Theatre of Lights

[Kyle Ferlen]

The idea that Kyle would go somewhere to see a visual display would normally be ridiculous - but Kyle can't find any reason beyond that not to go. So the whole 'light show' thing will be lost on me. Sasha is too sweet to let down by not showing up. Kyle grins fondly, remembering the night he met her at The Dive. Maybe he's a sucker for blondes, or, more likely, has a soft spot for those who seem to have been wounded. Yes, all of the Lost have had their share of trauma - being able to relate on the subject gives Kyle something to latch on to. But Sasha seems... different. She's timid. A little awkward. And funny, in her own way. Nothing like Kyle might expect from someone who looks like she does. Well, Kyle is pretty sure he knows what she looks like. He's not completely blind; he can actually read if things are close enough.

Kyle looks a lot different than he did since his last paid gig. Gone are the tangled dreadlocks vines that once framed his head. He had them cut short, and since then almost always wears a hat. Tonight, he wears a tan hat and a long-sleeved grey shirt with black sleeves. And skinny jeans. He knows more than a few of his guy friends would give him shit about that. And yet... I can pull it off.

Trying to find Sasha at a place like this won't be easy - though she does stand out a bit. Not every girl you meet has a glow like that. He walks quickly through the patches of other sight-seers with his hands in his pockets, scanning the crowd. After a good ten minutes of walking around and doubling back, he spots the telltale glow of a cellphone - and the fluorescence of a familiar blonde. He half-runs the remaining distance, stopping maybe three feet from the girl. Close enough to make out her features better. Yup. That's her. He smiles warmly.

"Hey, you." he says, softly enough to be devoid of bravado. Even rock-stars get butterflies around the right girl.

[Nathan Griffin]

Lights.

There had been lights in the Christmas tree. I want to be a hero. Like my father. Will you take me with you, next time you go looking for mom? Please, please, dad, will you? Now there were Christmas trees all around. They almost seemed to be taunting him. There had been lights the first time he had kissed her, kissed anyone. A naive teenage boy had whispered I love you that night. Retrospectively, he wished he could turn the clock back and beat the ever loving crap out of him, make sure he didn't mess up the way he had. There had been lights in the night sky during his retreat in Arizona. No one else ever saw them. Aliens? A skeptical nineteen years old had said to a UFO enthusiast.

Every time he had followed them. And as much as he did regret, he couldn't say he regretted any of those times. Even his Durance. Even after all the torture, or the humiliation, or the messed up crap he had been forced to endure, it wasn't any less than he deserved, any less than it took for him to wake up and notice what he had done. He hoped these particular lights would bring about some kind of revelation, get him back on the right track. It was a fool's hope, but there was still something of the romantic left in him. An iron fist had crushed the rest, but he would put it back together.

So he enjoyed the display, lost in his own thoughts. He caught a look of two other 'lings some distance away. Was that Sasha? She probably wouldn't welcome his company. He didn't think he would welcome hers either. He wasn't in the mood to withstand other people's judgment at the moment. So he greeted them from afar and quickly turned his attention from them to a nearby store's window. That's gorgeous. He loved the details. It was all oddly familiar. Believe. That I used to do. He closed his eyes. All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity... He supposed the show had a way of putting people in a contemplative mood. Just as well. He was in dire need of remembrance.

[Malcolm Green]

Green was having a hard time battling the late night crowds that braved the inclement weather for the Christmas rush. For the Elemental they were a rising tide, crashing into him, swirling around him, undermining his footing, as he lumbered along with the majestic grace of an iceberg. The closeness of the crowd; their suggested intimacy; the sheer number gnawed at the Elemental who much preferred quiet empty streets or comraderie of Working Men who knew enough to give him the space he needed to do his job. The crowds did not have that knowledge and he was sick of justifying himself to those who didn't get out of his way, or the annoying stare of children who had never seen a giantin real life before. And then there was the affronted parents!

To make matters worse, Hobs were about! Well... no? Maybe? Hard to tell... He would swear that he had seen a little party of them cowering (or hiding) in one of the tiny alleyways between the shop fronts. Up to no good, obviously. He had paused with the madding crowd washing around him like turgid waters but when he had taken a closer look, all he had found was rubbish and refuse spilling from a buckled waste disposal unit. That leering Hob head turned out to be little more than a squished cabbage.

Embarrassed, the big Elemental had lumbered back out onto the main street, where he had found his way blocked by a small gathering of mundanes, making their appreciation known as yet another store front diorama was revealed for the first time. If he had felt like Harvesting, their was a rich soup of Glamour forming about the crowd - a garish cloud of bubbling colours.

Said a boy to his mother: "Elves, mommy!"

Said the elderly woman, wrapped against the weather. "Oh now that is nice!" Her face shined with rare pleasure as the frowns that had destroyed it seemed to loosen, even if only for a few moments.

"Awww..." a young couple cooed in unison, linked together so comfortably they could have been siamese twins.

The scent of... Joy buzzed about his ears and made his nose itch!

Casting about, he spied his own kind. He surged toward them as though he were waist deep in people snow; a drowning man in search of a lifeline.

[Forn Clakes]

Scene Reopened. Thank you for your patience

[Dark Passenger]

As soon as Lucy got L'aire's text she started moving. Her grey warm sweater was good enough for the world to see, so she texted the Fairest Dancer to let her know she's on her way.

That is, on her way to the kitchen. Earlier this week Lucy had already gotten the ingredients to make mulled wine, now all she has to do is warm it up. There is a sweet side to the Fireheart that not many know about - yet. She made enough to fill two large thermos flasks, as that's all she can carry around. Besides the disposable cups, of course.

Somewhere between thirty minutes and an hour later, she finally arrives. She prepared one cup of mulled wine for herself, before she started walking around. This is not just a way to save money, no, she is hoping to make some other people happy tonight.

A hot and alcoholic distraction from all this madness. Holy shit. Some displays are definitely picturesque, but others, rather an overabundance of lightbulbs draining the city's electricity. As if something's wrong with actual fire. Well, yes there is. Lucy just needs to adjust for a minute, to feel comfortable in the crowd.

Another text goes to L'aire. <<Hi! Can you send your location or something? Or tell me near which Santa you are?>> Lucy is already a bit late, she doesn't want to waste any more time searching for her Winter friend.

[Kyle Ferlen]

Kyle laughs along with her. "I'm just here for pleasant company. Besides... the lights from where I'm standing are still interesting. Like some abstract painting that kinda circles around." he says, turning and gesturing with his hand. "I'm used to it now, anyways. No room in my life to be bitter about something like that." He spots some sort of giant as he turns. Whoa. Biiiig fella. He wouldn't want to be on that guy's bad side.

Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Kyle turns back to Sasha. "Lucy... Lucy." he rubs at his scruffy beard and looks off nowhere in particular. He shrugs. "Can't say that I have. Friend of yours?" A dumb question. No, she's a monster who is coming to eat her. I'm off today... As the Onyx types something into her phone, Kyle asks a somewhat better question. "Is she coming to meet you here?" Kyle's hands find their way back into his pockets, feeling a little more awkward than he's used to.

[Malcolm Green]

Green slowed to his normal pace as he approached the group, flicking his glance but once to the alley from which he had come. An exasperated sigh cut loose from his lips and he shrugged - an action given weight because the movement was so at odds with his usual placidity.

"Hey Sasha..." His eyes flickered in recognition. He let his words linger in the sharp, cold, air around him as his eyes fell on the Fairest whom he did not know. "They call me Green," he offered.