Day at the races!

[indigo_league]

Who: Everyone!
Where: Moo Moo Farms
When: Saturday, March 20th
Summary:



The day is as lovely as you can expect any early spring day to be. You'll need a coat, yes, and there is a bit of a breeze, but the sun shines happily onto the wooden buildings that make up the Moo Moo Farms where we have all gathered today.

The various farm workers have worked hard to make their farm presentable to the public. Cheerful banners hang between the various sheds, stables and barns, which all have been given a bit of a cleaning (and perhaps a new coat of paint here and there). Of course, it is still a farm, so perhaps don't wear your very best shoes, but as far as farms go, it's been made as neat as can be.

And while the main draws of the day may be releasing the Miltank herd out onto the pasture again after a long winter inside -- whimsically called 'Cow Ballet' on the info sign -- and the Great Tauros Race, Moo Moo Farms has set up various little events and booths to entertain their guests, and perhaps teach them a thing or two about farm life.

A large information sign stands at the gate to the farm, letting visitors know what sort of events are taking place, as well as where and when these are happening. The two big ones -- the Miltank Ballet and the Tauros Race -- are spaced in such a way that people can easily attend both, and most of the other little events are available throughout the entire day.

The Miltank Ballet will be taking place at 1PM over by the big barn. There is little you can do to participate in this (unless you are a cow?), but if you want to watch some ecstatic Miltank dance through the mud and grass after a long winter inside, you should definitely come check this out.

The Tauros Race will start at 4PM (sign ups close at 3PM) and anyone who wants to help give the Tauros a good round of exercise is encouraged and welcome to sign up. There is, according to the sign, a small mystery prize to be won, but surely we are all here because we want to help some cooped up Tauros, right?

In addition to those two big events, two paddocks have been made ready where visitors can test themselves against a Bucking Bronco -- that's his name, Bronco the Bouffalant -- to see how long they can last in the saddle. Due to safety concerns, participants for this event will need to be 16+. For the children, there is a separate rodeo in which they can ride Vaquero the Dubwool, who, for all his seemingly wild behaviour, is actually a very well trained Dubwool who'll make sure no harm comes to the kids.

Of course, while people are free to bring their own food, the Moo Moo Farms have also set up a wide variety of booths where people can buy anything from fresh Moo Moo Milk and milkshakes to freshly made cheese and bread, and oh, is that apple pie? That most certainly is apple pie, as well as various other homey pastries. And as the day goes on, and people might start craving something a little less sweet and more filling, a booth opens up selling various curries. Don't worry, there won't be any Snorlax you need to share with this time!

And for anyone who has found themselves wanting and craving a bovine of their own after all these cute sights, you are in luck! Amidst the various booths, there is also one run by two cheery farm girls, advertising a sale on eggs! All the eggs that are normally available from the Moo Moo Farms can be bought at a whopping 50% discount. Mind that this is only on the purchase price of the egg itself. The price for any additional egg-moves remains the same.

There are also some other, smaller things set up, such a station where you can learn about milking a Miltank and a barrel where you can bob for apples, and even a horseshoe toss game. Most of these are definitely aimed towards teaching and entertaining little kids, but nobody will stop you if you decide to muscle past a row of Youngsters to claim the apple bobbing barrel.

Comments

[neverfinishanyth]

It's certainly worth trying. The worst that happens is that I will have to try something else later, which does not seem like a great hardship.

And you, have you decided on your lunch yet?

[woofdad]

Exactly! Might as well try everything you can.

[He answers that with a lopsided shrug.] I'm... working on it. I, uh, have a bad habit of getting paralyzed by choice, and on top of that I'm not just picking for myself.

[neverfinishanyth]

I see how that might be more challenging, trying to keep different people's tastes in mind.

[Hmm, he's thinking, he's thinking.]

Have you considered playing a decision game, like rolling a die or flipping a coin? That might take the choice out of your hands.

[woofdad]

That could be a good idea. Just narrow it down to a short list and then decide randomly from there, right? [He nods thoughtfully, crossing his arms, and grins briefly.] ...And, 'course, if I don't like what it comes out to, I can assume that means I wanted to get something else.

[neverfinishanyth]

Yes, that is the idea. [Leonardo nods a bit.] As all of the lunches on offer seem tasty enough, you'll end up with something good to eat at the end, too, no matter the outcome.

[woofdad]

For sure! Safe to say I won't end up regretting it, no matter what. [The ideal, honestly.]

Thanks for the suggestion-- oh, I don't think I got your name, actually!

[neverfinishanyth]

Oh! [He does a little half bow of indication.] I am Leonardo, from Vinci. It's very nice to meet you.

[woofdad]

I'm Grant - nice to meet you, t--

[W

Wait. Wait hang on, he's who.]

--Sorry, could you repeat that real quick?

[neverfinishanyth]

[Oh, that's-- that's actually a little bit concerning, he frowns a bit.]

Do you need to sit down for a moment? I-- I did not realize my name could be so shocking.

[He's famous in his time, of course, and Steven had told him-- well, several things, but some of those things were about his works, and Claudia seemed to know him from his drawings, but-- well, none of them looked quite so struck by him.]

[woofdad]

[Sorry, Leonardo, Grant... feels things extremely much, all the time, and... also has been here a relatively short time, if he's honest. He knew already that it was possible for people to arrive from the same world but different points in time, but-- y'know, weirdly enough, this was not a possibility that had occurred to him.

He fumbles to recover from that (or at least to recover gain a visible semblance of having recovered), shaking his head hurriedly.] Oh-- no, sorry, I'm-- uh, fine! I'm just... surprised? Uh... [How... does he say this.] So, you... paint, right?

[Nailed it.]

[neverfinishanyth]

[Leonardo's still concerned, so without really thinking about it, he'll reach out a hand that'd probably land somewhere around his shoulder or upper arm, just to help him keep standing. He smiles a little, softly, because smiling comes easily enough to him.]

Yes, I paint. And a few other things that you may have heard about. [A few he almost certainly hasn't.] But I am only a man, not some sort of myth.

[In other words, please don't faint.]

[woofdad]

[That actually seems to help, a little; either the contact acts as a sudden solidification of the man in front of him as a Real Person, or Grant is just easily comforted by physical contact. It's probably both, honestly, seeing as how the second one is just... always true.

Grant nods, that shock turning rapidly to embarrassment as he looks back on his own reaction in light of Leonardo's words.] Right-- yeah, of course. I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make things weird.

[neverfinishanyth]

[Leonardo shakes his head. He's heard of similar things happening, sometimes, when newcomers visit Firenze, where they get so overwhelmed by the beauty of it that they... well, need to sit down for awhile.]

You haven't made anything weird, I assure you. I think I would feel the same, were I to meet... oh, several people I have only read about in books.

[woofdad]

Okay! Good. I'm... I'm glad.

[Believe it or not, Leo, this isn't even entirely an issue of being starstruck. This is just the sheer force of the relief that washes over Grant when someone assures him they're not mad at him.

He laughs weakly.] Yeah, it's... an odd situation, alright! This place seems to, uh, specialize in generating those.

[neverfinishanyth]

I'm beginning to realize that. [Least of which is arriving here in the first place.] Still, most of the oddities of this place are rather exciting to learn more about.

[woofdad]

[Grant perks up and gives an enthusiastic nod.] Entirely agreed - there's so much information just to... dig into, both in terms of the world itself and the places that the others here come from. I mean, the people I'm traveling with are mostly from a world where the... the basic rules of magic are completely different from what I'm used to, it's incredible.

[neverfinishanyth]

The existence of places with magic is another one of the things I have never seen before I arrived here. Where I am from, magic is only... I suppose you could call it sleight of hand? Tricks you can play with smoke and mirrors. Nothing like what people have told me of their homes, where the magic is woven in with the natural world to the point it forms its own sort of laws.

[woofdad]

Oh-- oh, right, that was the... hm. [Grant presses his hand over his mouth for a moment, considering something.

The thing is, as common of knowledge as magic and its basic workings were in Grant's home world, that wasn't always the case... and, as he stopped and thought over it, Leonardo da Vinci's lifetime fell right in that period where most of the world had been rendered ignorant to it. Of course, he wouldn't know about it.

And now Grant has to wonder whether it would be a bad idea to tell Leonardo about all that. But... from what Sylvain said, they didn't remember this place when they went home... so it wouldn't disrupt the timeline or anything like that, right?

So, Grant makes a decision.] Obviously, I can't prove this in any way, but it... might still be present in your world - I mean, if we actually are from the same world and just different times, it definitely is. But I guess, taking the different times thing into account, it'd track that you're not familiar with it as an extant force.

[neverfinishanyth]

[Leonardo listens, considering.]

There is still much about our world that is unknown. [He's seen some of it himself.] So, it is certainly possible that there is... some kind of magic that we have not discovered yet. [He thinks as he speaks, and there's whole leaps of logic going unspoken as he works out problems known only to him.] But once that magic is understood, then it could become... another part of nature, something that can be studied and measured and learned. Just as the laws that govern how fires burn or how light bounces off a mirror.

[Leonardo can't help but sound excited as he continues, always enthused by puzzles, no matter how small. Or how big, in this case.]

[woofdad]

[Grant nods at Leo's musings; it makes sense to him, at least. Maybe because that's what's already happened, from his point of view.]

Exactly. Since regaining the knowledge of magic's existence, we've developed a pretty good understanding of it - actually, the college in the town I live in back home is supposed to have a really good esoteric sciences program, and that's where... a good bit of my income comes from-- I, uh, run a magic supply store, is the thing. Anyway, the point is - you've about got it. It's just a part of everyday life now.