[EVENT] Flower Festival - Spring 1

[theexecutionofallthings]

((I figure this can be an icebreaker type post. All are welcome to celebrate, talk, get to know each other, etc. No rules for this festival, post at your leisure!))

Stillwater was particularly colorful when the first of spring came around. Different types of flowers decorated the buildings, beautiful banners strung from rooftop to rooftop. Oh yes, Stillwater went all out when it came to festivals.

In the center of town square, Anders stood at a podium, leaning haphazardly on the oak. Any minute now the festivities would start. A gorgeous flower viewing, a wonderful parade, and of course, stalls full of food and flowers to purchase. Running a hand through his hair, the mayor straightened himself, adjusting his tie with a friendly smile. The clock struck noon and music began to float from the nearby band. Petals fell softly from what seemed like the heavens, scattering beauty all over the cobblestone streets.

Esther, the town hall receptionist, stood to the side with pamphlets full of information tucked under her arm.

Comments

[paintspeeling]

"Don't eat the flowers, I coated them in anthrax." Esther slid her hands in her pockets, taking easy steps. It was actually pretty nice looking for a festival about stuff that grew out of the ground.

"He's insane. And kind of an idjit." Gesturing towards Anders, who was doing a little dance on the platform, Esther scrunched up her nose. "So it's really annoying. It's like your mentally deficient older brother telling you how to run a town. Why did we put him in charge again?"

[goodeyesniper]

"Dunno! Wasn't my decision. Didn't participate in it, anyway. Guess it's just a family thing. Oh, damn! There's the brewery." Cliff pointed toward a stall, namely the brewery that their tavern got most of its beer from, and then started right on over. "Think they'll have free samples? Hell, I'd pay for a glass right now." It was late enough in the day! Ish. Not past noon yet, was it? Oh well, one couldn't hurt.

When they got there, it turned out he had a keg set up! Cliff seemed to know the owner, at least by the way they chatted, and he was able to get away with two free mugs of beer... They got to keep said mugs, too. Handy! They were made of wood, shaped like a keg and had the logo carved into the front. Pretty neat, though he felt bad not paying for that at least. "I'll keep this in the shop, or something. Free advertisement and all that."

[paintspeeling]

Well if it wasn't by voting, it probably was a family thing. That, or Anders somehow wormed his way into office. He was passionate enough!


At the sight of alcohol, it was all she could do to not bolt for it like a thirsty dog. Attractive. Accepting her free mug, she held it up with a grin. "Cheers! To not doing a damn thing we're supposed to!" Seemed legit. She'd probably put the mug on her desk, though that didn't really promote a clean authority.

[goodeyesniper]

"Volunteer work is whatever you make it, right? So hey." Cliff lifted his mug, clacking it against Esther's, and then had himself a healthy drink. Yeah, he'd just put this thing on his desk in the shed! Good. They were back to walking, mostly because he didn't feel the need to /buy/ any beer... The man bought plenty on some nights at the tavern, so that was feeding their income at any rate. "Country life's weird. Dunno how far I'd make it without alcohol."

[paintspeeling]

At the beautiful sound of their mugs clashing, she took a large swig with a smile. Nothing like a nice cold one to dull the trumpets. The band continued to play that monotonous wa wa song as they walked.

Nodding in agreement, Esther sighed. "Sometimes I wish I hadn't moved, if we're being honest here."

[goodeyesniper]

Yeah, that music was gonna get reeaal old real quick. He was already annoyed, and it was only going to get worse from here. "I know what you mean, sort of. Came here to chill out, and it's been working so far... So I can't really complain as much." Cliff had another large swig from the mug in his hand, having a look around... He shot one of the guys playing the trumpets a small glare, though the man didn't seem to react. Feh!

"Oh well, at least you've got a drinking buddy. A few, I'd hope, hanging out with me and only me sounds like a boring time." He snickered at that, and gave her a little nudge.

[paintspeeling]

Anders was paying the band handsomely. You could glare, throw things, scream, even punch them square in the jaw and they wouldn't react. They would earn that check no matter what it took.

Still, Esther was on the side of punching them either way. The town tune, some frankenstein's monster-esque mashup of several already established songs, blared in their ears at a nonstop repeat. Just shoot her now.

She was, however, very thankful for the company of her pal over here. When nudged, the redhead made a funny face. Eyes crossed and mouth widened, Esther did a little wobbly jig. "Sooo boring. When you walked up I was debating on hiding."

[goodeyesniper]

Probably better that Cliff /didn't/ have that particular knowledge, because he'd be up there stepping on toes and shoving dudes left and right just for the fun of it. He wasn't the biggest fan of their city's little theme song, it sort of sounded like a cacophonous mess, but didn't have any better ideas either... So the man usually kept his mouth shut about it. If he were a musician, he'd probably be in charge of it! And own a different shop. Wouldn't that be fun?

Enough of that daydream though, he had more beer to sip. "Hiding's still an option, at least somewhere where we won't hear that damned music." Cliff groaned as a particular jumbled part of the town theme started right up. Uuugh! "Liking that idea."

[paintspeeling]

"We'd have to be veeery sneaky." Throwing back a bit more of her drink, Esther looked for an opening. It seemed that most people were busy looking elsewhere, and the pair could definitely slide away. But where would they go?

"Last one to the fields gets to put their ear on the tuba!" And with that, she was off, bolting down the stone roadways. Feet pounding on the ground, Esther ran like a bat out of hell, aiming for Aster Fields. So much for sneaky.

[goodeyesniper]

"I don't think anyone's gonna miss us, don't worry." Everyone seemed a little too busy with the festival itself to pay attention, as well... So that was a bonus. Esther seemed to have the same idea, and suddenly she was off! "Hey, wh-- That's hardly fair!" Cliff took off anyway, definitely a match for the girl thanks to his exercise regiment. Hah! After several moments he'd caught up, though couldn't seem to edge her out and get ahead... "How 'bout we walk, huh?! I'm liking that idea more!"

[paintspeeling]

Cackling at his attempt to outrun her, Esther slowed. It was just fun to watch him squirm. With the fields in view, the music slowly began to dwindle to a hum. Tucking her free hand in her pocket, the girl downed the last of her beer. A shame, really.

"Shoulda grabbed more before we left." Esther pouted slightly, her accent thicker when she had a little alcohol in her.

[goodeyesniper]

He was happy to slow down when Esther did, and the man pulled his jacket back and off to tie it around his waist a little sloppily. That left him in a button-up that was not very buttoned-up! "Nah, you should just drink slower." Cliff lifted his mug, it still had about half of its contents left, and then had himself a swig. "That, and a ton of alcohol plus the Aster Fields probably equals us wandering around lost like idiots." Wouldn't be the first time he'd gotten lost thanks to the drink, but it was never a fun time once said drink wore off.

[paintspeeling]

Unlatching the field gate, Esther waded into the tall grass. Pushing the blades aside, the girl waded into a more clear spot. Flopping on her butt, the redhead stretched her legs out. It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of festival life.

Glancing up at Cliff, she patted the spot beside her. "Take a load off stranger."

[goodeyesniper]

Cliff took his pace comfortably beside and then slightly behind her, closing the gate behind him (didn't need more lost animals!) and stepping through the grass. He moved a lot less fluidly than the redhead, pretty much stomping down patches... They'd spring back up sooner or later, whatever. He glanced back over his shoulder, still very faintly hearing the sound of trumpets, and it was hard to deny that the festival did look nice from this far away. Up close, not so much! A big ol' mess of honking instruments and flowers in your mouth, but from here? It was all right.

The man lowered himself into a seat beside her, moving pretty slowly with the action... Something she was used to if she knew Cliff. Leaning, sitting and anything like it was a slower process thanks to some very sore joints. Probably something to do with that military history! He did finally drop into a seat with a little grunt, and then stretched his legs in much the same way. "Couldn't hurt, I guess." Cliff set his mug down on the grass beside him and exhaled. "I dunno, I guess this part of being out here isn't too bad. Fresh air and all that."

[paintspeeling]

Waiting patiently for Cliff to descend beside her, Esther glanced to her side, watching a few cows munch on the grass. When her buddy had finally hit the floor, she returned her attention to him.

The festival, off in the distance, was a blur of colors tucked between buildings. It was like a picture in a book, or maybe a painting. Certainly didn't seem like the place she lived and worked in every day. Hugging her knees up to her chest, Esther shrugged. "Stillwater isn't exactly a bustling city. Fresh air's all around, dummy."

[goodeyesniper]

"You know what I mean, it's just calmer out here." It got boring sometimes, but he liked most everyone here. Maybe not that lady with her rumors and gossip at that one fruit store, but she was a different story. "Maybe if I started a farm it'd be less calm, huh? Something tells me my backyard would hardly yield much, though." Cliff laughed and leaned forward just a bit to get a better look at the town. "Ah, well. I get by fine fixing everyone's crap. No one else to go to around here, y'know?" Something told him that if he ever /did/ get competition, he'd be sooo out of business in the blink of a damned eye.

[paintspeeling]

Smirking, the girl nodded. She knew what he meant, but it was always a bit fun to be a debby downer. Wiggling her toes, Esther yanked her boots off, allowing her feet to be free. Much better. The grass always felt cool under her skin; it was one of the reasons she'd stayed in Stillwater.

"You're our town hero~" Though her words came out playful, Esther was partially serious. If Cliff wasn't around, a lot of broken shit would stay broken. "I've always wanted to do something worth while like you."

[goodeyesniper]

Cliff pulled his legs in, sitting cross-legged then, and shook his head. He had a tendency to loosen up when he was one-on-one with someone, and that was something Esther probably knew already. "I'd hardly call myself a hero. I don't even know how half of this stuff works, it's just me taking my best guess and it usually ends up fixed." Some of the things he'd patched up were probably done so in a ridiculously complicated or confounding way... Anyone actually skilled in that sort of thing might laugh at his efforts. But again, he was the only one around with any knowledge!

"You do plenty worthwhile, though. Help keep this town running, you can bet our mayor's way too young to do it all by himself."

[paintspeeling]

Flopping flat on her back, the grass crunched lightly. Yikes, someone should really water this stuff. Spreading her arms out, she stared up at the clouds that were lazily hovering above them. Oh to be so carefree.

"I'll take your secret to the grave." Making a makeshift grass angel, Esther gathered the attention of the cows, which were making their way over at a snail crawl. "That may be so, but I'm pretty young myself, you know!"

[goodeyesniper]

"Two young people is better than one young person. Then again, I'm not old over here." Cliff definitely acted a few years older than he was, blame the military if anything. He certainly felt older than he was! "Either way, you're a part of this town's, uh..." He was looking for the right word, and glanced over to a slowly approaching cow while doing so. "Infrastructure. That's the word."

Animals were probably his least favorite part of living here, not that Cliff absolutely hated them or anything... They were just technically-uncontrollable creatures, and he was always worried one might flip out. The chances with these cows were hilariously low, given they looked more interested in grass at the moment. "You're important, go with that. A good drinking buddy to keep me from going insane, at the very least."

[paintspeeling]

He had a point, and Esther just nodded as he spoke. Things would be a little chaotic if she wasn't there to hold them in place. Their Mayor was a bit over the top and childish, and though he was hard to control, someone had to do it.

The cows nibbled on the grass around them, little bells dangling around their necks. The redhead patted the side of the nearest bovine, pulling herself up with a huff. Grass stuck in her hair, but she made no effort to pull it out. "Oh sweetie I don't think I can save your sanity. S'loooong gone."

[goodeyesniper]

"/More/ insane, then. How's that?" He was still sane enough to fix up this town's broken crap, so Cliff would call it an acceptable level. One of the cows nudged at him accidentally while going for some grass, and it got quite the death-glare! The thing didn't even seem to notice though, and he would hardly follow up on that silent threat... Feh! It went unnoticed, and no cows came out hurt.

Cliff scooted away from that just a bit and then turned to look at Esther instead. "How long's this festival go, anyway? Or rather, how long're we gonna have to avoid all those people?" It might be a little hard to detect, but he /did/ sound sarcastic with that question.

[paintspeeling]

"Fair 'nuff." Esther nodded with a teasing grin, picking absently at the grass. The trumpets were still blaring, and laughter echoed off the hills. Quite the shindig goin on down there.

"Till like.... 19:00." Esther peered up at the sun, cupping her hand over her eyes to shield them. It looked like they had quite a while to wait.

[goodeyesniper]

Well, that sounded like forever. Cliff didn't much /mind/ an almost-forever with Esther, thankfully, so this would probably be all right. "That's not too bad. Stuck with me until then, at any rate." The man didn't often grin, but he had the vaguest hint of one at the moment. "Might be able to sneak our way into the bar a little later, if we try." Was it even open? He was really hoping so...

[paintspeeling]

"Oh noooo." Esther feigned disappointment at the prospect of spending time with him, wiggling her toes.

"Oh we'll find a way in. If I have to kill a man." Nodding, the girl began to pluck some of the grass out of her hair. "Should be open towards sundown."