abraxaslogs | A much deserved vacation day!

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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

She doesn't let go of Hilda's hand, apparently content to stand up here with her for as long as she wants, even if they don't jump at all. She wasn't lying when she said the view up here was beautiful even without the jump. The sun lingering above the sea reminds her so much of her beloved island that it almost hurts.

At least Hilda distracts her. The question makes her face light up, and she nods. "Yes, it is. The island where I was born is called Themyscira, but we named ourselves the Amazons." Well, she wasn't born until long after the name had been chosen, but that doesn't make her feel less pride in it. "Themyscira looks a lot like Aquila, actually."

Diana's hand is warm and strong, successfully dispelling some of the nerves that have bubbled up in the anticipation of jumping off the cliff. Hilda can tell she's a warrior; calluses are usually an indication of that but so are the well-defined back muscles and arm muscles that Hilda has a front row seat to. It's uncommon for Hilda to feel self-conscious about her own body, so perhaps the feeling settling onto her skin isn't that, but rather admiration.

If the way that Diana lights up at Hilda's question is any indication, it's clear that she must miss her home. "If it looked like Aquila, it must have been paradise." She casts another long look out to the city that looks so small from where they stand. "Are there any differences between them?"

Her smile turns almost a bit sad, but she quickly looks out towards the ocean instead. "Someone I knew once called it 'Paradise Island,' so perhaps it is. But to me, it is just home." And she does miss it every day, but talking about it helps. Sometimes.

She turns her gaze out towards the city as well, and points out some of the most obvious things in her eyes. "I have never seen so many kinds of food in once place. And there are more buildings, and more people." A beat, and she adds with a note of humor in her voice: "There are men." She doesn't say it in a disparaging way, just as a fact.

Hilda catches the sad smile, but if Diana didn't want to address it, then she wasn't going to push. After all, it isn't like they know each other well, mutual friend aside, and being pushy rarely helped move things along to being close. But maybe reminiscing about home like this about home might help in some way. And Hilda is eager and willing to listen.

Diana starts with things that are rather obvious and then ends it with something a little less so. For a minute, Hilda wonders if she's misheard her. "Wait, there aren't men where you live?" Right about now that was sounding a lot like paradise.

It occurs to Diana, now, that there not being men on Themyscira might sound... odd to most people. As far as she knows, Themyscira is the only place in her own world that is separated from the rest of the humanity as it is. Her smile turns a little... sheepish as she continues.

"There are men in the rest of the world, but not on my island. Our island is protected by a barrier. To my knowledge, only one man has ever set foot on the island, and he did not stay long." She left with him, but that's another story.

It is odd, but not in a bad way. Hilda just couldn't imagine what that would look like. Or rather, she could but her mind was having some trouble wrapping her mind around it. Briefly she ponders what Garreg Mach would look like if only women were allowed to attend. While it's easier to imagine, it's still a stretch for her to wrap her mind around.

"What happened to him?" Diana should know that if you talk about a single man appearing on an island of women before leaving that Hilda is going to ask. Her curiosity knows no bound and there's so much more that she'd love to ask -- but she's well aware that there's probably a better location for that to occur than atop a cliff. There's a beat, recalling the look on Diana's face from earlier and quickly amends herself, "We also don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I know talking about home can be a lot for people."

The way Hilda tries to backpedal on her question actually makes Diana laugh a bit, the sound low and musical. It hurts to talk about Steve Trevor still, but... not as much as it did. Time has passed since his death, and even if it might not feel like much time to her, she is aware that it might seem like a long time to others. She isn't trying to adjust the way she views time, exactly, but she is trying to be more conscious of how mortals see it.

And she has met so many new people, others who help patch the crevice left in her heart. It may never be whole again, but her heart is not wholly broken, either.

"He tried to rally my people to join him in ending a war that had ravaged the rest of the world." She's trying to keep things abridged, both for Hilda and herself. "Our Queen refused to send our army, so I joined him alone."

Upon hearing more of the truth, Hilda's imagination is all too quick to run away with it. A daring tale of Diana and this unnamed man going off to fight a war together that wasn't hers. It's enough to make a girl swoon even though there's a war involved and tragedy came hand in hand with war. That knowledge is the sobering part.

What stands out however is Diana's unwavering kindness. Not just anyone would rally for a cause that they didn't view as theirs; not that a war being theirs was enough either. It would be so easy to turn a blind eye. Hilda can't help but give Diana's hand a comforting squeeze. This point in the conversation feels like it could go either way – she could ask about the outcome or they could simply leave it at that. But curiosity wins out and quietly, hesitantly, she asks, "Did they win their war?"

She's a little surprised by the gesture, but she squeezes Hilda's hand in return. This... isn't something she's ever been comforted about. This isn't something she's actually talked about with anyone. That thought shocks her--she's been here a year, and has never really told anyone why she left Themyscira.

Maybe she just wasn't ready to, yet.

Diana tilts her head slightly at Hilda and smiles a little, though it's sad. "They did," she confirms. At first, she doesn't think she'll be able to go into more detail, but she surprises herself by continuing: "The man who came to our island--his name was Steve Trevor. He was a pilot, a spy, and a good man. He died saving countless lives."

"I'm sorry," she starts. There's more she could ask. Like if the sad look is one for a friend or companion lost to war or if there was more there that is being left unsaid. Diana has already given her so much and Hilda knows that war only adds another complicated, awful level on top of everything else. To ask for more would be cruel. It would turn it into a spectacle.

She draws in a breath, giving Diana a small smile. "They're lucky to have had both of you fighting them." It isn't enough to console and she realizes that. But if Diana is used to a warrior's way, then she would know. "I'd love to hear more about him if you ever feel comfortable some day. But I think we have a cliff to jump."

Words wouldn't help but maybe feeling weightless, even if just for a moment, would help.

This is not the first time someone has given Diana their condolences for Steve Trevor's death--she had returned to London, briefly, after the war, and had "debriefed" with Etta Candy and the rest of their surviving group. But this is the first time it's really hit Diana. Over a year has passed; maybe it had taken that long for it to really sink in that he was gone, that he had died for what he believed in, and for comfort like this to really strike at Diana's heart.

She feels a pain in her chest, but it's almost cleansing. Like something festering has been excised, allowing for some small relief for the first time in a while.

So she smiles at Hilda, genuine. "I would like to, some day." Not today, and probably not tomorrow. But perhaps talking about her experience in the War with someone would... be good. Some of the other Amazons had said that telling stories was a way of processing what had happened to them all those millennia ago. Maybe Diana is getting ready to tell her own story.

Her attention returns to the cliff, and she squeezes Hilda's hand. "I am ready when you are."

The warmth of Diana's smile transfers into Hilda's chest, much like the warmth of the sun. How could her own smile not brighten in response?

If somehow leaping off a cliff into the crystal blue waters below will somehow help distract Diana, then why not? Hilda nods, rolls her shoulders back and steels her nerves. This isn't about proving anything to herself or somehow fulfilling expectations that didn't exist anywhere but in her own mind. This is about helping someone - a friend - feel better.

And with that in mind she gives Diana another nod before taking a running leap off the cliff, fingers slipping from Diana's at the last moment so she can dive as instructed, into the waves below.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A much deserved vacation day!

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