FEED THE BIRDS FESTIVAL!

[peckishmods]

feed the birds festival!!

what's up?

Tired of cold and snow? Well, there’s still more of that to come ⁠— it is the dead of winter, after all ⁠— but there’s a reason to get out and enjoy it today: winter berries are sprouting! Rosehips and cotoneaster are out alongside crabapple and mountain ash fruits. Bright splashes of color against the wintry white and gray bring birds into town for a midwinter snack. It’s time, then, for Elflock Falls’s annual Feed the Birds festival.

The town has been decorated with garlands fashioned from bird-friendly goodies, rustic decorations welcoming feathered friends. For the next few days, the streets will be1 filled with the songs of birds that flutter overhead. Today it's a birdwatcher's paradise!

Hit the Riverwalk to take in the colors or rent some skates and glide across the magical ice rink. At the city square there are craft stands, warm food, and places to pick up seed and other treats to feed birds. Pay a visit to the Owl Post and say hello to one of the town's diligent workers (feathered or not), the human ones are happy to regale visitors with the history of Elflock Falls's owls. As you wander, keep an eye peeled: found feathers are a gift of good luck and protection. Also, there's a very real chance you might get pooped on.

visuals!

volunteer slots!

For whatever reason Laszlo is attacked by a large goose while on the Riverwalk, and must be rescued by Armani!

Felicity and Imogen crash into each other while ice skating, bonking faces hard enough to give each other nosebleeds. Is this romance?

Viola is on the Riverwalk path when they noticed a murmuration of small black birds swirls overhead. Viola can't stop watching the dance as they stroll. The longer they watch, the more their ears start to buzz. They hardly notice they've wandered off the path. Viola almost walks right into the icy Greentooth River, but Wyatt nabs them by the coat collar and yanks them back. When asked about the cloud of black birds Wyatt has no clue what Viola was talking about. Strange.

how this works!

⬥ Welcome to Elflock Falls's Feed the Birds festival! While the bird-feed decorations will remain up for the next couple of weeks, the festivities themselves last only today. This festival happens every year around this time, but doesn't start until the rose bushes fruit and the birds start popping up to feed.

⬥ It's tradition to give the owls in the Peckenpaugh owlery a treat today. If you've got your own owl, remember to give them a nice snack!

⬥ This is a low key scene prompt festival, but if you've got any ideas for RNG games you'd like to run (skating contests, etc.) we encourage you to do so!

locations!

⬦ WHAT'S UP?: It's not snowing today, but there's still a solid layer of fluffy powder on the ground. Remember to dress for the weather and don't forget those warming charms! How do you look all bundled up? What did you feed the birds and did they appreciate it? Did one of them try to attack you while you were just trying to get to the ice rink? If tossing seeds on the Riverwalk doesn’t appeal, you can visit the Owl Post and get a tour. Don’t forget to pop by the school owlery to show your appreciation to the school birds, too!

⬦ CITY HALL SQUARE: FOOD & FUN: Ears of corn, ornaments made from seed and peanut butter and squares of suet have been hung from the trees around the City Hall square. From sunup to sundown, the wide open court echoes with the chatter of happy, hungry birds. The usual food stands brought out for such festivals have been dressed up to look like bird feeders, but it’s not all for our feathered friends! Fair-goers can get hot chocolate, spiced cider or rosehip and winterberry teas. This time around the cinnamon rolls are to die for, and don't forget to pick up a bag of bird seed or other treat for the local wildlife. As with every festival, between food stands are tucked artisan craft stalls that today sell handmade bird houses, bird feeders, warm winter wear and various bird-themed handicrafts and decorations for your dorms. There’s also a tent made cozy with warming charms where kids (and teenagers) can get some magical face painting done for free.

⬦ ICE SKATING: For many, this is the real draw. On the Riverwalk, there’s a rental booth for those without skates where for half a dragot, Ex-Mayor T-Bone will lend you a pair ⁠— she’s a cat, though, so it’s kind of an honor system. A rink has been set up down by the waterfront, surrounded by wooden benches and lit by lights charmed to look like little red berries. There’s plenty of space to get wild on your blades if you know how and the ice glows softly under the skates, leaving trails of pale light behind skaters as they drift by, alone or in groups.

⬦ AROUND TOWN: FEEDING THE BIRDS: There are tons of spots in town to toss seeds, or you can head back to Peckenpaugh's owlery to give your feathered friends a treat. Everything is decorated in bird-friendly garlands and ornaments made from apples and pine cones dressed up with seeds and berries. The owl post is more open to visitors than usual today, head in to receive a tour of the operation.

⬦ ELSEWHERE & EVENING: While many students stick around to skate into the evening, the cold sends most people home not long after sundown. It's a chilly one tonight. How did you spend it?

⬦ OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Comments

RIVERFRONT: Chanel & Eddy & Frankie the Birdie

[necrodanseuse]

It's Frankenstein's special day, which he's celebrating by being very cold in Chanel's front pocket and intermittently fluttering to her shoulder for treats. She should probably have brought him home hours ago, she thinks idly. But he's comfortable. And she can't risk any time away from the festival while there's a DATE-date still going on. She has a sibling and a friend to spy on.

And another to skate with. Luckily. For their sake. She stands with Eddy now near the good Ex-Mayor's skating booth, and produces a dragot, for both their skate rentals. "This," she lays it down with some gravity, "Means you can't let us die out there, deal?" Actually, she's smiling. This is mostly a joke. She wouldn't risk her and her bird's lives on half a dragot, she knows her worth a little more than that.

RIVERFRONT: Chanel & Eddy & Frankie the Birdie

[quidditched]

Fortunately Eddy's had enough sense not to bring a mouse to a hungry bird festival, but that just means he'll have to pick up a care package for Mickey before they leave. Not that Mickey has anything to worry about from Frankie. At least, Eddy's pretty sure on that one. But he wouldn't put it past Chanel to have raised a bloodthirsty budgie.

Bloodthirsty budgie or not, the Ex-Mayor is here and Eddy gives her a suspicious glance, before tapping the dragot with a similar gravity. It's a little less bloody than the usual oaths they talk about and it's hard to keep a straight face with Chanel smiling, but Eddy fights the twitch of his lips as he continues. "Gladly sacrifice myself to cushion your fall. Promise," he says, and gestures a gloved finger through the air to cross his heart. This is serious business. Then he reaches to give Frankie a soft scritch of the head. Carefully. Just in case.

RIVERFRONT: Chanel & Eddy & Frankie the Birdie

[necrodanseuse]

Frankie absolutely has a taste for blood. It happens to be in the form of live mealworms, as Chanel's fastidious about his diet. Luckily, he knows the difference between a worm and a friend, at least today, and the pecks he leans up Eddy's fingers are love taps only. Almost certainly.

"You'll have the loveliest funeral." She promises, stepping delicately into used skates. They're not really dirty or anything, but she's not sure how many people's feet have been in these. Best not to think about it. "All right. We don't have to be great at this. I just want to keep them in my sights."

She peeks over his shoulder to see if she can see Armani and Laszlo. Just casually.

RIVERFRONT: Chanel & Eddy & Frankie the Birdie

[quidditched]

It's better treatment than Eddy gets from his own familiar, and he rubs the side of his finger against Frankie's cheek before grabbing his own pair of communal skates.

"Wouldn't trust anyone else to oversee it," he quietly agrees as he takes the seat next to her and begins working the laces of the skates. As a good Southern boy whose athletic pursuits all occur astride a broom, this is sure to be a disaster. But he's game for this if Chanel is.

He follows Chanel's gaze, lingering a moment when he spots the two. So much for casual. When he turns his attention back to her, there's an impish glint in his eyes. "Don't think they'll need a chaperone, do you?" Truth be told, he'd be curious too if Wyatt ever went on a serious date, but he can still take enjoyment in some light teasing.

RIVERFRONT: Chanel & Eddy & Frankie the Birdie

[necrodanseuse]

Chanel elbows him in the arm, on her no-Frankie side. A little hard, which he doesn't actually deserve. But he's just called her out. Which is annoying. Mostly because he's right.

"Of course they don't. And hardly looking at all." She protests, but it's a few more moments before she stops peeping and goes to tie her laces. "It's just...strange, you know? Their first real date. I want it to go well." Of course, she has absolutely no control over that, but just try to tell her that.

RIVERFRONT: Chanel & Eddy & Frankie the Birdie

[quidditched]

But he kind of does deserve it. Because that jab in the side is exactly why he mentioned it. Well, maybe not the jab specifically, but he could have pretended he had no idea why they were keeping tabs on Armani and Laszlo. If he'd wanted to be a kinder, more supportive friend.

Instead he winces and clutches at his side dramatically, offering her a look of Shock and Confusion which doesn't last long before morphing into a twitchy look of amusement. "I'll let you know if I catch either one of them touching a tree," he promises and bumps her shoulder back companionably.

When he gives the question serious consideration, he lifts a shoulder and drops it. "Not that strange? Thought the last one was real. They've always.. made sense?" he says, eloquent as ever in explaining his thoughts, as he tightens the laces of his skates. He studies her face a moment, looking for any anxious signs she normally keeps hidden. "Nothing to worry about," he insists quietly, and then stands, offering her his hand. "Sure Laszlo knows what'll happen if he breaks his heart."

RIVERFRONT: Chanel & Eddy & Frankie the Birdie

[necrodanseuse]

Of course they've always made sense. And she's always known they did. But now, when the dynamic has switched so officially. Well.It's harder than she thought it'd be to find footing. Because it's not just a date, it's a change. It means that instead of her being able to spend time with the two of them, she'd be a third wheel officially and forever. It's the most selfish thing in the world, and it's childish. So she swallows the thought, to that strange and repugnant void where all unwanted emotions go. She finishes the last knot on her laces, so tight it's liable to break,and flashes up a grim smile.

"Oh. Darling. He has absolutely no idea."

She's satisfied in at least that. No one has seen the extent of her true wrath. And they probably won't. But it's a good card to hold. She takes his hand in the meantime, giving it a grateful squeeze. "And anyway, if we all die on the ice today, there's nothing to worry about."

She stands and tries to push off on to the ice, almost certainly pulling Eddy to his peril. This is what happens when you stick around her.

RIVERFRONT: Chanel & Eddy & Frankie the Birdie

[quidditched]

There's little chance to process it all before Eddy's blades are cutting deep into the ice as he stumbles forward on his toes. A wall would be good to grab onto, but for now he relies on Chanel's ballet training to help preserve their balance, not letting her hand go as he teeters and gets his footing on the ice.

"Just come back a ghost," Eddy points out, "Too stubborn not to."

More talented skaters zip by - Malstrom sorts, by the look of it. He curses under his breath at them, wobbles making it clear he's in no position to be starting shit with them today. Besides, they're on an important mission.

(Yes, peril is almost certainly guaranteed. But that's nothing new with Chanel, and Eddy's exactly where he wants to be.)