A Sea of Strangers [FESTIVAL | OPEN]

Sat Jan 15, 2022 7:41 pm

Saya had always been a loner, though it had not quite been her choice. The girl from Kumogakure (had) lived with her mother until the older woman had disappeared, presumably (and hopefully) from a mission (because Kami forbid if her mother had turned traitor). Either way, she had matured faster than normal children (both in terms of civilians and shinobi) and that began to distance her from her peers. Especially when her lack of friendliness and hyperfocusing on training continued to work against her. In other words, she had absolutely zero to little social skills in her adolescent years.

However, Saya would gladly say that, presently, she could interact well with anyone. That was all thanks to her retiring from being in the shinobi forces and, albeit reluctantly, integrating herself in civilian society. It was high time to put those acquired skills to use!

Adjusting her mask more firmly around her head, Saya moved to a widened area where a small play was just beginning. It was mostly children sitting as close as possible to the small, wooden stage, but there were more than enough teenagers and adults lining the outside circle. On the side sat a stage hand, beating a drum to indicate the start of the show. Boom! Boom! Boom!

There was a shimmer in the air, and Saya with a few others could feel a light genjutsu take place. While there were props on the stage, it was illuminated with golden orbs of light. Not quite fireflies but it was gorgeous nonetheless. Saya shifted a bit closer as the story began.

”I had wished you well.
Erstwhile my heart shattered.
Take my love away.”

Ah, it was a love story? The woman almost snorted in derision. It was a typical choice for a play, but considering how much attention it attracted Saya could not blame the ones presenting it. So far, the plot revolved around a human girl, who became a subject of interest for a long-lived kitsune. The usual conflict of time separating the two was surprisingly addressed within the first scene. A brow was raised. Now, it was becoming interesting.

”Huh? This was not the way I was expecting it to go,” Saya lightly commented to the people around her. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough to be heard by those close to her. ”Is this not going to be an almost tragic love story where they’ll end up together in the end?” They could choose to reply to her or not. It could also be interpreted as her simply talking to herself.

WORD COUNT: 430

Kimono Outfit:

Tengu Mask:

Sun Jan 16, 2022 9:42 am

Mikaela had just left the hospital after work, what seemed, all day. He was tired but not, almost like mentally drained from cutting open a body to find out why the patient died. The emerald-eyed Senju sighed as he looked towards the sky. The late-night sun had decided to hide behind the peak of the mountain, making the overcast skies bathe the world in a soft blueish-grey with the mixture of oranges and yellows. Although Mikaela quite enjoyed times like these, he did enjoy the rain more. Without an umbrella, however, he was content with only the muting of Tanbogakure's usually vibrant colors. Since it was getting later, all the nightlights had come on. Even though it was colder, the nightlife made it seem warmer.

A nice, peaceful day, perfect for leisure activities. Activities that Mikaela typically didn't partake in, well, he never really had the chance. Still, it was a nice day, and Mikaela decided to try out the village's festivities for once and maybe meet some people instead of going straight home after his mission. There was a wonderful eatery in the village, after all. Once upon a time, it was a very small sushi stand but with the village starting to bloom, it has blossomed into something more. However, what really caught his attention was the drum cadence that rang out in the area

Mikaela's gaze turned towards the noise and saw a love story play out between a kitsune male and a human girl. Mikaela was lost in the story and the wonderous lights that come with it. He was a sucker for these types of things as his upbringing did not let him do stuff like this. That's when he heard a female voice next to him talk about the story, "Don't tragedies usually end in the death of one of the main characters, if not both. I feel like the story would've made much more of an impact if the kitsune died. Don't you think," Mikaela said in response to the female, giving a smile from underneath his mask. "So, how are you enjoying these evening festivities?" Mikaela question trying to make conversation. So far for him, the evening was going well as he was intrigued by the show, the lights, the food, and the drinks had to offer. He really wanted to try everything and see everything.

Mikaela's Mask:

Mikaela's Kimono:

[TWC: 394]

Mon Jan 17, 2022 4:53 pm

Siting on a far off balcony Seiichi let the night go on without him. He chose to take the opportunity to study his fellow Tanbogukure-ens, watching the nights festivities from above gave him the most peculiar perspective. He'd been sitting here for most of the day, documenting the villagers movements, most of the shops either opened early or closed early, it all depended on what kind of merchandise they were selling. Seiichi wants to see what individuals chose what animals to dress up as, it might have been able to give him an insight into their souls, but the unique outfits were as good a disguise as any, he couldn't tell anyone apart. Instead he began to draw an example of one of the outfits onto the archive scroll.

"Now, why aren't you out there with your friends?" Seiichi's father asked. He was leaning against the balcony door with a thin wisp of pipe smoke floating around his head.
Seiichi gave a start at his speaking that caused his pencil to go astray on the paper. "hmm..." He stifled a girlish cry. "I forgot you were there... what friends?"
"You know Akimi, and all of them."
"Akimi isn't a friend. He... never mind. What's it to you what I'm doing?" Seiichi said frustrated.
"This is our home Seiichi, you should try and be more, you know, outgoing." A smile cracked upon his fathers face.

Seiichi's gaze took in the night. The rain had started to pour down just moments before and the party didn't seem hindered in the slightest. These people sure did enjoy their festivals, and he had to admit, it looked like a lot of fun.

"No. I think I am fine here." He said, then continued to draw.

His father took a long pull from his pipe and blew a small cloud out into the sky. "I am afraid I wasn't asking. My friend threw us together a couple of outfits and... It would be good for us to get out no and again." He said. "Come on. I'll let you have the dragon mask." He pulled the door open and walked back into the house.

Seiichi knew he had better move now. Once his father had his mind set on something it was impossible to get him off it. He couldn't help but be a little frustrated at the thought, but in the back of his mind he knew it would be good for him. Seiichi collected his supplies and the half drank, third cup, of tea from the balcony and went up to his room. He set the drawing down as to not disturb the understandable and then walked into his closet. Pulling out a red and black kimono he quickly changed and met his dad at the front door.

"Here you go." His dad handed him the dragon mask.
"I'll take yours." Seiichi snatched the lion bask from his dad. It seemed less childish to him.

His dad only shrugged, turned to lock the door and both of them vanished off into the street. They headed towards the noise.

WC:515

Fri Jan 21, 2022 7:36 pm

Hikari Hyuuga
Post WC: 694
Total WC: 694

AP:

590/610

Hikari's Kimono:

Hikari's Mask:

Kuro’s Mask:

The thunderous roar of people filled the snowy haired woman's ears as she walked through the crowds of people enjoying the festival. Her stomach rumbled as many delicious scents wafted in her direction and a nearby stall piqued her interest. It was a kabob stand selling meat and veggie filled sticks. She ordered two kabobs and two waters, putting the waters into her storage dimension for the time being due to not having a backpack or purse to carry them in. The vendor was a bit shocked to see the bottles of water disappear into thin air, but quickly moved on to help her next customers as a line was beginning to form behind the Hyuuga and wolf duo. After thanking the woman for the food they went on their merry way, eager to see what events the festival had to offer today.

That’s when they heard the beating of a drum, the booms echoing throughout the vicinity. “Let’s go check it out!” Hikari shouted above the beats of the drum before dashing off into the direction of the sound, her wolven companion easily keeping up with the pace beside her. When they got to the destination there was already a large group of people gathered around the stage, blocking her from seeing what was happening due to her short form being unable to see above the taller people. Being short had its perks, but when crowds were involved it was almost always a con to be small. Luckily she spotted a bench not too far from where the stage seemed to be and made her way to it, giving Kuro one of the kabobs to hold in his mouth while she did the same with her own in order to free up her hands. Then she climbed up onto the bench, the view of a beautiful woman and a fox man reaching her now. Luminous orbs swirled around the actors on the stage, mesmerizing the Hyuuga. Kuro looked uninterested in what was going on around them as he laid beside the bench and began to eat at the food on the kabob, his tail wagging as he nommed on a delicious piece of meat.

Not too long after the play started did Hikari remember she had a kabob to eat, her cheeks heating up in embarrassment at having left it hanging from her mouth. She quietly started to eat it while watching the actors, hoping no one had seen what she had just done. Within moments her worries were erased as she was once again enraptured by the love story on stage; she was a romantic at heart and a sucker for anything gushy and sweet. Although by the end of the first scene it was becoming apparent that the story might not have a happy ending, much to her dismay.

As she was pulling the water bottles from her storage dimension as well as a bowl she overheard a conversation from two people near her, that he had completely failed to see before due to her excitement for the play. Once she filled up the bowl with water for Kuro and placed it down on the ground she looked to the people in front of her as a familiar voice was now talking. Mikaela? What a coincidence! I just saw him at the hospital not too long ago. What are the odds haha.

“Why would you want this to be a tragedy? Don’t love stories make you feel all happy and warm?” Her voice asked after the red haired man had mentioned the kitsune dying being a better impact for the story. Her lilac tinted eyes glanced between her friend and the beautiful purple haired woman he had been talking to, hoping neither of them minded her interruption. While Hikari was awaiting a response from the people in front of her, Kuro’s eyes were more interested in two people in the far distance with some unique masks on. He hadn’t seen masks that looked like theirs yet at the festival. If there were dragon and lion masks, perhaps a wolf mask that looked just like him existed somewhere.

(AP: 610 -20 Storage Displacement = 590)

Fri Jan 21, 2022 10:26 pm

The streets of Tanbogakure were extremely busy to say the least on this night. With rain droplets floating down from the blackened, overcast skies, it was rather shocking to see no one paying any mind to this. Everyone seemed as lively as they could be. It also would seem that everyone was dressed for some kind of special occasion of sorts? A festival perhaps? There was plenty of decorations strewn about after all, and it would explain why everyone was so festive. The only thing missing was fireworks...wait a second...

It just hit Hiko, it was Saturnalia! He had forgotten, but that tended to happen when one began to wonder the roads for days on end. Going rogue, as they say. Luckily for him, part of these festivities was people were wearing masks, which would help hide the missing nin's identity. While access was granted into the village, there was still the necessity of laying low. His face was an extremely recognizable one, so covering it worked out in his favor.

The mask in which he wore was a deep, jade tone, made to resemble the face of an oni with two rather large upwards facing tusks. On the right side, going vertically out from the lips, was a small crack which had begun to form; not enough to see through it fully, but enough for the blemish in the clay visage to be noticeable. Countering this, there was two horns protruding from the forehead, the left one being completely broken off. To compliment this mask, the auburn haired Tau sported an equally dark green, velvet cloak. Stitches ran down the center of this, all the way from where it hit the floor to the hood, which was currently up atop the teen's head. Peaking out from underneath was a beige shirt with the sleeves shorn off. Altogether, it was a very weird mix of refinery yet ruggedness.

Nonetheless, Hiko Shimada began prowling around the town, wandering rather aimlessly at this point. He was wondering what sorts of little chaos who could drop in with at this current time. Being too encapsulated in thought, he didn't even notice the story telling happening nearby.

WC: 363

Sun Jul 31, 2022 11:11 pm

Hikari Hyuuga
Post WC: 186
Total WC: 880

AP:

410/410

Seconds turned into minutes as the play continued, the performers acting out their characters marvelously and bringing out the emotions from the crowd. Some people were cheering, others were weeping quietly into a handkerchief.

For the haphazard group of people in the back that seemed almost disgruntled at the idea of it being a love story, they were neither engrossed in the play nor replying to her inquiry about how joyful a love story could be. Since it seemed as if the conversation was going nowhere, she felt it best to be on her merry way, traversing the rest of the festival and partaking in the many fanfares it had to offer.

“I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your evening, and perhaps we will meet again under better circumstances. Until then.” She would say softly in a hushed tone so as to not interrupt those nearby who were watching the play, giving a polite bow before she jumped down from her perch. The snowy haired woman walked alongside her large wolven companion, the sounds of the play slowly becoming more and more distant.

(Exit)
(WC: 186)
(TWC: 880)
(Claims: Will make claims later)

Mon Aug 01, 2022 9:25 pm

Exit Approved

Thu May 25, 2023 3:22 am

The play ended as predicted. Applause and cheers filled the area as the actors bowed from the stage. Saya nodded to those who had commented earlier and bid them a good night before moving along.

-exit thread-