the beach episode (dated before the east mission)

[fallingsand]

There's a small slice of sandy beach between mountains and wasteland, where the South meets Central, only an inlet of ocean between them, and that is where Bruno has decided to set up camp.

Literally.

He only had a simple tent and supplies for two initially. Tatara had asked if he could join him on his little trip out and how could he say no? Unfortunately for him, Tatara may have decided to invite everyone else, too, so, welcome, everyone, to the beach episode and a chance to relax after a potentially rough week in the City of Rain.

The sand is warm and fine, the water isn't too chilly, and scrubby little palm trees and plant life dot the dunes. Sea birds are the most active wildlife out here, not counting whatever fish can be found dwelling in the depths of the inlet between South and Central or further out into the ocean. It's comfortable enough... unless you hate sand, that is! You don't hate sand, right?

Since Tatara's arrival, more than Bruno's humble setup can be found.

- There's food fit for a picnic and enough bottles of wine for the evening.

- In the evening, a (non-deadly) bonfire will be built and there'll be pillows to sit on for those who don't want to sit directly on the sand.

- A few colorful rough wool blankets laid out under umbrellas meant to provide shade.

- There's still only one sad-looking tent... However! Bruno's gone ahead and enchanted it so that, when one pushes the cloth flap aside and enters, they'll find a much more comfortable setup inside.

And, of course, anything the other wizards have decided to bring! Bruno wasn't expecting a party but now that it's here, he sure can't tell them not to have fun however they want.

Comments

[dyingtohealyou]

[Oh- a little surprised at the nudge, but smiling nonetheless.]

Mm... maybe. Not sure if it's the right idea, but it's probably worth checking out.

[fallingsand]

Yeah? What, not gonna share the idea? C'mon. I'm curious.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Okay, well, he can't say no to all that.]

Someplace high up, during the sunset.

I'm pretty good at climbing trees and rooftops, and the view's great. It's pretty much perfect for relaxing.

[Just don't ask why he's good at climbing rooftops in particular.]

[fallingsand]

Oh, for sure. I didn't climb a whole lot of trees growing up but roofs? It's the best way to just get away from... everything, right? Since not a lot of folks are gonna follow you up there.

[ Nah, he won't ask, but he does light up when Ahito mentions being good at climbing. Now there's something he's... done recently, actually, although it was specifically to ask the Wanderer something. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

Most people from my town don't expect people to be up there, either. And sometimes you can catch some good gossip.

[Ahito...]

[fallingsand]

You do? Huh... I've never had that happen while up high, buuut... well, actually, you definitely wouldn't be surprised at how much you hear when you're living in the walls.

[ Man, he does not need to know that much about his family. Major drawback. ]

[dyingtohealyou]

Oh yeah? Anything interesting?

[fallingsand]

Not really? It's always about guys... when my sisters were around your age? Guys. My nieces? Guys. Well. Okay, only two of them, but still.

[dyingtohealyou]

Oh.

[...Huh.]

I, uh. Guess that makes sense.

[fallingsand]

Yeah, right? Like, what stuff did you hear? 'cause I don't have much interesting to add besides that, really.

[dyingtohealyou]

Mostly family gossip, or people talking haggling over prices. But occasionally I'd hear something juicy.

[fallingsand]

Something juicy? [ lmao well, he can imagine what that means. ] Maybe I don't want to know after all, in that case.

[dyingtohealyou]

...Nothing scandalous, if that's what you're thinking. Usually.

I meant more rumors about ghosts and stuff. That's how it was back home, anyway.

[fallingsand]

[ ...oh. ]

Ghosts? That's not juicy, that's just scary!

[dyingtohealyou]

Only if there really is a ghost which did happen once I guess.

[fallingsand]

[ Bruno Try Not To Freak Out About A Ghost Challenge: he does give Ahito a startled look but he does follow that with a nervous sort of laugh. ]

R-right. Once. But that turned out fine since you're... fine... so...

[dyingtohealyou]

Yeah, I wasn't even there for it. I found out after the fact.

Plus, that rumor was about a demon. But it turns out it was just a ghost after all, and a weak one at that. So... all's well that ends well?

[fallingsand]

Let me guess, demons are real in your world, too? Just like ghosts?

[ whyyy ]

[dyingtohealyou]

...They are, but to be fair, the one I met - on a different occasion, I might add - was formerly human. Just becoming a demon didn't change her original feelings towards other people, either.

[fallingsand]

[ Excuse??? ]

Ahito, why are you meeting demons?! They're... like. They're s'posed to be bad?

[dyingtohealyou]

Relax, I only met her after someone else did first, and based on what they said, I could be pretty sure she was harmless. Like I said, she was originally human, and her nature didn't change after she became a demon.

She was a girl who lost everything, who wanted to be able to grant the wishes of others and became a demon to do so. Not only that, but she refused to take souls as payment for anything, even if it was costing her instead.

[fallingsand]

[ Oh... ]

Wh... wow. Now I feel sorta bad for her. She just helps people and pays the price herself?

[dyingtohealyou]

Well, that's what she tried to do for a while. But it turns out granting people's wishes without asking for anything in return just caused them even more problems, so she settled on handing out pastries her family used to make for free instead.

...Even if that still costs her to conjure up, too. But she's the demon of a crossroads, so it's not like she can just leave that spot, either.

[Yeah, demon girl is nice and it's an active detriment to her, actually.]