abraxaslogs | A much deserved vacation day!

Who: The Free Cities Summoned
What: Beach Party Episode, aka the Summoned take a break and enjoy the new portal
When: June 6thish, post Nocwich weekend. We can timey wimey it folks.
Where: Aquila!

[ooc: these are just suggested prompts, please feel free to roll with any ideas you have! Thanks to Hannah for sharing the code. Descriptions about Aquila are taken from the settings page here and credited to the mods. A player-made Pinterest mood board was created here for inspiration, but keep the world of Abraxas in mind for the reality.]

The Aquila Portal / Time to Go!

An invite shows up on the network from Jesper Fahey to the Free Cities Summoned stating the following:

Hey everyone, I managed to score funds from our money makers to have a group outing through the Aquila portal. We deserve it, don't you think? We did vote it into being after all. So get out your beach day clothes (or lack thereof) and meet at 9 AM tomorrow. If you come later, I'll let the portal people know the list allowed. They've got chairs and such to rent there, so don't worry if you don't have anything helpful.

Let's party like we're in the Horizon! If you need some extra cash while there I know the people to beg.

PS - No arguing, Crows. (That means you Kaz.)

True to his word, Jesper will be waiting at the newly opened portal to mark the Summoned so they're allowed to get through with the money he's collected. He'll smile and wink at them as they go through. He is dressed casually himself for this outing and in high spirits. Summoned can meet up here and go through together if they'd like or maybe be persuaded if they're not really sure about it.

Welcome to Aquila!

Aquila is the world's fastest-growing economy and the scenery in Aquila is also considered some of the most beautiful, with both the mountains and beaches of Andromeda Bay nearby, making it a popular destination for vacationers.

The beach may be exciting, but it isn't the only part of Aquila to enjoy! The massive public market takes up most of the city's center. Anything you might want can be found here. Countless booths and stalls and carts fill the town's center, and traders from all across the nation congregate to offer their wares. From raw materials such as fabrics, dyes, exotic wood and stones, to finely crafted artisan everything. Furniture, clothing, foodstuffs, weapons, art, magical oddities, it's all here. The market opens at sun-up and shuts down sometime after sunset - plenty of sellers will linger, hoping for one last sale of the day.

Art and fashion thrive in Aquila. Studios and galleries of art are scattered all over the city and artists sketching or painting out on the streets or on the nearby beaches are a common sight. This is the time to go looking for new clothes as seamstresses and tailors are all looking to outdo themselves and create the next big fashion statement.

But if it's the beach fun you're looking for ....

Fun in the Sun!

It's more crowded than usual in Aquila thanks to the emergence of the portal, but the Summoned will manage to camp out their own area on the right side of the beach and have freedom to enjoy themselves alone. Nearby one of the entrances of the beach is a local business called The Wave Palace. There people can buy or rent chairs, cloth to sit on, hats, and other beach items to feel more comfortable.

Once settled onto their spot on the beach, the Summoned can enjoy a full day of various activities to either relax or be active. They can swim or race to see who is the better swimmer, do the same on a sand race, and head up to a popular nearby cliff that is perfect to jump off of. Challenge each other to the perfect dive or laugh if someone ends up belly-flopping.

Anyone can lounge comfortably in the sun or maybe they want to get creative and build sandcastles. They can rent bowls and sticks and other instruments at the shop to gather sand correctly. Maybe your castle is remarkably impressive or dismal at best, but the point is to have fun. If you're feeling mischievous you can bury a friend in sand, or even a stranger if you want to test fate. You can find rocks or shells to collect and bring home as a reminder of the trip here.

There is a bar down the beach called The Wave Crash Pub where people can sit and listen to live music or carry drinks back to their chair. At some point in the day, someone suggests playing a game of volleyball or something similar, and a net and ball can be found to set it up. Test your might against each other and no cheating! (Just kidding, cheat away.)

As the day comes to a close, stay long enough to watch the sunset together or do some night swimming to cool off. When it's time to go home, don't forget to either return your rented items or decide to buy it. See if you can convince a friend to get a keepsake or ask their opinion of one on the way out. Hope you all had fun in this beach day episode!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He stands and watches at first, gaze locked to her falling form. There's nothing else he can do to aid her, or save her if it came to that — just as he'd said, once she's taken the leap, its success comes down to Hilda and Hilda alone.

But it's fine. If her dive lacks the smoothness borne of experience, it has more grace than he would have imagined, a testament to her focus and perhaps some innate talent.

Altaïr makes his own dive moments after he sees her surface from beneath the water, taking care to arc out in a way that will help avoid him landing on her and breaking bones in both of them. (He meets her eyes before he goes — probably she can't tell from that far away that he's smiling. But maybe she can.) It only takes a few seconds for him to paddle over and tread water by her side.

"You did," he confirms, as if she really needs him to. "Well done."

She can't quite tell if he's smiling from this distance. Hilda has good eyesight but not that good - but she'd like to think he is. She's treading water but the afterglow of her successful, if mildly clumsy, dive feels like the real thing that buoys her.

There's some level of awe in her gaze as she watches Altaïr leap from the cliff. It really does look like he's flying. It's inspiring - which feels embarrassing to even think about, never mind saying it out loud. It's not so unlike the feeling that she gets watching Holst do something amazing. Unsurprisingly, when he hits the water there's barely a splash. By the time he swims over to her she can't help but grin at the compliment.

"Aw, shucks. It was all thanks to my teacher." She splashes at him playfully. "You weren't too bad yourself."

He nods in casual acceptance of the compliment. On some level, he's aware that this is an increase in humility, though people who've only known him as long as Hilda has would not see it; not so long ago, rather than accept praise, he'd have expected it as his due and barely acknowledged it at all.

Things are different now. He is not the same person, and it's grown easier and easier to live as the same man he wants to be. Whether it's time or living in Abraxas that has done this, he doesn't know.

"A teacher can only do so much if the student has no potential." He casts his gaze up at the cliff's edge, which seems farther away from this vantage than when their position were reversed. "Though practice makes a difference as well. But I don't think I'll turn today's venture into a training session."

Hilda floats onto her back, staring up at the blue sky above them, the sun beating down on her skin. The bite of it isn't as strong as it would otherwise had she not been in the water. "We are definitely not turning training into cliff diving," she warns despite him saying as much. His compliment (?) doesn't go unnoticed either, but she doesn't quite know what to say to it apart from teasing him. But even that moment comes and goes as it brushes up against the idea that she has any potential or propensity for things outside of what she knows to be true about herself. Which is not being good at very much at all.

She stays floating on her back, eyes skyward. After a moment she rights herself, hair dripping wet with the salt of the ocean. There's no hint that what he's said made her feel a spark of anxiety. Instead, all there is her usual chipper grin. "Let's go again! I guess it wasn't so bad the first time around and you can give me more pointers on how not to get water up my nose, Teach.

A much deserved vacation day!

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i think we can wrap here? 💕