tells him, warm and suffused in wine, tipping.)

juno straightens up just a bit more, fingers curling upwards into the neckline of peter's shirt -- he's got to get an angle on him after all. his eyes open just a bit to catch the faint flutter of nureyev's lashes closing. it's a soft enough gesture that he fumbles a little to find and cup the line of his jaw and throat now with both hands, callused to the touch, but soft in pressure like he's afraid of hurting him again, somehow. because he could, because he has already.

he keeps it up until he's at the right position and nureyev's lips might part enough for him to pass him the wine he's holding. ]

[Peter would sigh if he could, at the feeling of those rough hands against his skin but...no, he's too busy in the mechanics of parting his lips so that they can complete the ritual.

Not that the ritual is really on his mind. It's just that he's faintly aware of this excuse he's using to get closer to Juno. That they're using to get closer to each other because unquestioned intimacy isn't something, Peter thinks, their relationship can handle at the moment. That will change, eventually. He hopes. But if Juno needs - if they need - an excuse right now, that's alright too.

But dimly. He knows he needs to open his mouth and he does. The wine is sweet and softly intoxicating. He's sure it's just a trick of the mind or the situation, but it seems...different with Juno. Headier and going to his head more quickly. The fingers beneath Juno's chin slip, down and down to settle on his chest and...

Well. Maybe Peter's tongue is chasing those last bits of wine, straight into Juno's mouth. Waste not want not.]

[ is this an excuse?

it's maybe an excuse. the minute that nureyev's mouth parts and the wine exchanges between the two of them, juno is somewhere up in heaven. nureyev's lips are still softer than anything a venusian silkworm could spin - and the feel of his skin under his fingertips steamrolls the guilt in his gut with dopamine. it's warm and heady, kissing nureyev and letting him take the wine from his mouth. somewhere mid-kiss his thumb sneaks up to trace the corner of his mouth, to wipe away a little drop that tries to escape.

juno's inner monologue says that this is enough, it's more than enough, he doesn't deserve any of this and it's just a glimpse into the would haves and the should haves.

but nureyev's lingering and juno's loathe to pull away at this point - the hand on his chest close enough to his heart that he's pretty sure if the damn thing could split sternum and skin it'd beat its way in some ugly, macabre, weirdly poetic fashion straight into the other's palm. the lingering kiss, the swipe of a silver tongue against the softness of his mouth. juno can't resist, in the moment, opening up to him. fingers slipping to curl tight in his clothes again, his own kiss a thing that brushes and traces old paths he committed to memory so he could relive and regret.

there's a breath he manages and it's a half-shuddering thing trying to climb out of him and hold onto this. ]

[Almost as if Peter knows what Juno is thinking, the self-doubt and the impulse to deny himself, the hand on the back of his neck tightens a little. Still not much but...

The last time they kissed he'd woken up and Juno had been gone and there's a small and irrational kernel of fear in his chest. This moment will end and Juno will slip away again.

Oh, but that shuddering breath. Peter hums, warm and low. As much as the hand behind Juno's neck is holding him there, the hand on his chest is stroking, Peter's fingers curling and uncurling minutely. Soothing. And he edges in just a little closer, erasing the space between them by a fraction.

Peter is used to jumping from moment to moment with abandon and not looking back at all but...he'd live in this one if he could.]

[ the space between them is yawning until nureyev moves in closer, and the wine is completely gone, but juno doesn't want to stop. he feels trapped, but it's the sort of trap you don't bother gnawing your leg out of, not when it feels like a dream and you're kicking it high off the taste of someone else's mouth after months of nothing feeling quite as right as this.

he leans into the hand soothing against his chest, lets the fingers at the nape of his neck tighten minutely and keep him there.

flight says to end the kiss here, and fight says to say to hell with it all and wrap his arms around nureyev's neck slowly, like a dance, coming up to meet him. flight loses only because there's no more space for air between them - juno makes sure of it, coming closer in response, and the wine is a voice in the back of his mind chirping out that for one night only he can have what he wants and not feel half as guilty as he normally does.

that and peter nureyev, still here and kissing him now like something out of a dream. kissing him and making him feel like there are just the stars and nothing else.

he doesn't want to go anywhere. for once. ]

[There are arms around his neck and honestly if shame were a thing that Peter Nureyev entertained, he might be a little embarrassed by the way that he sighs in response. Or maybe he should be embarrassed anyway. Because it's not so much a sigh of pleasure - although there's that too - as much as it is relief. This is a clear sign that Juno doesn't intend to go anywhere for the moment and that Peter can breathe easy.

Well, figuratively speaking. Literally speaking, it's hard to breathe easy when he's so focused on kissing Juno. It's not exactly "as if his life depended on it" but with the reassurance that Juno isn't about to jump out of his arms, Peter puts a bit more passion into it. For just a second he breaks away to take a deep breath, kissing the corner of Juno's lips before he dives back in.

And his hands shift. The one on his chest coasts downwards as the one behind his neck trails over his spine.

Only to rest at his hips, though. Nothing any more salacious.]

[ the feeling of hands moving downward is electric, even when they settle into place on his hips and remain there. his own fingers find the line of nureyev's hair, slide carefully into strands that feel familiar against his knuckles - not grabbing onto, but simply running them through his touch, a reminder that he let this go for a reason back home.

but hell he wants it back, hesitantly, more afraid that he's likely going to break it all over again (like he breaks everything, so what's the point?)

the renewed passion in nureyev's kiss is met blow for blow, because juno is lit up by something that nureyev always manages to strike a spark to. ]

Just so you know -

[ as if nureyev isn't already aware. maybe juno just has to buy some time to keep his brain from spinning completely on the wrong axis. ]

- I definitely don't have anymore wine.

[ in case that's what he was going after. which he doubts. but you know. just to be sure. his fingers are still pushed a little into peter's hair, and he's certainly not going anywhere mostly because nureyev is warm, partially because everything else might spin if he tries to step down off the table. ]

[Oh, Juno. Peter pauses, his forehead resting against Juno's. His lips hover a centimeter or two away. Enough space for Juno to talk into.

And then he laughs, a low and thoroughly pleased sound. It might also have something to do with the feeling of Juno's fingers in his hair. He's allowed to enjoy that now. As opposed to the last time]

We could remedy that, I suppose.

[Peter's voice is low and amused and private and very much not serious. They could, yes. Will they?

He has half a mind to tell Juno that his lips are intoxicating enough, but he knows Juno well enough and that would likely get some kind of cynical protest.]

But I'm content without.

[He leans in to kiss Juno again, teeth just barely teasing at his lower lip.]

Great, 'cause I'm not moving.

[ stubborn, leaning into the motion fully now because it's true. he's not moving, just pulling nureyev in closer. the teeth are what do it, even the lightest touch to his bottom lip sends him reeling a little mentally. the brushing is light, lips finding the right spot - the corner of a mouth, the glancing of teeth, the warm, fullness of his lips. he remembers staring at them far longer than might have been polite months ago - but since when was he ever polite?

like gently hip-checking the cup off the table to make more room. ]

[The sound of the metal goblet hitting stone distracts Peter just enough to pull away a fraction. It's not disengaging so much as it is getting just enough distance to be able to focus on the object as it slowly rolls to a stop some distance away.

His eyes flicker to catch the gaze of some slightly annoyed-looking Olympian before he grins. And shifts his focus back to Juno. Still with a grin. It definitely looks self-satisfied.]

I won't argue.

[But this is...entirely too much talking and not nearly enough kissing. Time to remedy that by leaning back in and kissing Juno firmly. Given the opportunity, Peter wants to make up for lost time. Kissing Juno until they're both breathless seems like the only reasonable course of action in this moment.]

[ there's an arm that slides fully around nureyev's neck now, bringing him in closer with the renewed kissing. hindbrain considers climbing straight into his lap, that's what it wants, but not everything is doused in the heady wine.

so instead he leans into the firm kiss, gives as good as he gets with the hand against nureyev's shirt climbing just slightly to touch skin instead, the barest brush of calloused fingertip over throat. the only thing remotely salacious about the entire thing is the kiss, deepened - by comparison, the fingers finding their way under the collar of his shirt seem almost innocent. like trying to trace back an old path he knows, the phantom shape of the bandage he remembers nureyev having when he first saw him on the station. ]

[Peter certainly wouldn't mind Juno in his lap, but he's also more than content with the arm around his neck and the way that Juno is reciprocating the degree to which he's taken the kiss.

And it's true, those fingers are almost an afterthought to the warmth and pressure of lips against his. Still, Peter's breathing stutters faintly as they slip beneath. It has a little to do with the rough slide of callused fingers against his skin but also a little to do with the area and direction those fingers are headed in.

Because if Juno is tracing where the bandages were, sooner rather than later he's going to feel an unfamiliar texture beneath his fingertips. Or at least a new texture for Nureyev's skin. Ridges and raised bumps in an uneven pattern that spreads down over the top of his shoulder and spills onto his back.

He doesn't pull away, however. In fact, he pours himself into the kiss just a little bit more and drags his teeth again along Juno's lower lip. A distraction or an assurance.]

[ and it is unfamiliar. juno knows the line of nureyev's throat, hasn't forgotten it in the six months since he left. because nureyev deserves his freedom and doesn't need baggage like him. where smooth skin had been, uneven texture takes its place. he touches it softly, smoothing a thumb up over it, splaying fingers hesitantly along the line of it and feeling how it doesn't seem to end.

juno balks for only half a second as he touches it, traces it out. wishes he could have maybe prevented it somehow?

and then nureyev bites again at his mouth and it's gone, teasing out a half sigh half tired laugh from him - clever teeth on a clever man. it acts as both maybe - distraction and assurance. juno's hand doesn't leave, maybe his own reassurance as he leans into it all, the shape of a very faint smile palpable on his mouth. ]

[Juno smiles against Peter's lips so naturally Peter smiles back. He cherishes that little bit of laughter. It isn't as if he's ashamed by the scars. They are what they are, and in any event they're...Alexander Noble's. And Noble is a permanent thing now, so there's no need to worry about memorable burn scars giving him away.

Still. The fact that Juno isn't pulling away or treating him differently is encouraging.

They don't hurt.

[A quiet murmur against Juno's lips, since Peter isn't interested in pulling away even long enough to speak properly.

Just to let him know he doesn't need to be so gentle. Peter can take some rougher handling.]

[ the reassurance does something to the kiss, to juno's hands — splaying now in full against the side of his neck, drawing peter in closer, more passionate than before. he mouths something softly, the rasp of his voice dark like good bourbon, ]

Nureyev.

[ three syllables that taste delightfully sharp on his tongue like a touch of blood, a sucker punch and caress all at once. when he pulls away, it's a fraction of some indescribable measurement. looking people in the eyes doesn't become juno steel, but nureyev has a look that swallows him whole and anchors him.

trust is hard when your entire world gets devoured by some no name storm.

it's even harder when you have to face a mistake you made for the sake of someone else, scrabbling for control among your own tangle of feelings. his thumb strokes slow just beneath his ear, breath uneven, swept up. ]

[He'd have something to say about Juno using his name in public but...it's so private and small and intoxicating that Peter is left without even the slightest bit of will to chastise. His pulse, in fact, flutters under Juno's hand.

Peter tries to keep his cool, generally, but Juno makes that difficult sometimes. Both because he can be infuriating and because he can be...something else.

Something Peter can't get enough of. The way he hovers just a breath away as if he's caught. Peter shivers with the feeling of Juno's thumb and then murmurs into the infinitesimal space between them.]

Juno...

You know I care about you, don't you? Quite a bit.

[More sentiment than he usually expresses, but hopefully Juno is as ensnared as he is. He won't leap away from it right now.]

[ the way nureyev's pulse trembles just a little under his touch has him leaning in further, lingering on one more kiss before he murmurs into the space between them. there's a faint huff of breath, half stuttered out like a laugh, like he wants to disbelieve it, call nureyev on a lie.

but it's true.

and it's frightening. and there's a part of him that has to search nureyev's eyes for a moment, looking up at him from under a gaze that's heavy with regret. he's got some kind of perfectly awful timing, doesn't he? always. if he had any common sense he wouldn't say this kind of thing. ]

I know.

[ he knows and it's like a combination of a thrill curling around his heart and a sucker punch. ]

I know, and I...

[ do too? shit. shit shit shit - ]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I left. [ quiet and low. he's had a lot of time to think about this. he likes to linger in the past - the past is what he knows, what he feels most comfortable with, what he's pretty sure he deserves. but nureyev talks about the future, about the present, and it rattles the bars of everything he's closed himself off behind and it's terrifying and new and thrilling. ] Know it's hard to believe, but. I do too.

[ care about you. a lot. his thumb lingers, stroking slowly over his skin, an idle motion maybe meant to soothe - himself or nureyev. doesn't matter. ]

Shhhhh.

[Peter kisses him again, soft and sweet...and then adds another gentle bite at the end. Because he knows that Juno wants to punish himself and he knows that soft and sweet is hard for him to accept. So Peter will give him both. That little bit of punishment that he seems to always seek, even when it's not meant to be given, and something soft because he deserves it too.]

I know you do, Juno.

[Another kiss, another pulling back to talk into the fraction of space between them.]

You told me so. I'm only telling you back because I didn't then.

[Oh yes. He remembers.]

[ it just doesn't feel like enough. just saying it never feels like enough. juno lingers in the space of that kiss, leans into the bite with a sigh and doesn't seem to want to go anywhere. he's almost bereft when nureyev pulls away just enough to speak.

there's a moment of silence that juno holds onto a second, fingers finding their way into the warmth of nureyev's hair as he draws his brows for only half a second.

and remembers.

and laughs - short and soft and...

god. ]

You've got a mind like a goddamn steel trap, you know that?

[ even after he'd been possessed like that. the man surprises him more and more - and juno at this point can't help but let him. ]

[Peter's response is just to grin. Something Juno will feel much more than he will see, given that neither of them are far enough away to properly get more than snatches of each other's faces.]

I've been told.

[His tone has shifted a bit, a mixture of self-satisfaction, amusement and fondness. Getting Juno to laugh is always an accomplishment.

And it deserves another long. kiss. And one of Peter's hands leaving Juno's hips to cup his cheek again.]

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