(catch-all) the storm & the st. paddy's day festival

[officialnotice]

CATCH-ALL: 16TH & 17TH

march 16

THE THUNDER ROLLS

The day starts off atmospherically heavy. The clouds are low, and the temperature is unusually warm, settling in the mid to high 50s (teens in Celsius). Townies are wandering around town in lightweight jackets and hoodies making small talk about the unusual weather, but for the most part they're pleased with the warmth, even if the clouds off in the distance look rather ominous. As the day goes on, the clouds creep closer and the residents seem more inclined to get a roof over their heads and stay there. The midmorning news predicts heavy rainfall by the late afternoon, but the savvier townsfolk say it’s going to be worse than that.

They’re not wrong. The sun drops low, and the winds start to pick up, howling through the trees, bringing with them nickel-size chunks of hail and torrential rains. The darker the night gets, the worse the storm hits Wayward Pines; by the time the sun has set, the sky is obscured with opaque, swirling clouds, the winds snapping trees in half, rattling the power lines, causing electricity to flicker and sometimes go out. The hail pings against the cars not safely parked inside garages, leaving the more exposed with significant damage to paint and windows, and anyone brave (or stupid) enough to step outside is instantly soaked to the skin in cold rain.

The most chilling thing of all isn’t the rain. Anyone trying to wait the weather out on Main Street will hear three wrenching cries coming from the woods, almost like the exact moment a person shreds their vocal cords in a scream. The townies claim not to hear anything unusual. It’s just the wind, they say, and they may be right. The sound as it shrieks through the trees and between buildings is similar enough to cast doubt, and combined with the rain even the most experienced camper would likely get lost trying to find it.

march 17

THERE’S WHISKEY IN THE JAR, OH

Whatever damage was caused by the previous night’s storm has mostly been cleared from Main Street by the early morning of St Patrick's Day. The streets are still a little wet, with plenty of puddles for the more adventurous children (and adults) to splash around in. The air is still a little chilly, but nothing a sweatshirt can’t fix. Nothing’s fully set up until about nine in the morning, but when it is, the St. Patty’s Day celebration gets under way. It’s small, more of a farmers' market or small festival than anything major. There’s food stalls and tables for eating, as well as a few booths where townsfolk are plying their crafts and non-food wares, as well as live music. The festivities during the daylight hours are pretty tame, a PG-rated good time for all.

When the sun sets, the party gets a little more rowdy. Someone busts out the booze and someone else busts out the Mardi Gras beads, and the music gets louder. While many food stalls are still open, the rest have shut down as the street fills with revelers, many of them holding cups half-filled with beer or something a little stronger. This part of the party isn’t for kids, and if anyone underage is spotted they'll quickly get escorted back home by the police — so try not to get caught, yes?

MOD NOTES

This is a catch-all for any and all threads pertaining to the storm (March 16th) and the St. Patrick's Day festival (March 17th)! Details on both of these happenings can be found in the March Newsletter.

PLEASE INCLUDE IN SUBJECT LINE: Character Name, which Day(s) your top-level takes place in, and Open or Closed, to help keep things a bit more organized. (For example: "Joe Biden | 16th & 17th | Open!")

Should you choose to participate in both mini-events, you're welcome to make separate top-level posts for each day or to combine them both into one.

If you have any questions regarding this event, feel free to ask them here.

Comments

clementine | 16th & 17th | open!

[walkietalkie]

16TH, 9 PM, AT THE SCHOOL

❰ she could've stayed at the diner, probably. they wouldn't have kicked out a kid, even at closing time. even a kid as grubby as clem.

but she didn't, and after wandering the street long enough that the rain washed her clean of much of the dirt plus any residual body heat to speak of, she finally caves and retreats under the first shelter she can find: the school's playground.

she doesn't go to the school here - not yet, anyway. the sheriff's hassled her on it a couple of times, in the process of hassling her for roughing it in the woods. one day, she's gonna have to cave... but for now, the schoolyard gets to serve a much more practical purpose.

anyone passing by the school this evening might catch a whiff of smoke on the wind, present despite the rain. move a little closer, and you'll spot a flicker of fire from underneath the playground's decent-sized wood-and-metal fort. that's definitely where the smoke is coming from, no question about it.

come a little closer, and you'll find clementine. instead of sleeping on the damp ground, she's curled up in the concave side of a large metal shield, legs tucked into her jacket, two small black objects in her hands - it's hard to see what, in the dim.

it seems like she's fallen asleep by the fire. ❱

17TH, EVENING, AT THE FESTIVAL

❰ kids aren't allowed at the festival at night. that much is obvious enough just by the mood of it, loud and raucous, alcohol every which way, beads of some kind around just about every neck.

but in the light-hearted chaos of it, people quickly start to get clumsy. forgetful. if you're passing by one of the cleared out booths, you might just catch wind of a reveler laughing about disappearing food. they must've eaten it already without even noticing! but if you're observant, you know precisely what happened: the tablecloth draped down the front of the booth shifted aside just long enough for a very small arm to dart out and snag the fresh-grilled kebab right out of their hand, whisking it back under the booth as if nothing happened.

because clementine's here, maybe not out amongst the partiers but enjoying the festivities nonetheless. besides the kebab, she's got a half-empty bottled soda and a bag of cotton candy, still nearly full. loud sounds still make her a little nervous - she went years without hearing a single shout that didn't come from a homicidal bandit - but every so often, someone outside of her hiding spot bursts into a laugh, and clem can't help but smile around her next bite of kebab.

this is the first real party she's been to in four years. no - maybe even in her whole life.

you're not gonna tell on her, are you? ❱

16th.

[dehanded]

[ ibaraki had come to the school for her own reasons, unrelated to anything else people might come to a school for. her destination? that pepsi machine sitting by the front doors of the high school. she wants it, dammit, and this weather with the hailstones and rain is more than enough to stop humans from coming after her once she steals it. and her skin is bulletproof, she can't be stopped by it herself.

but she is distracted on her way by the smell of smoke and human, here in this place that should be deserted, and bored as she is, she decides to investigate. ibaraki is scantily dressed despite the cold, and the sleeves of her kimono drag on the ground by the fire when she crouches down to get closer to clementine, frowning at the sight before her. ]

Oi. Human. >[ wake up! ] If you're out here like this, you will die.

[ it's not a threat, i swear, even though her horns and claws and sharp sharp teeth make her seem very threatening. ]

16th

[bulletfool]

❰ he almost misses the smoke amid the rain. when he does see it, he wanders over—a luxury he can only afford with his trion body, which is why he's in his squad trench coat instead of casual wear—and peers under the fort.

fire usually means people, and there she is: a girl, maybe sound asleep. all things considered, she's found a good place to wait out the weather. ❱

Hey, you okay?

17th

[coy]

[ it takes a lot more for someone like caroline to get tipsy, let alone drunk. it's not impossible but caroline's no where close to being wasted so the sight of a small child wandering around isn't something that goes unnoticed. nor does it fail to draw some concern from her, considering the crowd is getting more rowdy by the moment.

still, one corner of her mouth tugs upward at the sight of the girl stealing a kabab, clearly trying not to be seen or caught. so with easy, caroline grabs another kebab (and one for herself), moving to stand right in front of the girl's hiding spot, putting her hand backward and offering the kebab covertly behind her.]