The Harvest Festival

[Gats]

The air was getting colder. The days were getting shorter. The leaves of the temperate forests were beginning to turn. The crops were ripe and ready to be picked. There was no denying that autumn was descending upon the weyrd. While the traditions were likely foreign to many of those that now called this place home, where there was a bountiful first harvest, a festival was to follow.

Seemingly overnight, decorations sprung up all around the weyrd. It started with things like pumpkins and other gourds, bales of straw, wreaths of colorful leaves, and descended into some kind of madness from there- plastic spiders on fake webs, styrofoam cemeteries, and clattering skeletons. It was autumn, it was Halloween, it was something in between and yet entirely different. It was Wzztween, as some might have jokingly called it.

With the decorations came events like apple picking and cider tasting, hayrides of both the relaxing and haunted variety. There was a costume contest, a harvest market, anything the mind could imagine- it was probably around the weyrd somewhere! Humanoids and shinies alike were taking part in all the festivities. Would you join them?

rules
please visit this page first!
post as many times as you'd like between mine!
all characters are welcome, but try to interact with someone else rather than just posting between two of your own characters ;p
shinies are welcome, but should not be the main focus of your posts!

here
Tzimekh, Rudolph, Haelys, Zenith, Omorose, Cyprena, Junho, Zebey, Tuk-Tuk, Geoff, Kolnybte, Halrae, Yjrn, Tynis, David, Alice

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i'll be posting as you do~

[Gats]

bonds
• Arathlial
North Soli -- Junho
West Wylgart -- Tuk-Tuk
Mistral Norgorber -- Tuk-Tuk
Tempest Vulen -- Zebey
Chinook Div -- Yjrn

• Armadiggers
Chisel Male Seshke -- Omorose

• Celeste Cats
Pyrite Licorice -- Rudolph
Iolite Victor -- Geoff
Morganite Findar -- Tzimekh
Verdite Chai -- Zenith
Ammolite Male Jack -- Alice

• Demonhounds
Ember Bo -- Junho
Flash Cenhelm -- Kolnybte
Pyre Millicent -- Haelys

• Dragons
Sulphur Geheth -- Haelys
Amethyst Monath -- Kolnybte

• Flamma
Caro Arcella -- Haelys
Umbra Female ??? -- Tynis

• Gryphons
Orbit Female Sylbae -- Tzimekh
Orbit Male Tomerae -- Zenith

• Ikal'daka
Valsharen Male Drathir -- Halrae
Faern Female ??? -- Tynis
Neccasalmor Female Neerrh -- Omorose
Zanjur Male Mzil -- Cyprena
Darlshei Male Yssraim -- Zebey

• Phoenixes
Supernova Sohla -- Cyprena
Pulsar Anik -- Cyprena

• Requiae
Lament Hadil -- David
Omen Benjamin -- David

• Watch-Whers
Obsidian Ysk -- Yjrn
Agate Geosk -- Geoff

[Tzimekh]

“You’re well enough to leave.” The scaly being who called himself Kerst hissed, an unsettling noise that had set Tzimekh’s teeth on edge since she woke up, not that she’d be telling the one to whom she owed her life that. “Report to me tomorrow to begin the agreed-upon work period.” He nodded his head once, and opened the front door, handing her a worn leather bag. “You had these on you, when you arrived. Don’t try and remember why. I’m not sure I can do much more for your head, if you break it again.”

Kerst was a charmer. Tzimekh didn’t care all that much. Ignoring the thumping in her skull not unlike war drums (really? Well, probably) that heralded, she was sure, another splitting headache, she nodded. “Alright. Thank you, Kerst.” Bowing her head in humble acceptance, Tzi scooted outside of the door. It had been a long week, since she’d awoken confused and completely without any way to express her complete confusion with...well, everything. Having languages spelled into her head, the rote memorization of everyday things like eating and crapping – honestly, she would have figured it out, she’d only thought the pain in her stomach was the same as the pain in her head for a few days – it was all pretty wretched. It didn’t help that her scaly host was pretty unsettling, and his house smelled like bitter herbs and pungent things that she wasn’t certain weren’t poison.

She’d agreed to repay him for the near-month of convalescence (not that she remembered all but the last week) in building him a new workshop. That was tomorrow’s problem, though, not today’s. Today’s problem was...well, finding food, a place to live, work, Gods only knew what else. She couldn’t imagine that she didn’t belong here, in this place with its strange mountains and stranger folk, but Kerst had told her she’d appeared in the same place all off-worlders did. Well. He’d also said nobody ever went home, so she was just going to have to make the best of it, wasn’t she. Tzi walked a good ways before she stopped in the shade of a brilliantly red tree, reclining with some difficulty to the soft dirt there.

The largest part of the leather bag seemed dedicated to a dizzying number of pouches filled with leaves, seeds, strange dried things. Why she was carrying around a large stone bowl and some sort of very small stone bat, she was unsure, but it smelled like the leaves. A smaller portion held a rectangle of canvas containing strangely-shaped, sharp tools. A change of clothes, too, and some packets of food, a canteen. A fair amount of coins, gold, and silver. Well. That cleared up some of her worries, at least. The dried nuts, fruit, hard slices of bread would probably hold her over for a day or two, if she couldn’t find any other food. A voice somewhere in her head whispered that sleeping out on the edges of town on a soft patch of dirt between some trees didn’t sound so bad at all.

It took an hour or two for Tzi to realize that there was anything strange about the decorations strewn about the place. While the words “harvest festival” didn’t mean anything to her, and “wzztween” was beyond the pale, it became pretty hard to ignore once a cheerful woman with huge wings all but dragged her aboard an ox-drawn hay wagon filled with people, some of whom looked pretty well on their way to drunkenness. She was handed a tankard filled with something that smelled strongly of apples and alcohol, and who was she to deny a stranger the joy of giving out strange beverages? It did not in the slightest occur to Tzimekh that this might be a bad idea, drinking something a stranger gave her. She sat back against an itchy bale of hay and listened, instead, to the chatter of those around her, hands wrapped around the warm mug.

Come to think of it, had she always been missing a finger on the left?

Whatever. Better things to wonder about, like what was up with the fellow whose eyes were on fire. Who thought it was a good idea to let him on the wagon full of hay? Maybe he'd get off on one of the frequent stops they were making as they wound through the town. Maybe she'd get off, before he lit the whole thing on fire.

[739 words itgotcarriedaway]

[Rudolph]

The air had started to take on a chilly quality to it. One that had Rudolph realizing that winter should, logically, be right on its heels. Shifting his large wings, he wondered what odd jobs he could take up to buy some winter supplies. His own clothing would be fine for a little bit and his wings usually provided enough insulation that he could survive fall just fine. All nice and toasty warm.

The point was really driven home when he saw an excited child run by, pumpkin in hand and their poor parents hurrying after them with even more pumpkins. Then they seemed to be everywhere he looked. Along with decorations for both fall and Halloween and...Well, he knew that his time for trying to think of solutions would be up very soon. Winter never waited very long after the candy gathering holiday before knocking down the door and making themselves right at home.

Rubbing his hands together, he headed towards the center of where everyone seemed to be heading today. Walking through the festival, he shuffled his wings in mild nervousness. Maybe he should have dragged out Rudosk with him. He would have felt a bit better, but he just didn't expect so many people to be out here. Pulling them in close he looked for the nearest cider stall. Maybe if he was lucky, it would be spiked with something a little bit more adult than just cinnamon and if not...Well, it was still a warm and delicious drink that he could use to occupy his hands and mouth for when people started to piss him off.

It would be on purpose. Just a side effect of when he felt out of his element.

((288 words. Pumpkin))

[Haelys Celtaris]

Considering Haelys was from a land that was quite brisk and chilly year-round, the summer weather of Planet had been an adjustment for her. She truly hadn't minded it though, considering the variety of lighter dresses it allowed her to wear. At the same time, this autumn breeze and the changing of the trees were more familiar to the woman. The decorations, however, were as strange as anything else around the weyrd. There were no 'ween celebrations where she hailed from.

"Who put this webbing and spider on my castle?!" The queen barked to any of her shinies that would listen. Since the moat had yet to be built and there were no hired guards, Haelys naturally had to do a daily walk-around of the castle to ensure everything was coming along nicely. It was really hard, y'know, not being a queen anymore. I mean, once a queen, always a queen, in her opinion. But she truly was only queen of herself, her castle, and her very small band of shinies. To be fair, the castle was growing larger and larger by the week. At this point, it was an established-enough structure that it had been recognized by someone as worthy of decorations for the purposes of weyrd-wide festivities. Of course, the queen of said castle was not amused.

Iaris seemed to spring around the corner out of nowhere, nodding as if she was completely aware of the situation.

The event people. Planners. They decorated everything. The Armadigger spoke casually, shrugging her claws. Haelys looked offended.

"It's already embarrassing that I don't have maids. Now people are going to think we are poor and dirty." The woman turned away and sped-walked off.

Later that day, her curiosity had grown enough for her to venture out of the arbor and venture towards the assumed festivities. Of course, this was after she had been forced to tear down the so-called 'decorations' herself, like a peasant.

Due to the insecurities regarding her wealth and cleanliness that the fake spider webbing had caused, naturally Haelys over-compensated by sporting a particularly nice dress for the day. Of course, she wore a white dress literally every single day. But today, her dress had a full, expansive skirt and ruffles over her bosom and around her arms, the sharp top line of the dress sitting just below her clavicle in quite the complimentary fashion.

Her sturdy but pretty white boots (hidden beneath the skirt of the dress) crunched on fallen leaves as she moved confidently towards whatever strange activities were occurring. She had some investigating to do. It was yet to be seen whether she intended to reject, look down upon, or join the customs. Well, could they really be called customs? Was this something that happened every year or was this coincidental and random just like most things around here? She wasn't sure, and she was hoping she wouldn't be around next year to find out, though the prospect of her leaving was looking quite grim at this advanced stage of her entrapment and punishment.

Through the trees, she could see people gathered up ahead. There were hay bales and pumpkins and—WHAT?!

Suddenly, a GIANT pile of leaves fell from a mischievous tree's top, landing upon her and covering her almost completely. Only a single hand of hers managed to stick out of the top, wiggling for assistance as muffled screams could be heard from beneath the monstrous leaf-pile. Somebody (anyone) help! Luckily for Haelys, nobody would be able to tell it was her until they plucked her out of her unfortunate circumstance. After all, half the weyrd probably would leave her in there if they knew who was beneath.

Strangely enough, once someone did grab her hand and yank her out, they would find that her previously-white dress was now COMPLETELY ORANGE. She...she looked like a pumpkin princess.

This day was already horrible.

[Dress Reference: HERE]

[Word Count: 649]

[Zenith]

Zenith was about ready to vibrate out of his own exoplating.

See, Cybertron didn’t have a harvest season. Back in ye olden days it had produced the same steady amount of energon throughout the vorn. It followed, then, that Cybertron had no harvest festivals. According to his sparking-cohort it hadn’t had many festivals at all, actually. The whole fragging world had been a grim and dour place long before it had erupted in civil war. Only now, with Lunarians in every cohort and peace finally starting to feel real, were minds turning towards human-style seasonal events.

All of which meant Zee had never had the opportunity to carve a pumpkin or collect fall leaves or any of the other thousand things that were part and parcel of autumn.

Which was a damn shame, as his shiny cohort had rather vocally insisted. More to the point, it was A Problem they intended to fix posthaste.

When word of Wzztween reached the ears of... some shiny or another, the whole lot of them leaped into action as one. The firelizards set about hunting down cobwebs and cornhusks, anything that could be used to liven up Zee’s admittedly-bare-bones home. Morpho tagged along, collecting all the items too large for even Atraxia and the Blizzard twins to lug about. Zenisk and Estisk held the proverbial fort, arranging all those autumnal offerings as aesthetically as a couple of whers could. (...and if they snuck a few recently-cleaned rib bones into the mix, well, that was what Zee got for letting whers decorate.) That left Alexandrae- the not-so-secret mastermind behind the whole affair- to herd Zee himself out of the house and towards the village.

Not that it took all that much prodding to get him moving. Lex had promised a Cybertronian-scale pumpkin. Zee wouldn’t have missed it for all the high-grade in the world.

The fall frenzy was in full swing by the time Cybertronian and gryphon arrived. The sight was enough to make Zee bounce in place, his electromagnetic field fairly bursting with delighted excitement.

“Lookit all the colors, Lex!” Zee windmilled his arms, narrowly missing more than one tree in the process. “And all the stuff! This is so fraggin’ COOL!”

Isn’t it, though? Zee was entirely too busy being AMPED to realize Alexandrae was giggling at him. Honestly, the jet was adorable when he forgot he was nearly two stories tall. I’m glad you decided to come after all. But we should find you that pumpkin sooner rather than later.

“Right!” Zee didn’t so much stroll for the pumpkin patch as he did... bounce, for all the world like an oversized puppy out on a playdate. “Do you really think they’ll have one my size?”

We can only hope.

So absorbed was he in his own gamboling that Zee nearly stepped on the pile of leaves obscuring Haelys. Proximity alarms went off in the nick of time. Away he stepped with a startled yip, reaching down to carefully lift the princess out of her festive prison.

And oh wow, was her dress ever orange. Like, aggressively orange. Offensively orange.

It was kind of awesome, actually.

“Wait.” A beat as he checked his database, then- “Haelys, right? What’re you doin’ here?”

((Spooky Scary Skeletons, 'rib', 561 words.))

[Omorose]

Osirion had cold nights, when the sun dropped below the horizon and the moon cast a chilly glow across the desert. But the days were always scorching hot, and the difference in temperature always gave her somewhat of a whiplash. But here? The days were ALSO getting colder, and Omorose wasn’t prepared for that. Her dresses were usually long but sleeveless, and made of a light material. After only a couple of days into the cold weather, the magus realized quickly that she would need some more appropriate clothing.

She picked one wild day to go to the market to barter for clothes. Pumpkins were everywhere, she kept walking into fake cobwebs, and plastic spiders fell onto her shoulders more often than she was really prepared for. But the celebrations and decorations were amusing, and festive, and she quite liked them. After exchanging clothes for some of her potions and scrolls, she quickly changed to stop the goosebumps across her arms and legs to fully envelope her soul completely. Now dressed in a thick, oversized sweater of orange and red and a pair of dark blue jeans, she felt much more comfortable.

Omo didn’t have much time to digest that, however, as she was suddenly grabbed by a woman nearby and pulled towards a wagon filled people, hay bales, and pulled by ox. The winged woman gestured for her to get on, and chuckling, the magus replied. She sat down besides Tzimekh, graciously accepting a tankard of the apple cider she was given, and took a sip. She glanced over at the dark red woman, making sure she wasn’t invading her personal space or anything. ”Hello,” she greeted cheerfully. ”Didn’t give us much of a choice here, did they?”

ooc.
Fabulous Fall Words, Apple, 289 words

[Haelys Celtaris]

After Haelys was plucked from her leafy cage, she looked straight ahead, then up at Zenith, then down at her dress. While her facial expression just barely twitched, she was screaming inside at the new color she was sporting. For the sake of appearing put-together, the woman said nothing of the dress and instead brushed debris off of herself. There was still a leaf stuck in the low, tight braid that trailed down her back, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

"I am investigating all these sudden...happenings. There are some strange objects and strange behaviors occurring all around—and I don't mean the usual strange, of course." She stared over at the nearby activities, pursing her lips in suspicion. "Do you know anything about it?"

Then, her gaze fell on a creature she had never seen before. Interesting. And large.

"What is that?" A single finger casually pointed in Alexandrae's direction.

[Zenith]

Zenith and Alexandrae shared a brief look. Yep. This had been a bad idea. They should’ve left the pumpkin princess to her leafy fate and continued on to... whatever it was folks were doing in the town square. Alas, Zee just had to go sticking his nose where it wasn’t wanted. Now they were both going to suffer the consequences of his positively grating friendliness.

Consequences up to and including playing tour guide to a wannabe queen, apparently. It wasn’t the weirdest thing they’d done today, at least. In fact, it barely made the top ten. What did that say about the lot of them? Nothing good, if Zee had to guess, and resolutely turned his thoughts away from that uncomfortable topic.

“Not as much as I’d like to,” He admitted, rubbing sheepishly at the back of his neck. He’d picked the habit up from one human or another and it had just... stuck. Like lint, or some creeping organic plague. “But, uh- as far as I can tell, it’s harvest season, and the entire village is getting in on the fun. Apparently that includes the landscape itself. I’m gonna take a swing and guess your place got hit by the decoration plague too?”

Really, he couldn’t come up with any other excuse for a dress to be that orange. Then again, what did a giant robot from outer space know about humanoid fashion? Maybe optic-shattering autumnal colors were all the rage these days.

My name is Alexandrae, the gryphon in question replied when her turn came around. She even sketched what might have been an attempt at a bow. I am a gryphon. I take it you have not met one of my kind before, milady?

That earned Lex a second sidelong look, this one considerably sharper than the first.

Why are you encouraging her? Zee grumbled via mindspeak, careful to keep his expression neutral. No use in tipping Haelys off to the conversation taking place behind the proverbial curtain.

I am doing no such thing. Lex sniffed, refusing to so much as flick a feather in Zee’s direction. I am merely being polite to a new acquaintance. You ought to try it sometime.

Zee looked away and did not- Absolutely Did Not- pout. He just... muttered something uncomplementary and avoided looking at his gryphon companion for a few minutes. Totally reasonable. Totally not childish to the extreme. It wasn’t like Lex had taken him out at the kneecaps or anything, don’t be foolish! there totally wouldn’t be a reckoning for this later or anything. pay no attention to the giant sulking robot. life is perfect.

((Spooky Scary Skeletons, 'kneecap', 437 words.))

[Cyprena Sevenius]

Ren frowned. Or maybe not frowned exactly, she just felt a little wary. Flanked by the two Whers that didn’t particularly enjoy leaving her side, or each others’, Ren made her way around the center, which seemed to be bustling a little more than normal, which to her, was suspicious. Something was afoot, and she hadn’t the foggiest idea what it even was. She was, for the record, completely unaware of the earth holiday Halloween, because she didn’t particularly pay attention to all holidays (she knew the important ones, like St. Patrick’s day, the day to be green in some way and get drunk off your ass), so she was completely out of her depth in terms of trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

It started, as usual, with strange things popping up. Decorations of sorts, with the oranges of pumpkins and leaves, and a warty gord that she’d picked up in the corner of her room at the inn. She returned it, pleasantly, to the front desk, but it kept happening, things, appearing out of nowhere. Large spreadings of webbing were stretched out over buildings (which she discovered eventually were fake and not the thread of an enormous arachnid) and headstones (also fake), were growing out of the ground where she assumed they weren’t supposed to (who would bury someone in front of a shop?). It made some logical sense that some of these things were decorations, Alenius made some comment about “Wzztween” (while Ainius complained about the drabness of the decor), but Ren wasn’t going to let her guard down. No, she was very much going to keep it up.

She was suspicious, but she was always more than ready to get a drink.

It was always so strange to her that she was able to consume food and drink her fairly regularly, as back on her home planet, her home universe even maybe, various proteins and types of food were just not meant for different species to eat. But here, things were different, and even though she was not remotely the same species as Rudolph, she stood behind him in line, having similar hopeful thoughts that whatever this delicious smell was not soggy and would have some booze.

She could feel Pyfsk pressed into her side and Cypresk standing valiantly, protectively right besides them. The two Watch-whers had sprouted like weeds, and she hadn’t the faintest idea when they would finish growing. Speaking of Watch-whers…

“Wait, you’re…” She tried to place wher she recognized the wings, speaking directly at Rudolph, but making no physical movement to catch his attention. The memory flooded back to her with a strong amount of distaste, and she groaned. The candy house, being trapped by the witch or whatever. Quite the embarrassing first encounter to have with anyone, really.

“Nevermind,” She said, slightly under her breath. If she was lucky he wouldn’t notice that she’d spoken to him. It wasn’t like she could hope that she wouldn’t be recognized, she got some strange looks wherever she went because she did look a tad different from most. The eyes were not necessarily the kind of attention that she typically wanted. Maye this was what the bad feeling was, the spirits were just out to get her at any turn they could.

Maybe she should just scootch out of line and find a drink from a different stall. They were all over the place at this point, and there must have been one over somewhere that could get her mind off of the unpleasant memories that laughed directly at her, in her face, in her head.

ooc: word count, 605

[Junho Song]

Junho needed a haircut. His overgrown locks were starting to fall over his brow, and he felt himself blowing upwards into his forehead to keep it out of his eyes, when he could. There were many small things that he hadn’t considered needing to worry about since he poofed from one planet to the next, cleaning his clothes, filling his stomach with foods that he had strong cravings for, finding a thicker sleeping bag or blankets and warmer clothes as the weather grew crisp and dropped in temperature. Keeping his hair tame was certainly one of them. He’d never been interested in having a ponytail, but maybe he’d have no choice. Or maybe he could figure out how to cut it for himself (or find someone to do it for him).

There were so many things to think about or be concerned about, but he couldn’t help but feel small bubbles of excitement as he stood before the orchard that sprawled out in front of him. Jin stood at his side, nervous, which was not really out of the ordinary, gazing at the trees that were lined up in columns and columns before them, sporting fall colored leaves and bright red, yellow, green, and even some unfamiliar colored apples.

“I haven’t gone apple picking in years.” Junho mused, holding a small open barrel to his chest, unable to hide the pleasure of familiar nostalgia that came clearly off of him in waves. Jin leaned her head forward up around him so she could look at him more closely.

I won’t ruin it, will I? Junho was sure thoughts raced through her head, her bumping into a tree and causing all of the apples to tumble off, her horn skewering leaves off of their branches, but Junho reached forward, patting the side of her neck, lacing his fingers through her velvety fur. You are going to have such a great time with me. Sometimes it felt as though his words through his thoughts were more comforting, even though communication through his brain was something that he really had to get used to. As he hoped, he felt Jin ease under his touch and his words, and looped the arm around the barrel again, surveying the different rows of trees.

“Let’s try the ones over there.” The Varinha followed behind him as he approached a row of yellow apples, sunny and bright, looking sweet, ripe. He was drawn quickly to one at eye level, reaching with his hands to spin it to make sure there weren’t any bruises or mysterious holes. When it was clear, he tugged it, hearing the familiar click as the stem loosed from the rest of the branch and the leaves rattled with the force. One had been left behind, still attached to the apple.

Jin flinched at the extremely minorly violent action, but leaned in close, looking at the apple with a small amount of wonder. And...that’s it? “That’s it!” Junho grinned, spinning the apple in his wrist once more before setting it gently at the bottom of the barrel. He was tempted to eat it, who didn’t snack on a good apple while apple picking, but he decided that he’d save that small bit of enjoyment for later. “Nice and simple.” His eyes looked around for another apple to pick, then prodded Jin gently with his elbow and pointed at a branch just out of his reach. The apple didn’t move, not for a few beats, but made the same click as it was severred from the tree. Junho instinctively made a move to catch it, but it floated gently down, right into the barrel.

“See! You’re a pro.” He beamed. Magic was something else he had to get used to, but it was certainly incredible. He wondered if Jin would be comfortable also lobbing off some of his hair in a similar fashion, but he didn’t need to ask her because he already knew the answer. Of course not. “Let’s get some more of these then move on to a different kind.” he instructed, feeling the small warmth of excitement blooming beside him at her job well done.

Let the apple picking commence!

ooc: 699 words

[Zebey]

Zebey enjoyed the fall. She handled the cold much better than the heat, and the longer nights were easier on the eyes. Her favorite foods were ripe and good for picking. She melted into the background, blended right into the long shadows and harsh carved faces made in pumpkin patches. Harvest festivals were something that the drow participated in if she could get away with it. When she felt the weather shift here, her hopes perked up. This place seemed less uh…. Judgey. The pre-disposition that the elven community had in the World Wound to her appearance didn’t exist here. She cautiously went out, leaves crunching beneath her boots, cloak swaying slightly in the wind.

She decided to go apple picking. Abbi came with her. The demonhound was a faithful companion, though her bright yellow and mint body didn’t match the dark and spooky aesthetic. As she passed through the trees, Abbi was scouting ahead, sniffing around the roots and the fallen apples. Zebey was looking specifically for granny smiths and honeycrisp apples, as those were her favorites. Finally, she spotted a grove of the green smiths. Abbi noticed and bounded ahead. In her excitement, she cross right in front of Jin and Junho, and nearly jumped to the side out of surprise. The drow quirked a brow, approaching and seeing them finally past a large tree. The Altar was wagging her tail, sniffing the air in their direction.

”Hey,” the drow greeted, quietly. ”Find any good ones?”

ooc.
Fabulous fall words, Pumpkin, 248 words

[Haelys Celtaris]

Although Haelys did not know Zenith well at all, she at least recognized them as one of the friendliest beings she had encountered on Planet. If she had known that even the sweetest robot actively regretted encountering her...well, that was just BAD NEWS for her likeability in this place. People really valued the wrong things around here.

Nonetheless, the queen had no clue. And, honestly, if she had known that Zee thought of her as a wannabe queen, this human lady would have found a way to reach up to his head and punch him in the face. Once again though—no clue on the robot thought process (luckily for them both).

Harvest season. Haelys's home world had a harvest season as well, but it was literally the season to physically harvest food. There was no celebration or decoration associated with such mundane activities. She couldn't completely understand why it would be such a big deal here unless they were harvesting something particularly special...valuable, perhaps? She would have to investigate further. And it seemed like Zee was here to investigate as well.

"It was indeed like a disease had spread—spider webs, morbid décor." Calling it the plague was a little dramatic, but Haelys appreciated drama. She didn't recognize phrases like 'take a swing' or other idioms she had never been exposed to. Give it time.

"It is a pleasure to encounter someone with manners, Alexandrae." Haelys's eyes just about lit up at the introduction and she strolled closer to the Gryphon like a floofy pumpkin rolling forward to make friends. "I am Haelys Celtaris. The place I come from is filled with propriety—very different from here." And fake politeness. And backstabbing. And murder. And stuffy high society living separately from the devastatingly poor. And usurping, which is exactly how she got here!

Can someone give Haelys a pat on the back for not introducing herself as Queen this time?

"I have not met a Gryphon before, but I am hoping they are all as lovely as you are." Haelys...smiled. Like a real smile. While Zee's kneecaps had been side-swiped, Haelys's ego had been pleasantly tickled. To be fair, her expectations used to be much higher for this sort of interaction. But these days, it was hard to find anyone even decently refined. "Shall we go see what these festivities entail?" While she was looking at Alexandrae as she spoke, her head then turned to Zenith as if silently cueing him to lead the way. Apparently all Haelys had needed to be friendly to someone was a little bit of R. E. S. P. E. C. T.

[word count: 432]

[Gats]

Omorose may have been kind enough to give the poor, confused Tzimekh her personal space, but uh. The rest of the wagon wasn’t. Or at least one of the other strangers on the wagon. Really, if this guy hadn’t come over, someone else would’ve so it probably is safest to stick with it being the rest of the wagon.

Anyway.

A large pair of hands clapped the women on a shoulder a piece. They were rough, sturdy, sort of looked hewn from stone if either of them took a look at them. They’d only have a second before a voice bellowed from between their heads, breath smelling slightly of apples, “AYE! Of course ye ‘ave a choice! You’ve got one last stop t’get off afore we get t’ the haunted part of th’ride but who would wanta leave afore that?” The man who was clearly made of some kind of rock gave a hearty laugh and just sort of. Fell. Backwards. Yeah, probably too much of that warm and fuzzy apple drink. But like, a haunted hayride could be fun, right? Fire eyeballs up ahead of them sure thought so.

---

While no shiny was barred from the harvest festival, there were certain species that weren’t exactly the most welcomed in large social gatherings. Watch-Whers were definitely near or at the top of that list, depending on who you asked. They had a tendency to be a bit protective of their handlers after all and with everyone bustling and bumping into each other, well, accidents could happen. Luckily for Rudolph, though he left his at home, the person behind him in line had brought two.

The crowd began giving the cider stand, especially Cyprena, a wide berth. No one seemed to want to get in line immediately behind or anywhere near a pair of young Watch-Whers. The people in front of them who’d managed to notice ordered their mugs quickly and quietly and ran out of the way the best they could without looking directly at Ren. Hey, it made the line shorter though and in record time too. Rudolph and Ren would be able to see the hastily painted wooden placard now:

    Apple Cider
    Pumpkin Spice
    Mulled Wine

It wasn’t the greatest selection. The harvest festival was intended to be all ages family fun for the most part, after all. But they could both probably find something they’d like once it was their turn, yeah?

---

Haelys and Zenith were off to a bit of a rough start as far as the harvest festivities were concerned. And unfortunately for them, it was only about to get worse. Okay, mostly, it would be unfortunate for our pumpkin princess here but doubtful she’d leave Zenith out of her doom and gloom.

A, well, a presence, which I suppose is the best word, crept into her consciousness. Where Alexandrae’s introduction had been nice and polite, it was certainly Not That. It didn’t say anything, but they way it just sort of settled into the darkest reaches of her awareness was discomforting. After the briefest moment, the feeling bled out to Zenith and Alexandrae, trying to tug them into a direction very opposite of all the fall fun.

A mindvoice deeper into the pile of leaves Haelys had pulled herself from— seriously how deep did it go?! also, why didn't it trip Zee's sensors?? — called out, Oh noes, I wouldn’t be goin’ that way iffens I were yous, miss.

---

Ahhh, apple picking. The soft earth springing beneath your feet with every step, the gentle rustle of a cool breeze through the trees, bringing with it the sweet scent of ripened fruit— Junho wasn’t the only one heading down memory lane in the weyrd’s orchards. It was an old tradition for quite a few of the new members of the village.

It also seemed like it was becoming a new tradition. Quite similar to how he was instructing Jin, there were a lot of families with children, both humanoid and prettyshiny, making memories out away from the hustle and bustle of the weyrd. And not a single one of them minded Zebey’s presence as she made her way down the same row of trees as Juhno. Most offered the drow and her Demonhound companion a smile and a wave, perhaps even a casual word or two.

Junho and Zebey had found peace. And quiet. And apples. Not a single thing was strange or out of place. But how long could that last on a place like Planet?

---

ooc| thanks for the patience and finding each other!since i was out of commission in migraine town all last week, i'll be leaving the event open an extra week to make up for it so everyone has a chance to hop in and get their pumpkin prizes <333

[Tzimekh]

The warm beverage tasted of spice and apple, and Tzimekh was here for it. It didn’t make her head feel weird, she was pretty sure it wasn’t made entirely out of poison, and hey! What could possibly go wrong. The wing-y woman kidnapped another, and the half-dwarf eyed poor Omorose with a wry kind of smile, shoulders tipping up in a ‘what are you gonna do’ kind of way. “Hello,” She returned, polite – then, with more amusement, lifted her mug in a droll kind of toast. “Doesn’t seem like it, does it?” But she was smiling all the same, opening her mouth to continue when the maybe slightly sozzled rock-man started in.

For a moment, Tzi tensed, wide-eyed as she brought up a hand halfway; to push the hand off? To grip his arm in a return of the greeting? Neither, really, since after a beat she relaxed, breathing through her nose in a rough snort. “Haunted, you say?” The half-orc wondered, bringing the lifted hand up to scuff the stubbled back of her head. “...haunted with what?” It was no good, though. Mr. Rock fell backwards, and somehow didn’t break the cart or Fireballs...no, no, that’s no way to shorten that. Just Fire Eyeballs, then...up there.

“Well.” The woman observed, mildly, sipping the warm beverage. Not that she ought to be sipping it quite so much as Mr. Rock, apparently. A nice, sedate pace then. “I’m Tzimekh, by the way.” Tzi didn’t actually sound super confident in that, but look. It was as good as anything else she might call herself. “Haunted...that’s ghosts, right? Y’know,” Finger wiggle. Super descriptive. “Spooky?”

[WPC - Fab Fall Foods - 271 Words]

[Junho Song]

Junho had never been to an orchard so big in his life. There were a whirl of emotions through him because of this, he felt sort of the thrill of options and the weight of options simultaneously. Feeling plagued by his inability to choose apples probably did not bode very well for the rest of his time at Whazzit, the nerves wouldn’t stop him from having a good time. He slipped easily into his much more laid back self, he had a habit of stabilizing himself to be the emotional bolster for others, and the pair picked a few more of the yellow apples, from different trees of course because Junho felt that getting all of the apples from the same tree just wouldn’t make any sense, before moving on to another row.

He hadn’t read the label for the yellow apples, which he regretted and made a mental note to check later, so he had decided to make their way to the end of the row so that he could read up on their next picks. “Okay so these are pine...apples.” He blinked, stared at the sign, then up at the dark green apples that were not the sort of green he was used to but looked like regular apples. That’s a lovely name for a kind of apple. Jin commented, filling up the too many beats of silence that Junho left after reading it.

“No, I mean. Yeah I guess it’s fine. Pineapples are something else where I come from.” He did look at the sign again, these were pine apples, not pineapples (which honestly made them sound infinitely less appealing). Oh sorry, oh no, are things not allowed to have the same names? Should we tell someone? “No.” Junho laughed, throwing Jin an apologetic look because he wanted her to know he wasn’t laughed at her. He knew she knew things could have the same names, but she could always find a reason to be sorry about something. He bumped his head lightly into her neck, walking around to the first tree, finding a good looking apple, then plucking it off of its branch, placing it gently amongst its cousins in the barrel. “You, as always, have done nothing wrong.” That was hyperbole, of course, she’d broken something once knocking into it, but he wasn’t going to remind her of that. And small accidents were hardly doing anything wrong, anyway.

“I’m just going to get one of these to try, but just to try.” Hopefully they wouldn’t blow his mind and he’d regret only getting one later. He thought after the fact that he should go back and take another one and try it, but it was already too late. He’d committed to moving on. You didn’t back track when you were apple picking (a rule that Junho had just made up).

He moved onto the next row, granny smiths, something he’d certainly recognized (not that he had any sort of academic knowledge of apple species) and lead Jin to get into the thick of it when he almost collided with a demonhound, a species that he had only become vaguely acquainted with through chance encounters around the weyrd and Jin’s guidance. He caught a look at Zebey soon after as she made her way around.

“Hi!” He smiled, shifting his arms so that he could awkwardly wave at her. “I think so! I hope so.” He laughed lightly, tilting his barrel for her to get an easy peak at. “I have no clue what these yellow ones are and this dark green one is a...pine apple,” he tried to put a generous space between the two words, for emphasis, “We were just getting on to these. I love granny smiths.” Though he recognized the Drow, classified her as friendly (maybe a stretch for a normal person) as he’d never seemed outright dangerous, he hadn’t ever really struck up a conversation with her. Not a full one.

“I know we’ve run into each other a couple of times, but I don’t think I ever introduced myself. I’m Junho. This is Jin.” He didn’t know if sticking his hand out for a shake was inappropriate, but he did it anyway. “I’m sorry if I should know your name by now. I probably should.” He felt like he was starting to babble, which was not a habit that he slipped into very often. It felt natural to do when he had no idea what the social customs were in the planet.

Jin in the meantime, eyed Abbi, shyly. The demonhound was clearly displaying all forms of happy greeting, but it was just in the unicorn’s nature to always be nervous. If anyone couldnt tell. She wasn't sure if she should offer some sort of greeting of her own, grappled with what she could possibly say, then ended up saying nothing at all.

ooc: SORRY I'M MAKING YOU READ ALL THAT |D; 815 words

[Rudolph]

Rudolph didn't really notice how fast the line was moving. It just seemed like he had just stepped in when he was almost to the front. Hearing someone behind him, he drew his wings in tighter and glanced back. Then glanced back again as he fully registered who was behind him. Cyprena was a hard person to forget. Even harder when he had met her when he was almost dinner for some silly witch in the middle of the woods.

The two beasts at her side got an eyeball, but dealing with his own had at least made him aware that so long as he wasn't a danger, he would be fine. He just had to hope that they had the same definition of what was and was not dangerous.

"Glad to see you haven't found yourself in anymore candy houses. Tell me that isn't a common thing here?" Cause that would be just his luck. Drop into this place at the perfect time of the year for houses and witches and things trying to kill you just because they were hungry. **** him at that point. But maybe he was lucky and that was just a once in a blue moon type of thing. Maybe.

Mulling over the choices, he picked the apple cider. It may not have anything else in it, but that was okay. Apple cider was still good and he was sure he could snatch a cinnamon stick from somewhere...After making sure it was edible to begin with.

[Haelys Celtaris]

Just when Haelys was actually getting along with someone and being nice to them, something had to happen. As the presence washed over her mind, her slightly curled lips sunk down and she seemed to brace herself in place. Her gaze lingered on Alexandrae, then Zenith, as if silently questioning if they felt the same thing.

Slowly, hear head turned towards the leaf pile. She did not move towards it, nor away from it. Instead, she stared with scrutinizing blue-grey eyes. The woman expected the leaves to lift and take form, or at least move around as a vicious talking blob. She didn't actually think there was a creature inside the pile. After all, things were usually weyrder than they appeared, and everywhere she turned there was a new species she hadn't encountered before.

"Are you the one who attacked me?" The accusation flew off her tongue with a slightly bitter tone. She glared at the leaves, looking like a pissed-off pumpkin.

[Thanks to Owl for giving me permission to double post because I TOO EXCITE.]

[Zenith]

I did warn you. Alexandrae didn’t quite gloat- such things were beneath her vaunted dignity- but there was no mistaking the note of smugness in her mind-voice. There would be no living with her after this, Zenith realized with an internal groan, nor would she ever let him live it down. Watch and learn, my dear boy.

I’m not a boy, Zee shot back, And I’m a couple millennia older than you are.

Then this would be an excellent time to start acting your age.

For an instant, the briefest, most bitter instant, Zee seriously considered bringing their mental tiff out into the open. Thankfully for his ego (and Haelys’ sense of propriety) that moment was a fleeting one. Instead he took a slow ‘breath’ through the vents along his sides, releasing it in a huff that steamed in the chilly autumn air. The pumpkin queen was showing a whole new side of herself, one far more tolerable than its predecessor was. Was he really going to let his own bad attitude destroy that precious sliver of progress? No, he was better than that, and he proved it by accepting his well-earned slaps with something vaguely resembling dignity.

And if there was some mental grumbling, well, only long-suffering Alexandrae was around to hear that part.

The pleasure is mine, Lady Haelys. Lex inclined her head again, every inch the gracious hostess. Clearly the queen in white wasn’t the only one enjoying this little byplay. As is the honor. It is a most refreshing change to speak with a being of refinement. As you have doubtless realized, Planet’s inhabitants tend more towards... color, shall we say, than culture.

“I feel like I oughta be insulted,” Zee observed archly, but he was smiling to himself. Trust his feathery friend to play the role of fawning flatterer right to the hilt. “But yeah, we should probably get a move-on. There’s only so many pumpkins to go around, y’know? We don’t want to miss out!”

He managed all of three steps towards the center of activity before an odd prickling at the back of his processor stopped him in his track. Zee paused, brow furrowed, and glanced towards the merrily-chattering pair of socialites.

“You guys felt that too, right? ...I’m not goin’ crazy, am I?”

No crazier than usual, Lex confirmed, a laugh lurking somewhere in her mind-voice. But yes, I felt it as well. Perhaps we should...?

Whatever word Lex was going to tack on got lost in the leafy rustle of Zee padding off towards ADVENTURE! Something out there wanted to say hello. Who was he to stand in their way?

((Fabulous Fall Foods, 'pumpkin', 439 words.))

[Zebey]

To the drow’s pleasant surprise, Junho accepted her surprise presence with a light laugh and a smile. Silver eyes peered at him curiously, glancing down to his barrel to view the apples inside. She didn’t recognize either types- and she even quirked a brow at his naming of the pine apple. That didn’t seem right, but there was a lot of things about this place that didn’t seem right. Her eyes seemed to brighten at the mention of granny smiths, and a slight smile graced her lips. ”Same.” Abbi’s gaze flickered between her bond and Junho, tail wagging. This was going great!

”Zebey,” the elf offered, naming herself. She gestured to the brightly colored canine. ”This is Abbi.” The demonhound woofed softly, tail wagging faster. She didn’t mind that her name hadn’t stuck with him. She recognized him well enough, had remember his name started with a J, but that was about it. She also remembered Jin from the bonding where she met Kamalah. She hesitated with her next question, but the Altar gave her a look, with a mental to push to ask the question she wanted to ask. The elf signed inwardly before speaking.

”Mind if we join you?” the drow asked, caution clear in her voice. If there was any pair in the Weyrd she would trust to not turn on her, it would probably be these two. Old habits die hard, though. She just wanted to pick some apples, maybe some squash to make some soup. Meanwhile, Abbi turned her head back to focus on Jin. Hi, the Altar said cheerfully to the unicorn. She couldn’t speak much, but was trying to convey her friendliness as much as she could.

ooc.
Fabulous Fall Words, Soup, 284 words