The full seasonal event can be read here! Below are the main seasonal items for quick reference:
1. A thread reacting to the season's weather in some ways.
2. A thread in the part of the city your character doesn't live in!
3. A thread relating to your vocation.
Of The Season
Quote
"Tell Dr. Nate that Gale sent you, and he still owes me for the mushrooms. Except that it takes you a while to reach the clinic, and by the time you do your fever is spiking, and so instead of the requisite message you instead tell the poor soul who greets you that 'A gale'a m'shrooms sent me cus'a my hands.'" - Zephyr in Oh help me, please doctor, I'm damaged
it's bad enough to see the sunlight through your seams the thread of you and hem of me it's bad enough in between
In a rare feat of time off, it’s only due to the fact that his father’s added this onto his list of things he has to do in order to repay the fact that he’d gotten trapped in the Drench. Out in public, he tries to keep a normal face, a regular posture, but to any who have seen him or knew him before, they’d know that he was utterly exhausted. Breaks were few and far between with the double shifts pulled, half of them at the station on Bratena’s own sector, while the other kept him on a tighter leash at home.
This is different, only by the way of him having to seek out Eleonora Kusund and her store, if only because he’d been told there’s a dress he’s supposed to pick up. What it’s for, he doesn’t know. Nor does he truly find himself caring. At least at this point he doesn’t have to hide a stiff and painful walk, the bruises on his jaw have faded to a yellow that almost blends in against his suntanned skin (and saints is it nearing to the point of sunburn at this point). All of his freckles are on display when he walks in, wearing a tailored yet airy grey shirt and the rest of his typical Enforcer uniform for his pants and boots. Mainly because when he gets back home, he’s off to another shift wherever his father deemed appropriate.
His gaze scans around the shop before he calls out into the quiet. “Mrs. Eleonora Kusund?” As polite as ever, if not simply exhausted, searching for a somewhat familiar face amongst the nobles of the parties and events he's been to.
The shop is not large, but at least it is pleasantly cooled down compared to the outside. There are shelves along a wall, displaying rolls of fabrics of different types and colours. Not as many as it might usually be. Lockdown making restocking very difficult. A few mannequins with ready dresses stand on display around the store, and mirrors decorate the walls. It is all elegant and clean. Should anyone just as much as think about walking in without wiping their shoes, they might as well turn around and have a walk off the nearest edge of the Plate before Eleonora could find out.
When Sunjata comes in, Nora is busy fussing over a mannequin further back in the store. Making sure the fabric of its dress hangs down exactly as it should. She hears someone come in, but does not bother to give them any attention before she hears her name. She turns around and takes on her usual posture. Back being as straight as it can be and chin lifted. Ignoring the fact that she would have to lift it anyway to look up at the much taller noble.
"Ah, young Mr. Bratena. How may I help you today?" She slowly walks across the shop towards him. In comparison, she has saved her skin from burning in the sun and her long skirt in golden coloured fabric and pale purple blouse stand out against Sunjata's grays. Her hair is pulled back into a tight, elaborate bun and tiny stones on almost invisible threads woven into the hair glimmer in the light as she moves.
it's bad enough to see the sunlight through your seams the thread of you and hem of me it's bad enough in between
He’s forgotten just how meticulous the majority of the stores in the Kusund sector are kept, and Eleonora’s are no different. He glances around it as he calls out, taking in the bright vibrant colors while he stands there looking every bit out of place with his family house colors. Only when he hears Eleonora begin to move and her voice does he straighten up more, steel eyes finding her as she makes her way toward him, dropping the second she’s spotted him and greets him in turn.
There’s a small bow of greeting, his steel trained to the floor (his father’s rules sticking with him only because he isn’t entirely sure his father won’t find out if he didn’t), “I’ve come to pick up an order my father placed.” He begins gently, the Bratena accent dripping from his tongue. Nothing better than an errand boy these days.
A few seconds of silence passes by after Sunjata has stated while he is there. A few silent seconds of Eleonora studying him where he stands with his eyes on the floor before she responds. "Of course, the dress for the lovely fiancee." Then she turns and walks behind a counter to where a row of garment bags are hanging on a clothes rack. "I had it made after the measurements I was provided with. The result is always better when one can measure on the person directly, but I understand that is not possible when it is a surprise."
She looks over towards Sunjata and if one really looks for it, one can see a hint of a polite smile on her lips. It is just enough to bring her expression a fraction away from the otherwise more stern mask.
"It is lovely to see you back home and safe." There is almost a hesitation before the word "safe", as if she has doubts about how safe Sunjata really is up here. Whispers have been drifting around ever since Sunjata had returned. "It must have been awful to be stuck down there for so long. How are you faring?" She speaks while slowly going over the bags of garments one after the other, checking each name tag as if she has all the time in the world. She probably knows exactly which one is the correct one, but it is almost a bit of a ritual. And perhaps a tactic to keep Sunjata around for a while. To see how much information she could fish out of the boy.
it's bad enough to see the sunlight through your seams the thread of you and hem of me it's bad enough in between
He knows well enough by now to know when someone is studying him, even if his eyes aren’t on her – the silence as she approaches, the feel of eyes on him, it’s all a good indicator. So he waits until she turns before she walks behind a counter, finally lifting his gaze after a polite amount of time. “Yes, I do imagine that makes it more of a challenge, though with your abilities I’m sure it will turn out perfect regardless.” He starts, cutting himself off as he spies the little polite smile, something gentler and puts him a fraction at ease.
Though truthfully, it makes him miss his mother all that much more.
“It is good to be home.” He responds, ever polite, having noticed how his absence had changed the Plates in a small fraction. He wonders if she knows his return was marked with being arrested. “I’m better now that I’m home. I was injured in the shuffle and with the lockdown, I was stuck down there.” He offers the little tidbits out, carefully watching her as if she might pick his words apart as his father had, ready to throw them back in his face. "But, I am glad to be home." He repeats, even if internally he doesn't feel that way.
SUNJATA
(This post was last modified: 02-22-2023, 05:05 AM by Sunjata.)
His comment about the dress turning out perfect doesn't change her expression. No wider smile, no indication of thinking anything like "thank you for the compliment." As if he had just stated the obvious and there was no need to comment on it further. She continues to study him out of the corner of her eyes while she goes through the bags of garments until she reaches the correct one.
"It all could have been handled better. My son was there as well, but he managed to make it out in time, thank the Saints." Had her son been one of those forced into the Drench, she might have been in mind to march into Shaju's office and throw him down there herself to get them back up.
She lifts the bag off the hanger and gently lays it down on the counter to remove the name tag from it. "This lockdown does not seem to be the solution to any problem at this point." She peers over towards Sunjata while she opens an archive box and goes through the papers stored there. As slowly as before. Still probably knowing where everything is already.
"Are they doing anything to find the culprits behind the attack on the construction site, or do they expect that this waiting game is going to work?" There is still that hint of a polite smile on her face and at least it does not look like she has any plans to throw his words back at him.
it's bad enough to see the sunlight through your seams the thread of you and hem of me it's bad enough in between
“I agree.” That it could have been handled better. But according to his father, he’d dressed up so well that nobody could tell he was the Bratena heir, a fact he thinks of completely as a lie, imagining it’s more of the distaste the other Enforcers have for him that made it easier for him to get stuck in there. After all, his outfit was worth a decent amount of Lasti, did he really think the Enforcers would see that and think Drencher?
He bites his tongue, jaw working as she explains her son had made it out luckily, and Sunjata nods his head a small amount in agreement. But she continues on about the Lockdown and he should know better than to say anything that may conflict with his father’s ruling (the bruises on his jaw would indicate that’s the wise thing to do), so he remains reserved. “I am not allowed in any of the meetings.” Especially not right now. Not when he’s too soft to get stuck in the Drench with the people who had been the nicest to him since his mother got trapped back home.
“I am unsure if they’re making progress on the construction site suspects, but I too would prefer the Lockdown be lifted.” He pauses to let it settle before he offers a quiet explanation. “My mother’s been in Garanenz, unable to come home because of it.” And if they knew anything about Shaju, it was just how much worse he was without her to temper him.
There is a small pause in her search as she studies him again as he works his jaws and not looking all that relaxed and comfortable in her own opinion. She does not know too many details on what might be going on behind closed doors, but there are always rumors and some of those rumors made her silently question what her good friend Trina ever saw in Shaju. Not that she would ever question it out loud too carelessly. Knowing when to just nod along.
So she nods in understanding when Sunjata explains he is not allowed to any of the meetings and she goes back to searching through the papers without trying to push for anything more. Most people she had spoken to since the last season had all known very little. She is in agreement with Sunjata that the lockdown should be lifted, but for completely different reasons of course.
She pulls out two slips of paper and places them on the counter when he mentions his mother being locked out in another state. She pauses her work again to look up at him and this time, there is actually something genuinely softer in her gray eyes. "I am sorry to hear, dear. That they cannot make arrangement to get some people into the city, at least. It would not magically make the culprits end up on the outside instead." A small huff leaves through her nose and she busies herself with looking for a pen. Perhaps it is because Sunjata is around the age of her own son that made it possible for her to feel sympathy for the current position him and his mother are in. The idea of being in that situation herself is not a pleasant one.
it's bad enough to see the sunlight through your seams the thread of you and hem of me it's bad enough in between
If he knew, he’d honestly wonder what anyone saw in his father other than potential power. But that’s neither here nor there, and he stands there, letting her study him officially as she grabs the dress, as he offers what tidbits he can – not wanting to seem too disapproving of his father’s choices. He’s still being watched, after all, by his father and everyone else.
And of course the rumors that follow him, of letting the Drenchers take advantage of him, of being too naïve to realize what’s happening when that’s not nearly the case, but being too terrible at words and explanations that he can’t get them out without someone finding something to nitpick.
He leans over a little to look at the two slips of paper, ignoring them for the moment as his steel gaze meets her own softer greys. He wonders if it does make him soft to admit that he misses his mother, but with the softness of Eleonora’s gaze, he’s more inclined to take the chance. “I miss her.” He offers quietly. “But there are to be no exceptions made.” He reiterates the point his father has said time and time again, and with the slight lilt of his accent it sounds like a much younger version of Shaju with the way he says it.
Eleonora might be a woman that very rarely show off much emotions herself, but she is not one to find weakness in others doing it. Depending on when and how, of course. Angry outbursts during discussions would meet her disapproval, but for someone to just express them missing their parent during a difficult time is nothing she judges harshly. "It is understandable." She says in response to him admitting to missing his mother. Her voice sounds genuine, even if she does not drop any more of her more stern mask.
She watches him for a second longer, as if trying to figure out if the words are indeed his or just his father, but she personally knows too little about Sunjata to be able to tell for sure how much like the father the son really is. Instead, she goes back to business for a moment and picks up a pen to sign a line on both of the papers. She then pushes them across the counter towards Sunjata, together with the pen. "I need you to sign these." The papers are identical to each other. Just a sort of receipt of the item having been picked up and by who. And some instructions about that adjustments will be made free of extra charge if returned within a certain amount of days.
"If you had any say in the matter, what would you suggest as solutions to all this?" She peers at him again with a tiny hint of curiosity. "Obviously the waiting game does not seem to force anyone to come forward." Her own suggestions might be harsher than what she suspects Sunjata would suggest and she keeps them to herself for now to see what he might be willing to share.
