Event | Sinbrilee | Bacchanal

[ironwood]

Characters: Any and all!
Date: August 24 - 30th
Location: Sinbrilee
Situation: An ancient festival of an ancient city, all are welcome at the Bacchanal!
Warnings/Rating: Please label threads as appropriate.

Death and destruction cannot curtail the single most important festival celebrated by the denizens of Sinbrilee: The Bacchanal! The ghosts in and about the city have begun to gossip about high fashion and festivities, sending any that inquire to the Amphitheatre -- a grand, circular structure nestled in the west side of the city.

This structure bore the fall of Sinbrilee and the wear of time with dignity, having lost handfuls of archways and one long stretch of wall to crumbling decay. Despite this, it is obvious that the amphitheatre once hosted many a display and every more festivities than the mind can grasp. This was their solace and safety; here is where the people of Sinbrilee came to find the mind's escape from all that threatened them and their great turtle.

Ghosts have been busy throughout the week, clearing paths through debris and hanging great cloth banners of soft blues and greens to disguise the more blatant signs of its decline. Many hundreds of them shimmer and slid through the area, providing for tables upon tables of food, offering drink, and overseeing competition of sport and skill (some even denying death's non-corporeal curse to enter).

Here, well... Here is where the party begins!

Food & Drink | Music, Discussions, & Dancing | Wrestling & Competitions

Comments

[sophos]

Between the flicker in his gaze and the implication in his words, Annabeth can feel the tips of her ears tint a faint red, but she ignores it. Grumpily. "Like you're one to talk. Fourteen year old Percy was the definition of scrawny. And a lot shorter. Ten times more annoying, too, but that doesn't seem to have changed much in comparison."

[kelpful]

His smirk widens into a grin, seeing her ears turn red like that. "And fourteen year old Annabeth still totally had a crush in spite of all that," he counters. Not that he knows that for sure, but he can guess. Now, at least. Everything seems much more obvious in hindsight.

For being such a good fighter, Percy isn't much of a dancer. But he can at least manage the old slow dance shuffle, and honestly? He doubts Annabeth is going to be judging him too much. It's nice just to be out in public together, having fun and teasing each other.

[sophos]

"You mean the volcanic kiss didn't make that obvious?" She's jumping ahead a little bit, from the winter of holding up the sky to the summer of the Labyrinth, but all is fair in love and teasing. Because apparently, in reality, it really didn't make it obvious.

A ghost pops up beside them, giving them both a grumpy look before pointing down at their feet, then waving her fingers off to the side. It only takes Annabeth a moment, but she picks up on it, and she shoots Percy a look. "Shoes. I think we're supposed to take our shoes off." The ghost nods, satisfied.

[kelpful]

"You know what, that keeps coming up. So I'm going to tell you right now to settle it - no. The volcanic kiss didn't make anything obvious. It made a lot of things really confusing, but definitely not obvious." He's grinning as he says it, though. It's funny now, how dumb they'd been about the whole situation.

Percy blinks at the ghost. "Sorry, my dead sign language is a little rust--" But Annabeth saves him, as per usual. Well, kind of. What the ghost wants doesn't seem to make any more sense now that it's been explained. "Isn't that the opposite of what you're supposed to do when you're dancing?"

[sophos]

She rolls her eyes, but it's not really in annoyance. The only time this ever really comes up anymore is through teasing anyway. "Yeah, I'm definitely aware of that."

The ghost gives Percy a huffy glare, but Annabeth scans the rest of the area around them. "It looks like nobody dancing is wearing them. And the floor's carpet. It's probably some kind of tradition."

And she bends her right leg at the knee to pull off one of her sandals, using her boyfriend has a balance with the other hand. Content that Annabeth seems to get the point, the ghost wanders off before any further explanation can be asked. Not that the the ghosts seemed to talk much about anything in detail when asked. She shifts limbs around when finished with the first to tug off the second sandal. "Not every culture dances with shoes on."

[kelpful]

"Maybe if you'd, you know. Explained? That would have helped."

His body moves instinctively to steady her, completely unbothered by the way she's using him as a piece of furniture. His shoes are much less complicated than hers, so he simply toes them off. "Am I breaking some kind of sacred tradition with my socks, as well?" It's worth noting that said socks are totally mismatched.

[sophos]

Annabeth kicks her shoes away, and they land somewhere close enough to the rest of the collection building up. "Okay, fine, we were both dumb." It's a small concession, her tone still implying he was dumber.

She looks down at his feet, torn between exasperation and amusement. The latter mostly wins out, because she laughs, but she does shake her head. "If one of them tries to rip your socks off, we'll find out for sure, though I'm sure some of the Aphrodite kids would have a few choices words. Now are you going to ask me properly or not?"

[kelpful]

"I'm sorry, what was that?" He's grinning though, obviously not expecting a response beyond getting smacked. Worth it, to be honest.

He wriggles his toes when he notices the direction of her gaze. And then he takes the socks off too, because as funny as that might be, he really just wants to dance with his girlfriend. No interruptions, otherworldly or otherwise. That done, he returns both hands to her waist, stepping in close to her. "Annabeth Chase, would you do me the honour of a dance?" A beat. "That's how you say it, right?"

[sophos]

And smack him, she does, but there's little force behind it. "I'm not repeating it."

She can't help the way her lips curl into a small smile, then the short laugh that slips out when he asks for confirmation. "Close enough." She slips her hands up to his shoulders, pushes them both a little further away from the shoe pile. "I thought you'd never ask, Percy Jackson. Of course I will."

[kelpful]

"That's okay, it's the kind of thing I'll remember forever. Too bad we don't have a camera, I'd take a photo."

He trips his way backwards, tugging her with him. It's easy to avoid the other dancers, even though he's not looking where he's going; turns out fighting skills do come in handy on the dance floor. "Even I can't screw it up every time, right?" The music is slow, at least, so it's easy for him to slide into - well, slow dancing.

[sophos]

"You can't photograph words someone says."

She's not exactly the greatest dancer herself - when have either of them really had time for that? Still, she's smiling when they start shifting around, falling into step with him. She keeps up the slow pace, and it's not her fault at all if she subtly tries to fight him for the lead. Or at least, getting to a point where they're moving together. That's all she really wants right now. "Sometimes even screwing up can go well in the end."

Because she expects it a lot of the time. But he's Percy, so she knows he usually ends up fixing it despite that, too,

[kelpful]

"Yeah, but I could take a picture of the moment. And then if someone asks when I took the photo, I can be like, 'oh that was the day Annabeth said she was dumb about something." His logic is clearly infallible.

He fights her for the lead as well, a little less subtly. But she's Annabeth and he's Percy, so he ultimately gives in, at least to the point where they're moving together. "I think we can pretty much all agree that's my main talent."

[sophos]

She rolls her eyes. "You were dumber." It's a little huffy, but she's nowhere near dangerously annoyed.

There's something about the competition to lead that's just stupidly them, that it just serves to make Annabeth even happier. Which, to be honest, is something she could really use right now. She moves her hands, sliding her arms around his shoulders, if only so she can step in closer, chest brushing against his. "Don't sell yourself that short."

[kelpful]

"I'd say it was more of a fifty/fifty dumb split, to be honest."

He can feel it, in the way she moves, the air around her. They're both relaxed, and she's happy, and that is literally the only thing in the world that Percy could ask for right now. "You're right." He leans down, forehead pressing to hers as they find their own rhythm here. "Out of the two of us, the short one is definitely not me."

[sophos]

"No way. Definitely more forty/sixty. Maybe thirty/seventy."

There's a soft hum of contentment when his forehead comes against hers, and her smile both deepens and softens. At least until the jab, then she makes a bit of a face. "Don't make me pull out the and-Jason-is-taller-than-you card. I am not short."

[kelpful]

Whatever sweet atmosphere they've managed to construct for themselves here is briefly ruined when Percy chokes a little at her comment, making a face at her. "One, you can't say don't make you pull a card when you're in the process of totally pulling that card. And two, I'm not dancing with Jason. So there."

[sophos]

Annabeth just breaks into a laugh, not quite but almost a giggle. "Maybe that was the plan all along," she says, stepping in further and shifting her arms a little more closely around him. "To threaten the card as I pulled it. Wait for your reaction."

[kelpful]

His hands shift at her waist, moving to the small of her back so they’re even closer. It’s probably a little intimate for the dance floor, to be honest, but Percy doesn’t really care. The rest of the world is fading away to unimportant background noise in the face of the girl in his arms. “You and your plans,” he sighs. “Were you trying to kill me? Because it nearly worked.”

[sophos]

She should probably care, too. They're close and content and maybe they shouldn't be this close, but all things considered, with the way things have been - she doesn't care at all what anyone else might think right now. As long as she gets to keep slowly swaying with him like this. "If I wanted you dead, you'd be long dead by now and you know it."

[kelpful]

He tugs his head back a little so he can give her the world's most dubious look. "Um. There's no way. I could totally take you."

In a head on fight, maybe. But she'd probably get him with any kind of sneak attack. But that's not the point. His pride is definitely the point. And maybe the good-natured rivalry they haven't been able to indulge in lately.

[sophos]

"Only if we were at the beach," but she's grinning. Almost a smirk, but it's not haughty so much as just amused and happy. Bantering with Percy has always been one of her favorite things, really, and it's nice to return to it. It makes the dance all the more theirs. "But even then I'm sure I could come up with something."

[kelpful]

"Excuse me? I carry the ocean around with me, thank you very much." They've moved almost unconsciously towards a quieter corner of the dance floor, where there are less people and he can keep up with the thread of the conversation easier. Not that he was having too much trouble with it before; Annabeth is kind of a cure to ADHD. His, at least.

"And I'm just as good at coming up with things as you are. I'm just louder about it."

[sophos]

"But it exhausts you," she says matter-of-factly. "Which is where my advantage would be."

They've always been private people at the core, for all the entire camp sat waiting for them to finally get together. Even if she doesn't quite realize where they've ended up, nor realize it happened at all, something in her relaxes a little more in their corner. "You're louder about everything, to be honest."

[kelpful]

"You're going to take advantage of me while I'm tired and weak?" He raises his eyebrows at her, feigning incredulity. "That's low, Wise Girl."

He doesn't really notice the way she relaxes so much as he sense it. Something in him responses in kind. Between this and their conversation the other day, he's starting to feel almost normal again. Sort of. "Challenge accepted," he announces, and there's a hint of a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. "There'll be something you're louder at, I'm pretty sure."

It's not really innuendo. But it isn't not, either.

[sophos]

It only makes her grin, and Annabeth rolls one of her shoulders in a shrug. "If it means I win, I'm not opposed." Except not really, because fair and square or bust, but she's enjoying the banter too much.

She starts to make a face at him over it, but pauses to huff up instead. Innuendo-but-not-but-yes or otherwise, she doesn't start blushing either. Just kind of meets his gaze evenly. "You'll lose this one. I'll let you retract it, if you want. Easy answers like yelling at Hera or architecture don't count."