Deviņi ● Action

[balzams]

●　Action ; Morning June 23^rd ; 7133 Brooks Lane

[Today Latvia does his best to prepare for the evening. While he normally likes to take things easy and pass the work off to someone else, right now he seems very adamant about doing the work himself. During the day you can find him at his house in Brooks Lane, decorating the lower half of the building with all manner of branches and leaves. Rowan, Oak, Holly… He would decorate the upper section of the house too but he doesn’t trust the ladder he found and if anything were to happen to him before the evening, that would be pretty disastrous]

●　Action ; Evening June 23^rd ; Make-out point

[If you come up to make-out point tonight you’ll find a small bonfire roaring away. Nearby there are bottles of beer and cheese laid out, although it seems that a lot of space has been left for people to bring their own food. In the middle of it all stands Latvia, wearing what appears to be some kind of folk costume. A black had with a coloured band, a long grey coat and trousers that are tucked into his socks, a brown waistcoat and finished off with a bright red ribbon tied around his neck]

Labvakar! Laipni lūdzam!


●　Action ; June 24^th ; Around town

[A little light headed and a little unsteady on his feet Latvia makes his way home after the night. Only wearing his trousers and his shoes, the rest of his clothes are carried under his arm. Even though he looks a little burnt out he seems happy nonetheless]

Comments

7133 Brooks Lane

[balzams]

[Latvia finishes attaching the branches to the window frame at the back of the house and hurries round to the front of the building]

Ah, hello. Were you one of the girls I spoke to over the phone?

[forgotten_titan]

Yeah, I'm Terra! You're...Ravis, right?

[She smiled and showed him the grocery bag she was carrying.]

I wasn't too sure what to bring for the party, but I brought bananas and apple juice, if that's ok with you.

[balzams]

That's right, it's nice to meet you.

[He holds out his hand for a handshake]

Oh! That's be okay. Beer and caraway cheese are eaten traditionally but these days people tend to bring all kinds of things. Thank-you, I really appreciate it.

[forgotten_titan]

Phew! That's a relief, because it would've been totally awkward if there was a rule against having stuff outside the festival.

[Balancing the bag of groceries in one arm, she gives him a handshake.]

Happy Yah-nie then!

[balzams]

Even if there was I could have just kept it for later.

And a happy Jāņi to you too. Will you be coming to for the night-time celebrations?

[forgotten_titan]

Yeah I am. But I might have to head home at 11, if that's ok with you. The mom in my house would get on my case if I didn't.

I like the leaves you put around your house by the way. It looks really cool, almost like a fairytale house. Do you need more help with them?

[balzams]

I guess that's okay. Normally people stay up all night to greet the sun but I understand it can be a little inconvenient, especially for people who don't normally celebrate it.

[Somehow he feels a little off put by the comparison]

Uh... well they're actually to ward off bad spirits. I'm okay though, I'm almost done with them anyway.

[forgotten_titan]

Bad spirits?

[She didn't notice his discomfort, but she is curious by the leaves. She walks over and touches one of the leaves.]

That sounds like a great idea, especially here in Mayfield. Do you have a lot of bad spirits in Latvian culture?

[balzams]

There are a few but I don't know that people beleive in them so much in this day and age. Jāņi is said to be the time that the border between the living world and the spirit world is at it's thinnest though.

[forgotten_titan]

And you got different sorta leaves there too, huh? Do they all chase away different types of spirits?

[balzams]

Not really...

The decorations have actually changed over the years. It used to be just thorns and rowan branches but these days people use all kinds of things.