Bringing in Spring with a worthy revel

[onewiththerevel]

[With the changing of seasons, many Nexus visitors are very happy to see the snow melt away and life returning to their beloved home. Spring is here!

It appears overnight: a large pantheon in the center of the Nexus forum, and once can only guess how such a great building was erected without anyone noticing. Atop the Patheon are two golden thrones, adorned with gemstones of great value. No one seems to be sitting there, but they seem to hold a great deal of importance to the cloaked humans who guard the Pantheon entrance.

The land in front of the Pantheon is paved with smooth, old stones in the shape of a large circle. Lush flowers and grass grown along the outskirts of the cropping, full of beautiful and exotic plants. Truly the host of this revel wants even nature to bend before their whim.

On the left and right sides of the sides of the circle are two long marble tables, where different food and drink await those who enter. Freshly cooked meat. Ripe fruits and unsullied wine. Whatever your heart desires, be it simple or sweet, you will be hard pressed to not find it on one of the tables. Near the tables is also a large group of tents, adorned with many plush chairs and sofas for those who like to relax while indulging.

The center of the circle has a large bonfire pit, carved of fine stone, lit with a brilliant (almost unearthly) red fire. Comforting to those seeking warmth or invigorating to the souls of the weary: it carries an important symbol for the revel: let your soul burn as hot as the flames inside. Which, to the satyr, it means that everyone present should be partying and indulging with one another. There seems to be plenty of space for dancing and socializing alike, whatever your preference may be.

The entrance into this festivity is monitored by a group of half-human, half-goat satyr. They don’t seem to be picky about who gets let in, assuming you’re not here to ruin the fun, but it would be wise to check it with them first. This is a masquerade-style party, so all of the guests need masks.

But there can’t be anything possible wrong with such a wonderful party, right? Perhaps things are not all as they seem….]

((Here's your OOC guide guide to this event. Post when you can as you like, no worries. Have fun!))

((The second half of the event is live link here Please read the OOC thread so you know the details!))

Comments

[smartass_captain]

Jim gives a friendly enough nod to the satyr and bends down to scoop Tiber up and set him in Felix's hood. It's his favorite place to peer out and Felix (usually) plays along pretty well. Plus it's adorable on so many levels. A party to celebrate some strange new species' god sounds exactly like the sort of thing that would catch Felix's attention.

"I get it, yeah." He gives Felix's shoulder an affectionate squeeze before looking over the satyr again. "What sort of god? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with your peoples' culture."

[onewiththerevel]

"Wonderful! Then come, come! You should join us for the celebration!" The satyr doesn't seem to care about the conversation going on between the two men or their connection with each other. He leads them both to the mask table, gesturing for them to make a choice.

Another satyr seems eager to offer them alcohol as well, walking over to the group with two glasses full of wine. What eager creatures these satyr are.

[conjuredskies]

Felix turns his head turn at the tugging on his hood, only to get a fuzzy headbutt to his cheek and a purring in his ear. Oh, Tiber. He's relieved that Jim doesn't actually seem to be suspicious, but as for whether the captain ought to be here...

He picks up one of the masks and turns it in his hands. He can't actually think of a way to convince Jim not to enter with him, certainly not without making things worse. And the mask doesn't feel enchanted, at least...

"I don't think we're getting out of this one," he observes quietly. By the time he looks up at Jim a glass of wine is being pressed into his hand, to no surprise of his. He knows how this goes, and doesn't want Jim to run afoul of any supernatural elements here. "Better pick your mask before I do, Jim."

[smartass_captain]

Ignoring his questions, asking him to cover his face, and pressing a glass of wine he may or may not be allergic to in his hands? Jim isn't suspicious of these folk, but he's well on his way to being a little bit sulky. It's a subtle shift in his emotions, but Felix doesn't need Tiber's tail flicking back and forth to know Jim's less than thrilled about this turn in events. He hands his own glass over to Felix as nonchalantly as he can while he glances over the offerings of masks for them at the table.

"You should choose for me, I think. I can't see myself in it, after all." He does turn to the satyr again though and quirk an eyebrow. "What sort of celebration are we talking about here?"

[onewiththerevel]

"A celebration of the seasons, along with receiving the blessing of the revel Gods." The satyr is very cheerful, almost in a bad way, since he's practically forcing the party onto Jim and Felix.

"Come. Come. We only have a few hours before evening, when the celebration truly kicks off. You must see the festival ground before then!"

[conjuredskies]

Felix has to set the wine aside so he can pass Jim a mask that only makes his frown look fiercer. The conjurer doesn't appear concerned about the odd undertone to the satyr's insistence; he just picks out another mask for himself that suits well enough. No need to overthink it or try to get cheeky. Once his face is obscured he brushes his hair free and smirks, picking the wine glasses back up.

"It's been a while since I played with real masks. Well, then, let's get started. Lead on, friend." He'll follow the satyr quite happily, though he turns a masked look toward Jim as he does. "The only way we'll understand is to see for ourselves."

[smartass_captain]

There's a moment where Jim's turning the mask over in his fingers and brushing the tips over the mask taking in the detail of it. He gives a soft brief smile before pulling it on, though only Felix will be able to tell he's doing the eyebrow thing at Felix once he has it on.

"Does it suit me?" Redundant since Felix chose it. Tiber squirms a little bit in Felix's hood and settles a bit more than he had been before. Jim seems to be set on checking this out with felix and thus Tiber is along for the ride.

"Whatever's cooking inside sure smells good though."

[onewiththerevel]

"Then let us go to the food stands first! If the allure of a good meal is unavoidable."

The satyr seems pleased at getting to show two more people another the festival grounds, but hearing Jim's comment causes him to guide the group to the newest banquet table. To the surprise of no one, the table is decked out in all sorts of meats, vegetable dishes and sweets, some have a Greek theme to them.

"Can I interest you in some freshly baked bread? It's unlike anything you've ever tasted before."

[conjuredskies]

Felix cocks his head at Jim. Does he really have to ask? "Would I let you keep it otherwise?"

Just to emphasize his haughty point, he takes Jim's arm in his and follows their guide to survey the platters- and the diners - on offer. Much of it is unfamiliar, though it puts him in mind of foreign dishes he's seen or heard of in the Imperial City.

"I've had bread before, you know," he remarks with amusement. "Delicious it may be, but I don't see what could be so special about it..." As he says this, he's already snatched up a piece to nibble. Better he and his alchemy-honed tongue try to detect anything unsavory (pun intended) about this bread before Jim eats it.

[smartass_captain]

It's like something out of a fantasy themed historical reenactment with Ancient Greece as the theme. Jim's a history buff but this is straying way further to the fictional side of history than he knows anything about. He's practically walking through Greek mythology with all the satyrs prancing around. Homage to the god Dionysus, check. Bigass murals and carvings on the walls, double check. A whole lot of Greek food? Triple check and damn it smells good.

"Is it pita? I've had that before."

Jim struggles to think of what other kinds of Greek breads he knows but man, he's way out of his depth here. This isn't the sort of culture and history of Ancient Earth he'd spent his time studying over the years. Not really. He'll settle on finding he and Felix a couple of empty plates so they can get something to eat to do with all this liquor being pressed upon them.

[onewiththerevel]

"It is Pita bread. You have a good knowledge of these things, good sir." The satyr steps aside so Jim and Felix can take part in the feast, but is around if any of them have addition questions. Nothing seems off about the food or drink either, so it's safe to assume this food is good and not tainted by some Nexus lol.

[conjuredskies]

"It's not bad," Felix allows, once he's had another taste to be sure. It's not the only thing he'll be careful to sample before Jim does, but it seems he won't have to knock any plates out of his betrothed's hands. He nudges Jim lightly. "Just make sure you don't get so full you won't be able to share a dance. You owe me a few, you know."

As if he wasn't the one avoiding Jim back at Halloween. And as if Felix isn't the one more likely to gorge himself on a free banquet. But while he fills his own plate, he's going to beckon the satyr's attention. There's so much he wants to know. "I haven't met your people before, friend. Will you tell me of yourselves?"

[smartass_captain]

"As if you have to worry about me being the one to eat too much at a party to dance." Do you have any idea how many of these banquets and formal dinner parties he's had to attend over the years as a Federation diplomat? How many more of them he gets called too ever more frequently between Nero, Khan, and now Yorktown?

He's quickly becoming one of the galaxy's VIPs and it means quite a bit of free dinner. Jim's learned how to pace himself.

"Try the pita with this. It's hummus. You like garlic and earthy flavors. You'll love it." Jim holds out his plate for Felix to try the rather admittedly unappetizing pastey dip Jim has dolloped onto his plate next to the pita. He's not above doing it himself and feeding Felix but they're in public and even Jim's heartstruck schmoop has a line. He'll do it if Felix ignores him, but that's about it.

Once Felix indulges him one way or the other Jim also turns his attention toward the satyr. Leave it to Felix to get to the heart (or is it horns?) of the matter. A new species to learn about--the captain's all ears while he nibbles at the food on his plate.

[onewiththerevel]

The satyr might be listening to the conversation between Felix and Jim, but it's going to interject with any questions. He can tell that these two men are good friends. When Felix presents him with a question, the satyr bows his head lightly.

"Of course. We are satyr from the land of Theros. Many people have told me our culture represents Greek mythology." He gestures to the ongoing festival. "We are ones who live for the festival, the revelry."