Light up the Night - [BACKDATED to 2/5]

[mamaterasu]

Who: Ammy + Anyone interested
What: Fireworks show for the Lunar New Year!
When: Evening of 2/5/19
Where: Monkey Compound
Warnings: None so far, tag as needed!



[It's about noon when a message is posted to the Message Rock, as well as over the Stones of Farspeech - an elegant writing in kanji with a translation below. The voice is foreign, not often heard and possibly lost from most peoples' memories, but it sounds...excited? There's definitely a chime-like laughter hidden in the depths of it.]

All interested in a beautiful sight, please show up at dusk at the Hana--eh...the Monkey Compound. Drinks - for the elders among you - and some snacks will be provided, but I encourage you all to pack a box lunch.

Those unable to attend...I'll try to make sure you see it. Thank you.

[How very enigmatic indeed.

Still, those that do show up as the sky begins to change into a purple-blue color, dotted with small, glittering stars, will see that the Monkey Compound has been done up a bit. There's a line of small, flowering cherry blossom trees creating a lovely arch by the entrance, and little paper tags have been hung from a few of the branches, holding pictures of a tiny boar, or piglet, and a prayer written on the opposite side in kanji.

Inside has a very, very pleasant air to it. Much different than what this place used to be. It's laid with fresh, clean, springy grass and flowers, and a bountiful garden off to one side, which looks a little barren...probably because most of the foods have been harvested and laid out neatly on a bushels of palm fronds. Fresh vegetables and fruits from Ammy's garden, ripe for the taking and eating, if you're more the rustic type. There's also fire-roasted fish, skewered on a stick and cooking nicely by a crackling bonfire. Eat, enjoy, converse with neighbors and friends alike! Drinks have indeed been provided for the adults, a large barrel of sake with a ladle to pour it into one of twelve dishes. And yes, a bowl of water has been added to the side to rinse them off.

The centerpiece is a very basic shrine put up with a folding wall, once white in color but painted over with a beautiful portrait of a boar rolling a round firework, and a tiny, ceramic figure on a boar topping a little rock pile. Below the statue is an offering of sake, a single sakura mochi, a grilled fish, and some flowers. That is where the wolf will be when you first spot her.

For...a moment, at least. Because once the sky grows truly dark, and the embers from the bonfire has crept to soft, orange glow, a whistle will wheeze its way through the sky as a streak of light soars up, and up...before it explodes in a puff of white sparks. Nothing exciting, more a call to attention.

A minute passes, then another, and the're movement by the far end of the compound as the wolf readies everything she needs. A few final touches--...there! All ready for the show to begin.

And what a show it is.

The fireworks are beautiful and vibrant, coloring the skies in a vast array of rainbow hues, dancing like they're actually alive. True artistry, and a blessing from the God of Explosions, Bakugami (and the local rabbit god, who provided a number to help make this work). An explosive force meant to open the gate for a blissful new year - full of color, full of life, and bountiful in all things that bring happiness and joy to those with good in their hearts.

Happy Lunar New Year. ♥]

Comments

[fireindreams]

[Grimm does not know the meaning behind this wonderful show and the fireworks are far different then the one the Troupe utilize. But that does not take a single thing away from the wondrous sight that lights up the night sky. The colors and the sounds! The patterns that bloom across the sky like cosmoses and stars being born, cotton-like bursts of colors in all shades of the rainbow. The sky is Ammy's canvas and what she paints upon it is life coming to the land, burning bright until it fades away.

It is a breathtaking sight and even if his voice is drowned out by the roar of the fireworks, Grimm is laughing in delight. This is absolutely wonderful! Later on he must thank the Knight for bringing him here to witness such a thing come to life.

But there is someone else he needs to thank, the one who put together and executed this show. Grimm moves through the crowd until he finds where Ammy has taken to rest and sits down beside her. He reaches out and, if willing, gently pets her fur.]

That was an incredible showing, my friend. It was a beauty I have never seen before and I thank you for sharing it.

[mamaterasu]

[Strangely, the wolf is just that, a wolf. Grimm may be used to seeing color to her form - and a few extra visuals that truly mark her as a god like him - but she's exhausted herself after this show. The Inkfinity Stone she was gifted by the Storyteller did its part for tonight, but only for the duration of the fireworks. After those few minutes, she was entirely void of her ink, and her holy powers, until the morrow.

But it's alright, she seems extremely pleased with the outcome, no matter how tired she is, there's a smile on her face as she peeks on eye open to watch the Troupe Master approach, her tail thumping happily against the ground. She lifts her head, catching his hand as it goes to pet her, giving him a few affectionate licks before she leans her head back down on her folded paws, a smile on her lips.

Heh heh, liked it, did you? That's good to hear, she put a lot into it for the celebration. It took a bit of planning, and a lot of energy on her part, but hearing that people enjoyed it is all the reward she needs. It was meant to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and give praise to the Year of the Pig, and the Boar God who holds dominion over explosions - such as fireworks - in her world. It was her gift to her child, and for those on the island to usher in a new year of joy and colorful times ahead. A bounty, of love and laughter and togetherness.

Shouldn't that be something to explosively share, and celebrate, with a grand show?]

Roowf.

[fireindreams]

[He does indeed notice the lack of color on Ammy's fur. She did not lose her uniqueness by lacking the stunning designs that swirled among the white but it likely means something that they are gone. He watches her closely but soon it appears to simply be a case of exhaustion.

But regardless of said exhaustion Ammy was clearly pleased with her hard work. The Troupe Master knew the feeling. He was a performer at heart and he put his all in the shows the Grimm Troupe put on even if it was within a dead land that had no one to watch and listen to the sights and music. And Ammy's show was one suited to the living, like a dance against the backdrop of the dark sky.

Grimm saw beauty in the dead, dying and what could be born from ash and rekindled flame. This Goddess of Light granted him and others the wonderful gift of life's flair. A grand show suited to the future, to what may come.

The Troupe Master continues to gently pet the wolf, a crooked smile of his own stretching across his face.]

You would make quite the addition to my Troupe if you were willing. We have used fireworks in our shows but nothing of this scale. You would certainly liven up the crowd, my friend.

[mamaterasu]

[Happy to bask in the attention, Ammy makes a happy keening sound as she scoots closer to Grimm's hands, laying her head against him and moving it up or to the side as needed so he can reach better. She never said she wasn't a glutton for the finer things in life... However, all the elated wriggling does slow as she twitches an ear and opens her eyes to look at him with a smile glittering in her eyes.

Oho, an invitation to join his band? That's quite flattering, and she bows her head graciously. If he'll have her, she'd love to join....part time. Ammy's sole duty is for others, yes, but on a grand scale, and there's nothing and no one that could tear her away from that. She simply loves doing what she does too much. Caring for others, and the very world itself, and continuing the existence of light and life with every ounce of heart and spirit she can muster. But, she'd be happy to share in her secrets, if that will help with her friend's future performances, of course.]

[fireindreams]

[Grimm's smile widens, toothy and amused.]

If you desire, of course. It must be a choice made freely.

[He did not take those who joined the Troupe without asking. Plucking them from their lives without warning or choice made him little better then the Radiance or the Pale King. There were rules that Grimm held himself too and the one that would pass on from incarnation to incarnation is that choices must be made freely. To take it away from someone was nothing more then a horrid cruelty.

(After all, Grimm knew what it was like to have personal choice taken away. Who was he to do it to others?)

All he could do was offer the choice.

That being said he could still imagine how beautiful Ammy would be in the Grimm Troupe. Not that she isn't now! But it is something entertaining to see in his mind eye, her in the Troupe's colors, lighting up the sky of lands who's ash would be rekindled and made into something new.]

[mamaterasu]

[The freedom of her choice is nice, and while the invitation is equally kind a gesture, and her first instinct is to accept (it's simply in her nature), the wolf actually does have to ponder the true meaning of such a thing. She already has a monumental task as a goddess of her own world, and they are two gods at odds. Grimm is a being of death and rebirth, finding beauty in the end of one's life and beginning anew - like a phoenix rising from the charred ashes of its former self.

Amaterasu, on the other hand, is a being purely of light, of life, and creation. She revels in the safety and sanctity of life, of preserving and continuing existence. Balance. She adores Grimm and his family, his troupe, and a part of her wants to agree, and yet--]

...Until you or I leave this world, I can lend a hand here and there. [The familiar voice that whispers on the wind, both young and and old, wise and curious all the same. Ammy doesn't seem to move her mouth, and yet she speaks all the same, her lips turning up at their corners cheekily and she crosses her front paws matter of factly.] But you are no 'Master' of mine, friend.

[fireindreams]

[To that bold statement, Grimm simply laughs and ruffles Ammy's fur.

She is not the first nor the last who refused that part, to have a Master. There were those that despite their crumbling, dying worlds would answer to no bug but themselves. It was something Grimm respected as well. He surrounded himself with others for his own reasons but the strength to stand alone regardless of one's circumstances is admirable. A stone in a storm that refused to budge because it was here first.]

I would not dare to assume rule over you. You would look beautiful in the Troupe's colors, I will not lie, but if you desire to remain free then it will be so. To force such a thing would mean I gain this - [Grimm gestures to the sky where those beautiful fireworks had once been.] But I would lose you.

[To join the Troupe is to have the self symbolically burned away by the Nightmare King's flame. A new name and painful memories become a distant dream. It was one of the many reasons why Grimm did not force someone's hand because he did not want to ruin the uniqueness that all possessed.

After all, what good was it to possess the most beautiful flower in the world if it would die soon because he was so careless to uproot it by the steam? No. The offer was Grimm's to make but it was for others to accept as they desire.]

Helping one another would be perfect. To bless the lands with life is your role but if you require someone to take the nightmares that come with it, I will be here as well. It will not be one-sided help.

[Grimm will do his part, as always, in this cycle of life and rebirth.]

[mamaterasu]

Balance.

[She replies, with a nod and a smile, turning her head into the rough and playful truss of her fur. Its certainly difficult to say no, especially when Ammy adores Grimm so much, but they are simply too far apart of the spectrum of their skills to benefit one another with complete compliance. He's right, in that she'd lose her sense of self if she were to join his troupe completely. And she'd lose her purpose, her people. It's tempting to help him, but...well.

She remembers back when helping others too much, not believing in them and their own strength, and taking on too much for herself...was damaging. The Trial of the Generous was indeed eye opening to Amaterasu. One can be kind, one can give unto others who ask or need, but they also have to give unto themselves as well. A piece broken from oneself is a piece forever lost.]

You are a noble sort, my friend, and I accept these terms. I can be a part of your little band in spirit, if that's acceptable, and I'll wear your colors proudly. [She makes a thoughtful sound, turning her head to the side as her tail thumps on the ground. Actually, that's not a bad idea... In fact--] Grimm, do you have an emblem? A sign that bears your mark?

[She might have something fun in mind for a special pet project, heh heh.]