daybreakacademy | MIDSUMMER'S MINGLE

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MIDSUMMER'S MINGLE

MIDSUMMER CELEBRATIONS

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As both finals and the first Herald approach, darkness and uncertainty loom on the horizon. The celebrations held on the evening of the 21st serves as a way of cleansing fears and uncertainty - a time for reconciliation, peace, and reflection, purifying the old to make way for the new.

The midsummer celebrations take place in Soleil’s town square and the surrounding woods. Students can join the large bonfires set up by the staff, or have more private bonfires of their own if they so choose. Specially treated fuel and firestarters have been employed for the evening, to prevent accidental (or deliberate) arson; the bonfires that come from this equipment and fuel will never catch alight anything not deliberately thrown into the flames.

A. TOWN SQUARE
While the town square is usually bustling with all manner of people, today it has been cleared in order to build a number of large bonfires. Robed attendants stand quietly by each one with selections of herbs and flowers, as well as paper and wooden charms that can be folded or marked; these can be thrown into the flames in order to burn away symbolic representations of bad luck.

Attendees can freely take these offerings and feed them to the flames, or bring their own offerings - whatever they see fit - to burn.

A small selection of food is also on offer - small cakes and simple buns in both sweet and savory flavours. These, too, can be fed to the fire if you so choose, though they were made to be eaten.

B. THE WOODS
For the solstice, the woods around Soleil have come alive with light and sound. The various unused structures that litter Soleil’s woods are seeing some cleaning, too; you may come across robed attendants, older students and various staff attending to old graves and abandoned ruins, or building bonfires of their own. Many of them hold lamps on poles and sing songs - simple, traditional hymns about the rising of the sun.

If festival attendees desire peace and quiet, or privacy to build their own fires and reflect, the woods are well-suited for that purpose. Those who choose to take fuel and go into the woods will be cautioned that as darkness falls, supernatural visitors may come out to share your fire. Though they are entirely harmless and silent, seeking only to make their own offerings and lost in their own thoughts, their sudden (and strange) appearance may be alarming.

C. REMNANTS OF FIRE

After the bonfires have burned to embers, attendees will be offered the chance to jump or run over the glowing coals, as is traditional practice, for good luck. Whether as a test of nerves or a possible chance for a little extra luck - whatever your beliefs, it probably can’t hurt.

Unless you spend too long dancing around on the coals, of course, but that’s up to you.

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.... I'm going into combat.

[ James is so used to getting strange mixed signals from Keith, that he can't quite read why Keith is avoiding eye contact this time.

So instead of questioning something so uncertain that he doesn't know how to ask about, he simply volunteers his own plans. ]

So we won't see each other during.

[He looks up immediately.]

You're not sticking to the control room for this one?

No. My Rune Armor only needs finishing touches anymore and I've been practicing with it. Besides, we need Flames on the frontlines, which is why I'll leave control to those who aren't Candles.

[ It's a scary decision, but one he knew from the beginning he'd make. This is what he was raised for after all. ]

...oh.

[He lowers his gaze. What else is there to say about this? There's a knot forming in his stomach, thinking about it. The guy who can't beat him in unarmed combat is heading off to the frontlines of a war and....

He knows it's belittling to be worried. There'll be faculty, other students and medics on staff to make sure everything goes as well as it can against the Herald that wasn't supposed to causing problems until two years later. But the knot doesn't get any less tense with those thoughts.

He swallows. Actually, there is one thing he can think of to say.]

Be careful, ok?

[ It's strange to hear Keith say this. A testament to how far they've come, but a scary one. One that acknowledges the realities of a war that was more theoretical this far and is now becoming scarily real.

For a moment, James looks over at Keith in silence. Then he nods a little. ]

I definitely will be. You too, alright?

[Keith bites his lip, then offers a small nod in response. His throat's gone tight again and he doesn't quite trust himself to speak. He takes a deep breath, but there's tension in his shoulders again from how tightly he's unthinkingly grabbed onto the bench.]

Yeah. I know how to take care of myself.

I know you do.

[ Even if Keith sometimes trains for hoursa and forgets to eat, he's lives this far without anyone's help, suppressing his werewolf instincts. James still deeply respects the self control. ]

You should help me train in my armor some of these days... It can withstand your sword, so we could both practice.

[The thought of sparring together is a pleasant one, despite the grim circumstances. Keith can't quite bring himself to relax, but treating this with gravitas only makes the desire to reach out to touch James worse.

With nonchalance he definitely doesn't feel, Keith rolls his shoulders.]

Don't flatter yourself. My sword can cut through anything.

If it can, then I have a lot of adjustments to make. All the more reason to try it.

[ Because he is, in fact, planning to survive. But he shouldn't say that out loud. It's not like it'll do either of them any good to constantly remind one another of the danger. ]

We haven't sparred in forever.

Okay.

[Keith gets to his feet.]

Let's go. Right now.

Right... now?

[ That was unexpected though it shouldn't be. James glances down at Cosmo dozing at his feet. ]

You should probably bring him to our room for sleeping first. I gotta go get my armor. Meet you at the Mythril Cage in 15?

[Keith glances down at his sleeping friend, then smiles.]

Alright.

[He kneels down to scoop up the tired puppy in his arms.]

I'll see you there.

[ James makes his way to the citadel and get his lite armor from its storage. (It's a little thicker and clunkier than in the images and it's littered with runes, but the basic design is the same.)

There are still a lot of things he knows he has to complete, but maybe testing against a person instead of by himself is going to give him more inspiration.

He waits for Keith with his helmet off. ]

[Likewise after depositing sleepy friends into their beds and tucking them in goodnight, Keith heads off to go meet up with James. If James is serious about testing his rune armor, then it means Keith himself has to be serious as well, which is why he shows up in protectiv gear. It's light enough that it doesn't hinder his movements, but it's not reinforced the way armor would be. It certainly hasn't been modified with the use of runes.

When he gets to the arena, it's probably a minute or two late, and he runs up towards James.[

Hey. Hope you weren't waiting long.

[

Not really.

[ James gives a little smile, looking Keith's gear up and down. They really are both warriors now, dressed to fight and kill. It's still a weird feeling to adjust to when so shortly ago they were just high school kids.

He puts his helmet on, though his face is still visible through the visor. With a finger-swipe against a rune on his chestplate, the armor comes to live, lighting up ever so slightly as a barrier forms around the mere material. ]

How sturdy is your gear? I want to get serious here but not to actually hurt you.

[As James' rune armor activates and glows, Keith raises an eyebrow.]

Well it can't do what yours is doing.

[And the part of him that hasn't outgrown being pointlessly competitive doesn't like saying those words out loud, doesn't like thinking of any part of James as being cool. He sighs.]

It'll keep me from getting bruised up or cut. It won't take a bullet. [A beat.] What modifications did you make?

Well, it's still a prototype, so my weaponry isn't completed yet. Right now I can shoot energy blasts, a little like a laser-canon. I'll set that to a low density slash intensity for our fight.

[ Since highly concentrated, it does come close to being a bullet. ]

The shielding also works to make kicks and punches harder, so... martial arts play into it. The rest of the functions is still an 'on paper' kind of deal.

[His brow furrows as he takes all of that in, then nods.]

Are you gonna roast alive if I use fire?

[Again, the question is asked somewhat nonchalantly, though he doesn't feel it at all. As flashy as the fire is, ever since the spirit train incident, he's been hesitant about letting his blade burn when faced with a living opponent.]

I shouldn't, no. The armor is designed to be temperature resistant.

[ And well, if he roasts, he can always tell Keith. It'd just be really unfortunate because then he'd have way more work ahead than he thought he would. ]

Shouldn't.

[There's a hesitant expression on Keith's face as he repeats the word. It's not reassuring in the slightest, but that's the whole point of sparring, isn't it? To find out the limitations of your abilities now before the battle begins and ignorance is paid for in blood. Keith closes his eyes for a moment, then raises his hands.There's a soft glow as he activates his Flame that fades as he draws out his sword.]

Here I go.

[Deciding the best way to go about this is to go on the attack immediately, Keith quickly comes in close. In thoery anyway, rune armor should be easier to weaken by damaging the runes themselves and his first few slashes with the sword are aimed at just that. The shielding system, of course, helps mitigate the damage and Keith's forced to focus his mind on the blade's edge to get the barrier to crack.

But James adjust quickly as well, throwing a well aimed punch after parrying the sword. Laser fire follows immediately to keep him out of range, and Keith scowls, managing to dodge some of the energy bursts, though the dodging itself is energy consuming without cover.

Shouldn't.

The word comes back to mind as the blade edge ignites. Swinging the sword, Keith directs flames towards James, making small advances and steps back when there's return fire. James has gotten better at fighting -- a lot better since that last time they'd sparred at the gym and getting James on his back was relatively easy. In some ways, that's frustrating -- Keith's never liked losing much, and doesn't like how rune armor can do to even the playing field.

He doesn't know how long this back and forth goes on, but his breathing comes harder and his ribs ache from where he'd carelessly gotten himself punched hard. But eventually, he grabs his dagger, throwing it hard at one of the runes, partly to distract, partly out of growing impatience. As James dodges, Keith lunges, sword burning in his hands as he raised overhead to deal a vicious blow to the shoulder.

Through the visor, Keith sees the look of surprise on James' face as clear as day.

Shouldn't.

He falters.]

[ Keith is good, but James knew that from the start. This isn't only about testing his armor, it is also about proving how much better he's become. That he deserves to call Keith his rival.

The fight is tense, exciting and ultimately exhausting. Practicing against a real person is different than beating up dummies and James is pleased to see he can hold his ground, until---

Time seems to go a little bit slower when Keith charges in for his killing attack. James raises his hands, firing his lasers in what should be a last ditch effort of despair and--- and he hits.

Keith is blown across the room and the impact James was bracing for never comes. He's left frozen in place, not processing how this happened. ]

[The glow as the lasers charge, the blast, the impact -- all of it passes by in mere seconds though it feels like much longer in his mind's eye. At point blank range, the energy blast catches him across the jaw, like a punch to the throat and Keith's thrown bodily across the room and lands on his side, gasping for air.

Letting go of the sword, he coughs and attempts to get back onto his feet, but his body is stinging all over and he doesn't quite make it much further than managing to sit up awkwardly using his hand for additional balance.]

...shit.

[ Hearing Keith's voice snaps James out of his confused gaze and within moments he's kneeling next to Keith, removing his helmet. ]

Are you okay?? I thought... I thought you had me.

[ And he doesn't really understand why not. ]

[Keith deosn't speak, still trying to catch his breath. Gingerly he touches his jaw, as if touching it is going to tell him if that's going to leave a mark.]

I did. [Fuck sogarcoating that.] Ow.

[ This wasn't a victory James has earned with skill and he knows it - though naturally he also knows their skills were very evenly matched and it'd have been a close call either way, thank you. ]

And you didn't hit me anyway. Why?

[ Spoken softly and puzzled more than anything else, as he keeps his eyes on Keith and checking him for further injuries. ]

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