Starlight, Starbright, Won't you dance with me tonight?

[levelthreehooligan]

Throughout the continent, chilly winds herald the change in seasons.

Farmers gather their tools for one final, bountiful harvest before the soil turns too hard to cultivate. Chefs and Bakers gather their retainers, sending them out to find the best ingredients before the competition can. Mercenaries and soldiers take extra care to wax and grease their armors, for stiffness in the limbs due to the cold is a matter of life and death.

Of course, not every part of the realm changes. Thanalan's deserts are too warm at any time of the year, and Coerthas is constantly battered with snow all year round, and yet all know that it is time to gather, to celebrate, to remember. Perhaps even to travel far and wide, and farther still. The Source is not the only place celebrating the ending of this year and the coming of the new.

Starlight is once again returning to Hydaelyn and her Reflections, and the question on everyone's where will this year take us?

Gridania - A Kiss under the Mistletoe

The snows don't touch a lot of the lush greenery of the Shroud, but neither is it unheard of.

The Conjurers and botanists have decorated the City as if it were a bouquet; red berries and holly and sage line the wooden splendour of the city for all to enjoy.

And of course, Fufucha wouldn't leave the mistletoe out! The boughs of the Carline Canopy, strung across the banners of Mih'Khetto's Amphitheatre, dotted along bridges and nooks and crannies are gorgeously presented wreathes of mistletoe, waiting for lovers to notice them.

Ul'Dah - Passions of the Starry Night

Though it's not cold here in the desert, that isn't to say that the festivities aren't in full swing! For, of course, there is drink and merriment to be had! And what would an Ul'dahnian's Starlight look like if not at least a little bit drunk?

Dancing girls in their skimpy clothes offer tasters from brewers, Merchants tantalize shoppers with glittering treasures, fine silks and jewellery in the Sapphire Avenue, and there are a fair amount of Thaumaturges putting on shows for children and adults with reflective ice and shimmering flames.

But be careful, the booze flowing freely means that inhibitions are lower than usual. Bar fights aren't uncommon in the Quicksands, nor are 'secret' trysts in the inn rooms, just what kind of night will you have?

Limsa - Just one Dance

The central plaza is as bustling and busy as it always is, though you can't help but think it feels even busier today!

And of course it would, for everyone's here to celebrate.

The Aetherite has been decorated haphazardly by children throwing tinsel around it's ever-spinning foci, glitter sprinkled onto the surface of the already shining crystal itself; the Yellowjackets don't have the heart to interrupt them or to undo their work. What the hell, they think, it's the holidays.

Bards both solo and troupe line the streets a respectful distance apart, so you are never far away from music!

As the sun sets and the stars start to glitter over La Noscea, they seem to have made a truce, come together for a night of music and dance.

Grab a partner for a song or two, just what is playing and who are you dancing with?

Ishgard - A Warm Meal, a Warm Smile

The King that looks over the Snow.

The spires that call to the dravanian winds.

A warm hearth in the centre of Foretemps manor.

This year, the relationship between Ishgardian and Dravanian has been slowly, but steadily improving. As an act of good faith and in the interests of bringing the groups together, Aymeric has opened the City to them as they Celebrate Starlights.

The scent of mulled wine and honey-roasted boar fill the whole city as the Skybuilder's hand up their tools for the holiday but can't stop themselves from crafting even off the clock. The Firmament is decorated with lights as families that previously resided in the Brume make the most of their new homes.

Though the fare is simple, it's stomach-filling and heartwarming; the Skybuilders and the Denizens of the firmament have made a feast for all to enjoy! Take a seat and have a chat over some steaming food.

Kugane - The Gift of Giving

The streets of Kugane are awash with warm colours, gold and silver and yellows and reds; Lanterns glow in the mild winds and chimes can be heard from stalls as you wander through.

And though the markets are nice, the person or people you've come to meet are waiting for you in the Shiokaze Holstery, and you have something for them with you!

The Crystarium - Just one more sleep

And after it all, there's the night. The blessed night so hard won.

The blanket of stars that you can see over your room in The Pendants. Perhaps you have someone with you as you sit on pillows and blankets, warm in your sleep clothes with a mug of cocoa. Two friends talking the night away, or perhaps something more?

You're tired, but gods if it isn't the good kind. Will you make it through till dawn, or will you fall asleep right then and there?

Comments

Re: Gridania

[rosesandrolanberries]

Spiced tried once more to read the note Pinya had sent – it was clearly written in haste and was nigh on unreadable. She could make out the Meet me at, but the words that came after may as well have been written in a foreign language. The first letters looked like they were both C’s, but they could have been O’s. Badly executed A’s. Unfinished Q’s. Either way, the only place she could think of that fit the length and shape of the scrawls was the Carline Canopy. Fitting, too, that it would be somewhere her mistress was so fond of.

She looked up from the note. The Canopy was thoroughly decorated for the season, and as pleasant and welcoming as ever. A little busier than normal, even. She scanned the tables, but the few Lalafells she could see certainly weren’t the one she was looking for. She scanned the faces again, then a third time, but the mischievous blonde didn't appear.

Perhaps I was wrong, she pondered as she peered at the note again, but the writing refused to magically make itself any more legible.

[levelthreehooligan]

The serpentine grin that spread across Pinya's face would have perhaps been called 'evil', 'worrying', or perhaps even 'an omen that would forsee calamitous events', at least if anyone but Miounne managed to see it.

"Target Aquired!" She shouts, letting her iron grip on the bean go as she swings down, aiming right for her retainer.

The shout and an exhilarated 'Whoop!' is all the warning before a lala-shaped mistress catches her around the neck and plants a big old kiss on Spiced's cheek.

Now that she's in the light, it's clear that actually, Pinya has adorned herself with Mistletoe on near every piece of clothing she could reach!

[rosesandrolanberries]

Spiced looked up, wide eyed, when a familiar voice shouted, but she still couldn't find Pinya. But, she barely had time to look before something out of the corner of her eye came hurtling for her face. She tried to raise a hand to stop it, but wasn't fast enough. She may have yelped, even.

The thing hit her square on the cheek with a substantial amount of force, and if she hadn't glanced it beforehand it may well have caused her to stumble. That said, it didn't hurt - the thing was... surprisingly squishy. The hand she raised to protect her face had made contact with the thing's other side, and was tangled in... plants? And... hair??

She stepped back to examine the thing. It was... short. Blonde. Lalafell shaped. Looked suspiciously like the mistress she was searching for. Had that familiarly adorable (and worrying) grin on her face.

She held a hand to her chest and she could feel her heart pounding. "You scared me!" She disentangled her hand from the greenery, and placed a hand either side of Pinya's face. "This doesn't feel safe..." she uttered as she looked her over, hanging from the rafters... completely and utterly enveloped in some manner of plant. "And look at you! You look as if you were dragged through a bush backwards!" She plucked a loose piece from her hair, dark green with white berries. "What even is- oh."

She was covered in mistletoe.

That was about when her mind finally registered the sound said thing had made when it contacted her cheek; a distinct and exaggerated 'mwah'. After a moment of staring blankly at the berries in her hand, she began to smile. And, pretty soon, that smile then broke into a laugh. "You got me," she said, "You actually got me."

[levelthreehooligan]

Pinya descends into peals of laughter as her friend starts to laugh.

"Mission Success!" She yells jubilantly, swiftly grabbing the free line and giving it a tug, freeing herself from the rigging that kept her aloft and dropping herself fully onto Spiced's body.

[rosesandrolanberries]

When Spiced realised Pinya was making a swift gravity-assisted descent, she let out a quick surprised "Oh!" and reached out to grab her. She wrapped her arms around the Lala's waist as she fell. "You shouldn't do that," she scolded gently. "One day I'll be too slow drop you." Not that it would stop Pinya. Nothing would ever stop Pinya.

She made no move to lower her to the floor. Instead, she hugged her - squeezing perhaps a little hard for her tiny frame. "I missed you! It feels like you've been gone for months!" After a long moment she released her grip - somewhat - and began plucking sprigs of mistletoe from Pinya's clothes and hair. "Really though, did you have to go so far above and beyond this time? This is a lot of... foliage."

[levelthreehooligan]

"Oh, what's a bit of blunt force trauma in the grand scheme of things?" Pinya's more than acquainted with various floors of all styles and creeds at this point, and she's stood back every time thus far.

"I-" Gasp- Spiced's hugs were always vicious as they were loving, Twelve, "I missed you too you overgrown ball of goodwill, you," she laughs between breaths. She's long learned not to struggle against this, it only ends up with Spiced panicking and squeezing harder.

"And yes! I had to make sure at least one part of both of us was 'under' the mistletoe, otherwise it'd be bad luck," she says with a grin... or is that a smirk? Maybe both.