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

RIVERWALK: Viola & Wyatt

[tristfully]

Lately, Viola has had her eyes on the sky. She would have never guessed that her patronus would turn out to be a creature so effortlessly free. If you had asked her a month ago, she would have guessed something miserable and small and scared, like a mouse or a mole. Now, as she wanders along the Riverwalk, she looks up at the birds and wonders what lessons she can learn about herself from them.

As if by magic, a murmuration of blackbirds—a flock of her soul—swirls into sight. She pulls her heavy headphones from her ears and lets them dangle around her neck, listening instead for blackbird song. The charming chirping builds as she follows the flock along the path, rising into a crescendo until it coagulates into something different. She has only the foggiest sense that what she is hearing is not the melodious warble of bird song but a loud, insidious buzzing deep in her ears.

She's entranced and only vaguely aware that she is following these blackbirds somewhere. She'd follow them anywhere——a jerk at her collar stops her. Light as she is, she lurches back a step and blinks back into reality inches from the icy Greentooth River. She looks over her shoulder to see Wyatt standing there and she's really not sure if he is supposed to be with her, or not. "I—" She doesn't know what to say, so she doesn't try, just yet. A confused, frustrated expression passes over her features, crinkling her brow and drawing her eyes into flat, suspicious slits.

"Have you ever heard of Franz Mesmer?" Viola asks, after an uncomfortably long beat.

RIVERWALK: Viola & Wyatt

[quodpotted]

Wyatt frowns, wondering if he should have heard of Franz Mesmer, whether it would be embarrassing to admit that he hasn't. "Naw," he finally admits, because he doesn't think he's got enough context to fake it if she wants to have a conversation about it. "Did he tell you to take a walk into the river?" He lets her collar go, but lays his hand on her shoulder instead, because she has a funny look about her that leaves him unconvinced that she won't try again. "Supposed to do the polar plunge thing with other folks, you know. Not by yourself."

RIVERWALK: Viola & Wyatt

[tristfully]

"No," she shakes her head distractedly, "He's dead." Not that dead people haven't told her things before. She walks straight past Wyatt, letting her hand fall from her shoulder, and heads up the bank so that she can search over the treetops for the murmuration of blackbirds that brought her here. The flock—and the buzzing—have mysteriously vanished. "I didn't mean to walk this way," she explains, still searching the sky, "I was following the birds."

Finally, she looks back at him. "The blackbirds. Did you see them?"

RIVERWALK: Viola & Wyatt

[quodpotted]

"Sorry for your loss," Wyatt says, still unsure who they're talking about. Where she goes, he follows, a little worried she'll end up in the river one way or another. "Seen something like it before, though. Say, you got one of those bug rocks? That look like cicadas?" He can't keep track of all this weirdness and who's involved.