Beach fun for beach bums

[indigo_league]

Who: Everybody!
Where: Cianwood!
When: June 21st, all day.
Summary: Come to Cianwood today to celebrate the solstice, participate in a race and maybe even get a date??



June 21st. The solstice. The longest day of the year. Practically half the year gone already, which frankly, seems rather insane. It seems like only yesterday you were all fighting to save Christmas with Santa, and yet, that was almost six months ago! How can that be? We just don't know. Time is a force even more mysterious than pokemon evolution.

In any case, Cianwood has gone all out to make this solstice a great big celebration. The beach is awash with bright-coloured umbrellas and stands, selling everything a visitor might need to make this into one hell of a day (and, let's be real, also a lot of things you don't need, but hey, who doesn't want a nice souvenir?) Rental stands have everything from surfboards to huge inner tubes for rent for those who want to stay at the surface of the water, as well as snorkelling equipment for those who won't mind taking a peek below the surface. On a cleared stretch of beach, a small Sand Castle Contest is being organised. The prize won't be anything fancy (just a token little reward, really) but why not enter? Don't worry, there are separate prizes for kids and adults. Meanwhile, large piles of wood have been stacked here and there, waiting for evening to fall so the bonfires can be lit.

One particular section of the beach is a riot of different smells, with various restaurants and other establishments having set up stands to sell you all the very best. It doesn't matter what you are in the mood for, because you won't have any trouble finding it here! Want some BBQ? It's there; several Sizzlepede keeping those coals nice and hot while the cooks chuck everything that can vaguely be chucked onto those grills. Would you rather cool down with some ice cream? No problem; just as long as you can actually make a choice from all those different flavours available. Has the summer sun put you in a fruit mood? Watermelons (whole and cut), strawberries, cherries, papaya -- it's too much to name!

Or do you maybe just want a drink? It's important to keep hydrated, you know! Juice, water, mocktails and cocktails, everything that you could possibly want to stave off the heat is there. There is even coffee and teas available for those who need their daily worship at the Church of Caffeine. Just don't overheat on them!

And, of course, there is the race.

It looks like the first-ever SEMPER race has drawn quite the crowd. And where there is a crowd, there are more souvenir stands. Why not buy a flag or two to cheer on your pokemon? Or maybe you should buy an 'I ran the SEMPER race and all I got was this lousy t-shirt' for your pokemon to commemorate the occasion. They sell them in all sorts of sizes.

And then there is that mystery section of beach, currently cordoned off with ropes and screens. Signs let everybody know that this is where the Helping Hand auction will be taking place later tonight, but if you had hoped to get an early peek at the decorations or items up for auction, you will be sorely disappointed. Be patient and wait like everybody else is.

So come all and enjoy the beach. Participate in a race maybe, and pull your wallets for tonight's charity event. After all, who knows when disaster might strike again? Better enjoy things while you can!



ooc: The Charity Auction will have its own log, which will be posted later tonight. Should there be any questions, please use the event info post to ask them.

Comments

[forsaintcecilia]

Kazuki took a few quick steps back when she said she was ready, to avoid the multitude of ways he could get seriously injured in this situation.

Wow! For a small, slender girl, she sure could swing a bat! Even he couldn't split one in one hit sometimes.

"You've got a great arm! I think you got two or three of them there," Kazuki exclaimed, while his Oshawott wandered onto the blanket to begin to munch on the watermelon. "Take the blindfold off and see!"

[instrumentally]

Rei does, in fact, take the blindfold off and sees. There is a smashed melon in front of her, and a bat still held aloft in her hands. Her Solosis cheers as it floats downward to eat some of the melon. Do not ask how it does so when it is encased in gel.

"It was enjoyable." It really was. Different from training. From practicing combat that she would be expected to use. This is... some sort of game, and the end goal is... to eat some melon, it seems.

She lowers the bat. Lets it rest in the sand.

[forsaintcecilia]

It eats through osmosis or something, probably! It just, uh. Absorbs? Yeah, it absorbs. Schlorp.

"I'm glad you had fun!" Kazuki responded. He continued to treat her with nothing but warmth and kindness, because he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. But he was definitely picking up on some peculiar things about her. The short sentences, flat affect, robotic movements... Something was different about her. It concerned him a little. Maybe some positive attention would help?

He couched down to pick up two big chunks of watermelon, and reached out to offer her one.

"Want some?"

[instrumentally]

Rei blinks. Just once. She has never had watermelon before. No one has offered to share their food with her, either. But perhaps that is to be expected, when there is not as much food to share. For a moment, she does not know what to say, and so says nothing. Then the moment passes, and she speaks.

"Yes." She reaches out her hand and takes the watermelon chunk from him. The juice runs down her arm. Makes her hands sticky. She takes a bite. The watermelon is soft. Squishy. Refreshing.

"It's good," she says around a smile. It is small and slight, but it is there. And then she takes another bite.

[forsaintcecilia]

"It is, isn't it?" Kazuki took a bite as well. "You can't always tell how sweet it'll be until you get it open... I'm glad these ones are ripe. It's not summer until you've had some watermelon!"

"My name's Kazuki, by the way. I don't think we've met before!"

[instrumentally]

"We have not."

A pause. Oh. Right. This is where introductions go. "I am Rei Ayanami."

[forsaintcecilia]

"Hi! Is Rei-chan okay? Or do you like family names better?"

[instrumentally]

"I have never been called that before." It is... odd. Not bad. New, perhaps. Something she could get used to. It makes no difference to her, what she is called. Rei or Rei Ayanami. They are both the same.

"I do not mind."

[forsaintcecilia]

"Alright. Just let me know if you don't like it, okay?"

"Are you new here? Have things been going okay for you?"

[instrumentally]

"It is difficult to adjust to."

But she is doing fine. As fine as she is capable of, at least.

[forsaintcecilia]

"How so? Do you have enough money? Or... Was your world not like this one?"

There were a million reasons one could be having a hard time adjusting. It could even go so far as her not having a human body where she was from.

[instrumentally]

"I am not used to so many people."

People who ask her questions and care about her answers, and do things like share watermelon with her. It is a little overwhelming, though she is doing her best.

[forsaintcecilia]

"I guess there are a lot of people here..."

To Kazuki, from a thriving modern day Japan, the crowd was modest at best. But if she said she wasn't used to it, she wasn't used to it. He respected that.

"I promise it's a nice place, though. I don't think anyone here would be mean to you."

[instrumentally]

"Most people have been kind."

It is... odd. She does not know how to describe it. A good feeling, but new. Warm, more than anything.

[forsaintcecilia]

"I'm glad to hear that. It'd be a shame if you had a bad experience right off the bat."

"Is that Solosis your starter? It's a Pokemon I don't see that often!"

[instrumentally]

Her Solosis realizes she is being talked about and bounces up in front of Rei. She wiggles a bit in mid-air. A little soft around the edges.

"Yes. She is named Mitochondria."

Chip Aboroa helped her name it. It is a good memory, and so she finds herself smiling a little as she speaks.

[forsaintcecilia]

"That's a good name for a Pokemon that looks like a cell," he remarked, while his Oshawott came to climb into his lap. "This is Emma. She's mine now, but she used to belong to someone else. And someone else before that, right?"

Yep! She chirped in agreement.

[instrumentally]

"I see." Rei nods, understanding. She tosses the thought around in her head for a moment or two. To be alone after spending so much time with a single trainer must be difficult.

"It is good that you are caring for her."

[forsaintcecilia]

"It's something that I do here," Kazuki explained as he gave Emma some skritches. "I've got an inn in Azalea, the Silver Horn, and it's for Pokemon that have been orphaned, or injured, or something like that, and need some help. People too! It's supposed to be therapeutic, so they can leave someday and live their own lives the way they want."

[instrumentally]

"You are very kind."

She thinks for some time. Quietly, as usual. Adjusting to so many new things has been difficult for her. It is so open-ended that at times it is its own sort of trap. What is she, without a mission to complete? When all her choices are her own? She cannot say. And there are so many things one may purchase here. Food and clothing and lodgings. It can add up very quickly.

So she chews on her watermelon for a moment, watching her Solosis do the same.

"May I stay at your inn? I have not managed to afford my own lodgings since I have arrived."

She stayed at the Pokemon Center. It is not so bad. It reminds her of her home. But it is difficult, staying somewhere that is designed to be somewhat temporary.

[forsaintcecilia]

"Of course, if you want!"

Had he been directing the conversation to end up here? Maybe. Probably. Yes. Rei seemed like she might need a hand up, to help he get used to this world.

"You don't have to worry about money. If you want, you can help out with cleaning, or the garden, or something like that."

[instrumentally]

"I would like to assist with the cleaning, if that is possible."

It is... soothing, somehow. Putting things into their proper place. Watching the scuffs on the floors disappear. Squeezing out towels so the soap and water spills out.

[forsaintcecilia]

"Sure! I've got an Indeedee that oversees all that stuff, he can tell you what he needs done. There's always something. An inn is a lot of work."

[instrumentally]

"Yes."

Rei says, and then returns to eating their watermelon. She does not have a lot to say, so if they just sit in silence for awhile, enjoying the sun, then that will be just fine.