St. John's Eve Family Bonfire

"Granddaughter and daughter of mine," Rafael called out as he entered the backyard with five hired hands at a little before seven in the evening. Three of the men carried in large boxes of supplies for the gathering tonight while two others brought in coolers with food as well as an imported suckling pig to be roasted on a spit.

"Where do you want the...? Nope, never mind," he stated with one minded purpose as he gestured for the men to follow him, having almost immediately spotted what he was looking for - a place to get a fire started so he could set up the spit to roast the meat and the seafood he had brought along.

"Thank you," Celeste called out to her father as he set up the bonfires for the evening's events.

"Should we help him?" Zora asked as she watched her grandfather order people around.

"No, just let him do his thing. He enjoys it. When I was a young girl, he'd come and get me and mum, take us to some beach where we'd have a picnic and make a huge bonfire, " Celeste told her niece as she looped her arm in hers, and lead her away to sit on a bench under a Weeping Willow while Rafael got everything ready for the evening's festivities.

After an hour or two of talking and just relaxing together under the tree, Zora and Celeste decided it was time to start preparing the bundles of St.John's Wort, wormwood, verbena, lavender, mint, clary sage, and rosemary that was said to protect against evil and offer curative powers.

They then brought out the nocino - a liquor made from green walnuts picked the year before on this night and big bowls of strawberries and raspberries that they placed together with the food and drink that Rafael's hired help had set out.

"Zora and I are going to get changed, papa," Celeste called out to her father, who was enjoying himself roasting the meat over the fire and adding wood to the other much bigger bonfire that would be lit at midnight.

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As always, there is no posting order. The festivity is normally family and close friends, though it is customary to welcome guests if they wish to join. It is around 9 pm (for the first few posts) and will go on til the early morning hours of the following day.

There are two bonfires - one where Rafael is cooking, and a larger bonfire that is set afire at midnight. There is also a table with food and drink. It is a very casual event where one is supposed to eat, drink, dance and just have a good time basically. Event attire is casual. Location - I am gonna say Rafael's home, in the backyard which is near the coast.

Oh .- and there are fireworks at midnight too.


@Goblin @EmiRose @Keen @Max!! @Kada @Pallas @PixelatedGlory @Saber

(Sorry these are gonna be shortish until I can break them up individually XD )

"You there, Felen, is it?" Rafael said as he addressed the elf, who had been helping him with keeping fires alive and with whom he had had only a passing word, due to the hustle and bustle of getting things set up. However, now that things were ticking along and the meat only needed casual attention, he could talk to the person guarding his granddaughter so meticulously.

"You are the one guarding my granddaughter, no?" he said, as he gave the spit a one-half turn, his tone between matter-of-fact and questioning.

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As soon as she came out of the house, dressed casually in jeans and a warm hoodie sweatshirt with a pair of espadrilles on her feet, a complete 180 from what she's normally be found wearing, Zora walked over to the bonfire and sat down near the young lamia.

"Ieasha?" she inquired politely after she had quietly watched the young girl for a moment before greeting her. Something about her demeanor resonated with Zora ... there was an odd sort of wistfulness surrounding her that she immediately recognized.

"I'm Zora, Celeste's niece," she explained, pretty sure she had not met Roldan's daughter yet, but knowing a little bit about her from what Celeste had told her.

...............................

"Shale!" Celeste called out and waved to him as she exited the house moments after her niece - dressed similarly to Zora, but wearing shorts instead of jeans - catching sight of him just as he was landing in the backyard.

"You made it," she stated, her tone happy and satisfied at the same time. Then, "Wait!" she laughed as she noticed something.

"You are almost the same size as Tadashi," she said as she noticed the cat now curled up on a chair - she had seen him arrive earlier and take a seat in that exact seat, and guessed that the young man - who oddly enough was now her step-brother - had transformed himself into his cat form.


@Pallas @PixelatedGlory @Goblin

Watching Felen with real interest now as he took the wood from his familiar, Rafael chuckled appreciatively at his answer. He had not expected the elf to possess such a fine sense of humour.

"I am glad to hear that," Rafael said with a nod. "Besides, it's not me who you need to please anyway," he added pointedly as he glanced at the other bonfire and at his granddaughter with an unreadable expression.

"How is she doing?" Rafael asked Felen as he continued to watch Zoraida with a concerned expression on his face. He had never really approved of her dating Broen, and what he had done to his daughter's daughter was almost unforgivable in Rafael's mind.

Rafael's jaw set a little at the remark about how his approval could sway Felen's position with his granddaughter. How he wished that were true. Rafael had not cared for Broen. He had made his reservations about the young man known to Zoraida, and yet, she had still taken him on as her bodyguard, dismissing his concerns at the time.

"I see," he said as he met Felen's earnest gaze, clearly having not expected the elf to shut him down like he had. It was something that both annoyed and impressed Rafael. Annoyed because Felen wouldn't elaborate - which meant Rafael would have to actually talk to Zoraida, something he was not great at... women's tears horrified him, and he feared Zoraida was still a ticking time bomb of emotions. And impressed because he had stood his ground, and very tactfully, put Rafael in his place by informing him that his loyalty was to his granddaughter.

"In that case, I will not pry. However, before I drop the subject... Can you tell me if she is getting better? A simple yes or no will suffice," Rafael stated, just needing some sort of reassurance that she was actually okay despite everything.