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 Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2026 7:46 pm
Quote: The Lantern Festival (7) : Scientists have been hard at work trying to understand the strange, glowing qualities of the luminescent caterpillars found in the caves by the reservoir. The caterpillars still shrivel up if they are taken out of the caves but their glowing secretions have been processed into an organic paste that can withstand the outside world. The city is selling paper lanterns infused with various seeds. The glow paste is full of minerals to support healthy plant growth without risking damage to the environment; all lantern purchases come with a small packet of activating power that will heat the paste up enough to mimic the effects of a candle without the concerns of flammability. When the glow paste loses its heat, the lantern will return to the Earth and upon the first rain (or any contact with water) the paper will dissolve and the seeds may begin to grow. All proceeds from the lanterns are put right back into the community to support local conservation and environmental protection efforts. It felt strange, Halia thought, to be going to the lantern festival alone. Last year she had gone with the twins, had gone out of her way to doll herself up and try and make an impression. This year? This year was solely for her. While still looking cute, she was dressed comfortably in a skirt that reached just past her knees, a cute sleeveless blouse, and a pair of ankle boots. She had worn what made her feel good rather than what she thought might be eye catching, and she felt much better for it. Making her way to a vendor, she looked in her wallet to make sure she had enough funds. She would much rather pay with cash at an event like this, especially when proceeds contributed to something good. That way, if they allowed it, she could give a little extra. Not watching where she was going, she managed to run directly into the back of the person in front of her. Squeaking and stepping back quickly, she looked up with an apologetic expression. "I'm so sorry! I was off in my own world and not paying attention!" Her cheeks burned red in embarrassment, and the moment she realized who it was, she outright wanted to die just a little.
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Posted: Sat Jul 18, 2026 3:58 pm
"Woah, hey, it's okay--oh, hey," Alex said, dropping from standard polite tone to 'hey I actually know that person' voice. "No worries. You okay?" Alex gave her a reassuring smile. He hadn't been looking for her - he hadn't been looking for anyone - but he wasn't mad to run into Halia again. Maybe this Starfest would see a little magic come his way after all... "What were you thinking about, when you were off in your own world?" Alex asked, giving her a winning grin. "How about you tell me about it over..." Alex glanced around. "Want some ice cream before the lanterns start?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2026 6:36 pm
Halia gave an awkward smile, looking sheepish. "I'm alright. Embarrassed but alright." Her heart did a dumb little thing where it sped up just a tiny bit but she dismissed it mentally. Clearly it was just embarrassment. "I... won't say no to that. Let me just go ahead and buy my lantern really fast." Smiling at him again almost shyly, she stepped up to the counter and paid for her own lantern, plus enough to buy one for whoever would come behind her. Sometimes paying it forward really did make a difference, and she tried to do it where she could. Turning to look at Alex again, Halia nodded and gestured towards some vendors nearby. "Lead the way?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2026 1:58 pm
Alex watched her with a fond little smile, and kept watching even after Halia had turned away to return to him - he saw the confusion when the next person tried to hand over their cash, watched it turn from confusion to surprised joy, and watched the smile stay on that person's face as they ambled back through the crowd. Sometimes it was nice to do a nice thing. "One'a my buddies does the lighting for all the booths," Alex said as they made their way through the throng of people. "He tells me all the gossip, and also where to find the best snacks, but we better move quick 'cause everyone'll want something after the lanterns go up." Alex found the booth he was looking for - a booth with a variety of frozen treats - and glanced down at Halia. "Let me guess...you're a cookies-n-cream kinda girl, aren't you?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2026 2:45 am
A little smile stayed on her lips as she made her way back over to Alex. It really was the little things that made it fun. Hearing that one of his friends worked on the booths, she gave him a bright smile. "That's actually really cool that you know someone who worked on all this." She was far too much of a homebody to have connections, and far too busy to have much time to make new friends lately. Working a full time job and being a dedicated senshi was hard, time consuming work. Laughing softly, Halia nodded at the correct assumption. "Cookies and cream, cookie dough, and mint chocolate chip are my top three favorites. I also really love those strawberry shortcake bars too. You know, the ones with the kind of crunchy stuff on the outside?" She grinned at him, walking easily beside him. "What about you? Wait, lemme guess first. Hmmmmm." She took a moment to look at him, almost as if she was studying him. "Rocky Road?" It was a shot in the dark, and she was likely wrong, but it was still fun to try and guess.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2026 3:38 pm
Alex grinned victoriously, though it morphed into something more surprised as she returned the favor. "Okay, now you're freaking me out a little. Yeah, Rocky Road's tied up there with the Ben & Jerry's churro ice cream, or the Half-Baked one? Basically if B&J sell it, I've tried it and pretty much loved it. I don't really go for the fruit stuff usually but they're magic enough to make it work, at least for every now and then." Sure, a lot of his experience with ice cream was comforting his mom after yet another disastrous first date - the woman had no game, and no radar - but Halia didn't need to know about all of that right now. Soon they were at the front of the line and Alex paid for their treats, then handed Halia's over to her very carefully - it was piled up extremely high, which Alex would swear up and down had nothing to do with the fact that he seemed to know the person behind the counter, too. He kinda knew everybody - he was just that kind of guy. "Happy Lantern Day," he said, playfully almost-bumping his own rocky road up against her cookies-n-cream, though he kept them from actually touching and mixing the flavors. "And happy Starfest, too."
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