TELLING OF THE BEES FESTIVAL

[peckishmods]

the telling of the bees

what's up?

Sunny skies make an otherwise brisk late autumn day positively pleasant. The air is crisp and sweet, the smell of honey and baked goods mixing with the cold. Winter is coming, but it’s not quite here yet. Before it starts, it’s time for one last harvest hurrah as Elflock Falls celebrates its special relationship with the bees in its life. For the next three days the Telling of the Bees Festival is going on in town and Elflock Falls is decked out for the occasion. Lampposts are transfigured into bright shining beehives, large magimechanical bees bumble overhead cheerily, honeycomb patterns decorate storefronts and streets and the Riverwalk is dotted with all manner of stands, some simple, others magically enhanced, peddling snacks, handicrafts and other goods related to the autumn harvest. It’s a great time to pick up some handmade winter wear!

The Telling of the Bees Festival runs from Saturday to Monday, but the first day is by far the liveliest as it features both the meadery contest and the actual Telling of the Bees ritual. Peckenpaugh students can get discounts from food stands all weekend.

visuals!

volunteer slots!

Mr. Berzelius needs some help getting the Peckenpaugh hives ready for the celebration. Can't let the school's own bees feel left out of the celebration! He recruits 💯 [CHARACTER A] and 💯 [CHARACTER B] to do some decorating. They're tasked with decorating each hive with scarlet cloth and setting out a dessert of apple dumplings for the bees to enjoy. A good effort (a thread with 3 replies each) will earn each student 5 Points for their Houses while a damn fine job (6 replies each) will earn each student 10 Points. Good luck with those bees, guys! You have until the end of the month.

Valkyrie is just trying to be helpful when they noticed a knocked over trash can near the carousel, but they're surprised when an inordinately chubby raccoon pops out of it. The raccoon seems just as surprised to see Val, and gets tangled up on their feet trying to escape before it scampers off with just a mint tin and a paper plate, sticky with honey.

A few students make a game of trying to sneak samples during the mead contest:

• [CHARACTER D] and [CHARACTER E] can't get past the age line and wind up growing magnificent beards.
• 💯 Wyatt manages to get a sample, but their selection leaves them breathing actual fire for the next hour. It's not hard for Ms. Min to connect the dots when she spots them. They lose 5 Points for their House, but Ms. Min sends them off with a tums, too.

[CHARACTER G] spots Mr. Crockett arguing with Liquor Store Zed heatedly about ... fanfiction?

It's the last carousel ride of the night, and Lionel climbs aboard at the same time as all three Quackenbushes. The ride starts out fairly ordinary, but, predictably enough, goes downhill quick, and it starts spinning faster and faster and faster. It takes eight full minutes and four brave townsfolk to get the carousel to stop before it spins off into the stratosphere.

how this works!

⬥ The Telling of the Bees Festival is Elflock Falls’s late autumn harvest festival, the main draws of which are the traditional Telling of the Bees, various arts, handicrafts and tasty snacks being sold, and the annual meadery contest (but that’s for adults).

⬥ The Telling of the Bees Festival starts on Saturday morning and goes until Monday night. This IC/OOC focuses predominantly on Saturday, but feel free to thread multiple days by indicating which one in the subject line of your comment!

⬥ Saturday's Festival features include the actual Telling of the Bees around midday, as well as a Best Magical Mead of Elflock Falls contest. There are further county fair-styled food and craft contests throughout the weekend.

⬥ The Telling of the Bees is a tradition found throughout Europe and the United States wherein important life events are shared with the bees, who need to be included in such events or, it is said, they will despair and die or leave their hives. In Elflock Falls this tradition has taken on its own unique spin. The locals like to share how their years went, their secrets and their gossip all at once, once a year, with the magical bees of Elflock Falls.

⬥ Fill out the form under the Tell The Bees section and post it to that subheader to let us know what you told the bees. Bees are good secret keepers. :)

locations!

🍯 WHAT'S UP?: Did you get an apple dumpling with ice cream or without? Does the carousel look like a bit too much thrill for you? What’d you decide to wear when you told the bees your secrets, and did you pick up any new accessories from the local handicraft stands on the main street? Tell us all about your day!

🍯 TELL THE BEES: Around midday, the Telling of the Bees begins. Participants head off the Riverwalk path to a clearing where decorated wooden hives have been set up. It’s tradition, to tell the bees about your year, or your secrets, or any good gossip you happened to hear. They may be all abuzz, but you don’t need to worry about them spilling your secrets.

🍯 ANONBEEMOUS MESSAGING: You don't have to limit your secrets to just the bees! Want to send a nice note to a friend? Wish someone well this coming winter? Spill your secret affections to a crush? What better way to do it than by magimechanical bee?! For the magical equivalent of $1US, you can send a simple note to someone via those great big artificed bees floating around the festival area. They'll happily deliver your note to whomever you wish.

🍯 SHOPS & STALLS: The main street of Elflock Falls downtown is packed with stands and stalls. Everything is intricately decorated and welcoming, some of them are so fantastically designed that they resemble actual cottages and all of them are hoping to get your business. Stop by support local artists and craftspeople and grab any variety of sweet autumn treats. The main draw is all the bee-based products, honey-based potions in cute beehive bottles, and beeswax candles in designs running from simple to "spooky", cosmetics and soaps. There's plenty of stalls full of art, artifice and other handicrafts, too. Simple magical knick-knacks, handmade clothes and accessories, and even expensive artisan brooms and wands are being peddled. Food-wise, honey, apples, pumpkin and the local paw paw fruit feature heavily in most offered dishes, from sweet ice creams and preserves to savory and spicy dishes like pumpkin curry. There are spots to grab traditional greasy fair food, as well, if you're not up for experimenting, and plenty of places to pop a squat and people watch. There are a few different people busking: a one man magical band, a person in a bee costume on stilts, two girls juggling to violin music played by a third.

🍯 CAROUSEL, GAMES & SHOWCASE: The end of Elflock Falls's main downtown drag is a small midway with simple games like bobbing for apples and balloon popping. There're also stands showing off winning crops and crafts, including the biggest pumpkin, best honey (won this year by Mr. Berzelius and Peckenpaugh's bees) and of course best locally brewed mead. The main draw, though, is the large magical carousel that runs all day and well into the evening. This truly impressive black-and-yellow beehive-shaped merry-go-round is a triple decker ride featuring free floating single-rider worker bees, fuzzy multi-rider bumble bees and slightly more private honeycomb-shaped seating for two. The middle level moves opposite the bottom and top, and it all lights up at night, making it as entertaining to watch as it is to ride.

🍯 RIVERWALK & HAYRIDE: Down along the riverwalk where autumn colors still burn bright and beautiful, a horse-pulled trailer filled with hay trundles along the path. Wool blankets and glass jars of handheld, non-burning flames are available to help fight the cold. Early in the evening the hayride is very popular with local kids. As the night wears on and the air gets chillier, the trailer empties out and it's not a bad place to snuggle up with someone sweet.

🍯 ELSEWHERE & EVENING: This spot is for any scenes that don't take place at the festival. Did your student skip to hang out under the pitch bleachers? Want to do a late evening scene with your dormmates turning in for the night? Here's your spot!

🍯 OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Comments

CAROUSEL: Trash Tag Transgressions

[princeofcat]

The pulsing lights and music flood directly into Tybalt's veins, too. His eyes are bright, illuminated as he holds on to a pole to steady himself and swings himself around on it, lamp-lighter in Mary Poppins style, trying to find his quarry. This is fun. A good hunt. The world feels like their playground, and right now the entire world looks like bees and is circling around and around.

He does make eye contact, and his face lights up further, echoing Uriah's laughter as he makes a mad dash at the stairs. "Think you're so smart...shi...crap!" He amends his language for the children on the ride as he half-leaps, half-stumbles up the stairs in pursuit, arm reaching out to try to grab him, but probably in vain.

CAROUSEL: Trash Tag Transgressions

[negligently]

Uriah feels Tybalt's hand just miss his ankle. He's barely got a head start, but hopefully it's enough to escape again. The image of Tybalt swinging on the pole like some kind of musical chimney sweep is stuck in his head. "Ooh, close!" he yells back, before slipping into the crowd.

Well, "slip" would be generous, as he tumbles into a young family and their baffled children riding a chubby bumble bee. "Shit!" Uriah does not remember to not swear." Shoot! Sorry, ma'am, I'm just. Uh. 'Scuse me!"

It makes his path further into the carousel easy to track, even as he tries to hide behind a worker bee.

CAROUSEL: Trash Tag Transgressions

[princeofcat]

The near collision and Uriah's rushed politesse has Tybalt nearly falling over himself with laughter as he as he hits the next floor. He winks at the same family, to add to their inevitable confusion, and then weaves rather gracefully in and out of people. It's his one skill. As Uriah disappears yet again, though, he tries a different tactic and crouches low behind a very tall man, on the other side of the worker bee. He begins to inch very, very slowly around it, around ankles unseen, so that he can beat Uriah at his own game, pounce him this way.

CAROUSEL: Trash Tag Transgressions

[negligently]

From Tybalt's perspective, Uriah peeks from behind the bee, oblivious. He moves cautiously, creeping and weaving through the rising and falling carousel bees. His back is to Uriah as he peeks behind one of the honeycomb booths. He can't see any sign of Tybalt, but his heart's still slamming against his chest. The adrenaline in his blood has his hands trembling. He can't catch his breath.

He ignores all of it.

Tybalt, Tybalt, where the fuck is Tybalt.

CAROUSEL: Trash Tag Transgressions

[princeofcat]

Tybalt is still behind him, crouching low and using people's backs to hide against and then pop out, gopher-like. He does see Uriah, and smirks in victory. Staying as low as possible, he peeks out from behind a gangly Malstrom kid's elbow, only a few people shy of his target. But it isn't fun to completely give up. "Gotcha." He says, a warning to get him to going again.

CAROUSEL: Trash Tag Transgressions

[negligently]

"FUCK," Uriah exclaims, far too close to a handful of grade schoolers. Tybalt absolutely could have caught him, but he's playing with his prey now. What an asshole, Uriah thinks affectionately. It doesn't mean Uriah's about to give up, of course. He dashes through the honeycomb two-seater (disturbing a couple Malstrom kids who were making out) and ascends to the top floor of the carousel.

"Come and get me, Zettler!" he yells at whoever's behind him. Tybalt, yes, as well as a number of innocent passers by who are definitely going to complain about them to the attendants.

CAROUSEL: Trash Tag Transgressions

[princeofcat]

Tybalt dissolves into laughter again, which gives Uriah an unintended head start. He takes just a moment to assess the couple before climbing between them, ("You're cute," is his speedy verdict.) He springs up the stairs, not paying attention to anyone else, locked in. They're likely about to be told on by that poor young woman he inadvertantly knocked over without noticing or apologizing too before it was all too late. But, worth it. He doesn't need to go on the carousel again this weekend, really.

"If you'd slow down!" He faux-begs, playful on the stairs, reaching out his hand to catch an ankle maybe for real this time.

CAROUSEL: Trash Tag Transgressions

[negligently]

He does.

Uriah stumbles as his ankle is caught, and even though he manages to get back on his feet, it's enough to slow him down. He's lost his lead, and soon they've crashed into one another at the top of the stairs. Uriah's laughing, his heart's beating so fast, as he grips Tybalt's shoulders. His head starts spinning, and he has just a split second to realize what's happening before several of the lightbulbs around them pop and shatter. Uriah's knees give out underneath him.

CAROUSEL: Trash Tag Transgressions

[princeofcat]

Mouth open to crow over his win, Tybalt doesn’t realize anything has gone wrong until he hears the tinkling of glass. Then there’s a limp body in his arms. It’s his turn to yell, “Shit!” seemingly oblivious to any children. Whether because of adrenaline of his own or because he’s been hitting the gym a little more often lately, Tybalt’s able to catch Uriah’s whole weight and guide them both to the floor. He isn’t sure what to do next. He isn’t a doctor. He’s scared. He hates being scared. He pushes through and moves a hand to support Uriah’s head, dimly aware he’s supposed to check for consciousness now. “Hey! Hey, you ok?”