[ Preparations are in full swing right after breakfast - although still seemingly unstaffed, the kitchen is a flurry of activity and careless guests may find themselves bumped into if they venture too far into the actual cooking area.
It's safer outside, where guests are encouraged to help dress the maypole with fresh cut, leafy birch twigs and a variety of colourful, seasonal flowers - ox-eye daisies, woodland geraniums, cow parsley, buttercups and lupines. There's also a table and benches to carry out into the community center garden, lanterns to hang in the fruit trees and bottles and bottles of elderflower lemonade, beer and brännvin - midsommar isn't midsommar without snaps.
A little later in the afternoon, with the tables laden heavy with pickled herring, fresh potatoes, sour cream and chives, and Västerbotten cheese pie (and a few other less traditional but perhaps more palatable dishes), guests and residents alike sit down for the midsummer celebration. If anyone wants to partake in local customs such as the little frog dance, Ingvar is more than happy to provide the music. Of course, he's just as happy to teach a few drinking songs for those who want to partake in snaps. ]
Evening
[ As the sun begins to... well, not exactly set, but take a dip towards the horizon, the long table will be cleared for dessert - coffee or tea, strawberries and cream, with the option of an aperitif of your choice. The music will continue with traditional songs, that the residents are more than happy to try and teach the guests - or just sing poorly, as is tradition.
For those who are looking for something a bit more quiet and peaceful, Valborg is spending the evening talking about the magic properties of midsummers eve, the most magical of nights. It says that if you pick seven different types of flowers in complete silence and then sleep with them under your pillow, you'll dream of your future betrothed... ]
Night
[ Those who stay out late will quickly notice that the sun doesn't exactly set tonight. You don't need much light to guide your way back to the cabins. However, as you make your way through a wooded area, you might get the sensation that you're being... watched. Like there's someone following you in the shadows. Surely that's just your eyes playing tricks on you... right? ]
( the look on lance's face right now is one hundred percent knowing — because of course keith would want to check out any place labeled forbidden, even if he has a hard time believing anything like that exists here. it's too serene. too quiet. too … nice, for lack of any better wording.
which means that it might all be a facade, and something is going to jump out from the nearest piece of foliage and bite him in the butt, but. nothing has happened to them so far? so. they should be safe. still: ) Waterlilies, huh … ( so what if he's caught up on that more than he is the thought of entering forbidden territory. it still sounds like a neat way to spend the time. ) Those don't sound very forbidden … ( but what.
if they're.
forbidden lilies, lance.
what if! ) Oh, it had to be the party. You, the party animal. ( look we just took party lion and ran with it. you know this. why would you expect anything different. ) M'not too tired either, though. This'll be nice.
[ of course. they have known each other long enough to know that this is exactly the kind of thing keith would do, finding trouble and mystery in the most peaceful of places. he doesn't know how to have a vacation. but perhaps there is something to not quite trusting a place this calm.
anyway, he sees how you're looking at him lance, ok. ]
I think I'm done with parties anyway.
[ well, at least they're in agreement there. honestly, they haven't really bickered in sometime, though you'll never catch him admitting that he might have missed it in the time away. ] I like walking at night, [ keith finds himself admitting, his eyes cast to the sky again. ]
Especially when I can't sleep. Gives me something to do.
( he can't help what his face does when he knows good and darn well why you want to go and do a Thing ( ™ ). his face does what it wants pretty much all the time — and he just knows you by now, okay. he thinks he does. and he kind of hasn't been proven wrong yet.
and maybe keith is right not to trust the calm; this has been an incredibly peaceful place so far, and why wouldn't it be, when it's supposed to be a vacation spot, but if their previous luck with relative calm is anything to go by, it has a tendency to be before the storm.
but. there's nothing saying they can't enjoy it while it lasts. and don't worry about the bickering … they're sure to disagree on something sooner or later. it's just the nature of who they are, and who they are when they're with each other. ) I used to take walks on the beach back home. ( he says idly, steps unhurried. as much as he's still homesick, it makes him smile to think about it, and just sharing that little bit with keith makes him smile wider. )
Like, after it got dark and a little chilly. Always barefoot, because I like the way the sand feels. ( read: he likes the way it squishes between his toes when it's wet, because he's literally five years old. )
[ it wouldn't be keith and lance without the bickering. we'll eagerly await for the next instance as it will surely be entertaining and full of miscommunication. as you do.
he doesn't really think about it, how far lance is from his home and his loved ones; of course, keith has never fully understood the concept of having a family that large and and loving, at least from the stories lance has told in the past. until shiro, he had really been looking out for himself for several years.
a small grin forms on his lips as he glances over while listening to lance, imagining this little kid squishing wet sand under his feet. cute. ]
And you brought things home with you, [ keith remembers, having made a point to actually pay attention to lance and the things he says now that they're not rushing headlong into another round of danger and fighting. ] How different was it at night?
( oh, miscommunication. been a while since that kind of thing has happened, huh? that definitely has to be on the menu for soonish ( ™ ).
he's found himself trying, at least recently, not to actively talk about his family so much — more because he realizes that keith must not know what that's like, and doesn't want him to feel left out than any measure of his own realization that the more he talks about them, the more he thinks about them, the more he ends up missing them. so. really it's more for keith's benefit than his own, and isn't that something new?
but it doesn't mean he doesn't miss them, of course, and this extended vacation is only going to make his homecoming that much more.so he thinks.
he sighs out a small, happy noise, the smile on his face threatening to split it right in two. ) Yep. Rocks, shells … my sister took home a hermit crab once on accident. Freaked my mom out something fierce. ( there's a pause, and if keith chooses to look over that this dopey boy now, he'll see him lit up like a gosh darn christmas tree. )
Oh, dude, it's gorgeous. Especially if the moon was full, and you could watch it rise over the water. You'll never see anything else like it. ( he says this like he. might actually want to show the other this, sometime. hm. maybe. )
keith doesn't think he has ever associated that word with lance before. a nuisance maybe, a good fighter sure, but never endearing. there is warmth radiating from lance as he describes each memory, painting a clear picture of family and home that keith never had growing up. but what he feels isn't jealousy – he never could, not when lance has been so far from his since they were shot into space when the orphan had been given one amongst the stars.
lance beams and keith grins. ]
What about night swims? [ he asks idly, stepping over a thick, visible tree root and pulling his hand out of a pocket so that he can gesture for lance to follow and pay attention. you'll note that he's without those fingerless gloves he always keeps on his person though, unfortunately, keith is still always armed. that's one crutch he will never give up. ]
( well. there are first times for everything, aren't there? even if one of those first times involves thinking about your friend ( teammate?? ) in a way you never have before?
maybe there are some things that are endearing about one ( 1 ) lance mcclain. maybe he has this way of thinking-slash-talking about the things he did when he was younger that makes them seem not so distant, even if there's a good chance a handful of those things haven't happened for longer than he really wants to remember. it's been … jeez, how long? since he'd been able to walk along the beach at night and feel the sand squishing between his toes.
maybe it hasn't been since he joined up with the garrison. maybe it's been long enough that he's suddenly homesick again, but before he has to think about blaming misty eyes on anything ( can't be space dust, not this time ), he gets himself back under control and takes a steadying breath.
where did all this introspection come from? huh? sheesh.
he barely misses the root in a way that would have seen him pitching himself forward — but he does end up stumbling just enough to need to reach out for that outstretched hand to steady himself, maybe just a little bit started by the skin to skin contact due to the lack of those infamous gloves.
um. he's fine now. he's upright. and shoving his hands back into his pockets really quick. ) Every night I could get away with it. ( he's still beaming, but it's just a little bit more subdued than it was a couple of seconds ago. ) The air would be kinda chilly but the water still so warm … I'd never have any trouble going to sleep after.
[ he does feel transported in a way, as if he understands what each of those memories mean to lance, what it feels to have the sand between your toes and to have your mom yell over a sea creature you accidentally brought home. he imagines lance with pockets full of sand and seashells and it's. nice. it gives him a full picture of a guy he has known for a while, someone he has already trusted with his life and his lion.
maybe he can give him a little more of himself too. it's only fair as friends.
but then lance trips and the illusion doesn't quite shatter but it does shift a little as he reaches for keith's gesturing hand. he freezes then, just for a split second before lunging in to make sure the other boy doesn't fall flat on his face. but then they're good and keith returns to having his hands shoved into his hoodie pockets. ]
That sounds nice.
[ but then suddenly he pauses, holding his breath, lifting a hand up to ask lance to pause as well. there's an uncomfortable prickle on the back of his neck. ]
( he's never been a great storyteller, or at least, he doesn't think he's ever been one; the trick to it in this instance is the fact that he misses home so much that he can't help but to paint a vivid picture, to bring in all the little aspects that made those memories so important to him. because he's a sentimental little goofball that will always think of his family home that way. go figure.
there's a very small moment in which everything might find itself ruined because somebody can't keep his balance, can't pick his foot up high enough to keep from tripping over a root — but keith doesn't let him fall, comes close enough to catching him that he regains his balance without much flailing ( there might have been a tiny bit of it, but with those long arms and legs, what else would you expect ), and hands are shoved quickly back into pockets by both parties like nothing ever happened. ) It was — huh?
( he pauses near-instantly, trusting the other's instincts as he's learned to do over the past little while. ) What's up? ( is it a waterlily??? )
[ go figure. they've barely been here for a few weeks and they're already bonding more than before. ( let's see of lance will ever acknowledge that. ) of course, they have to put that emotional bonding on pause because keith cannot shake the feeling now that they're not alone. ]
I don't know.
[ keith sets his jaw as he always does, hands at the ready and no longer shoved into pockets or folded under his arms. they could be getting themselves into some trouble here, but that is absolutely nothing new for these two. after all, that sort of investigation ( and paranoid ) had gotten them into their lions in the first place. ]
( okay now just. listen. he's over the whole dismissal of the initial bonding moment never happening. because it totally did and maybe he'd be willing to admit it now but since they're bonding even more here? he doesn't have to!
but that bonding is going to have to be put on hold, because keith heard something ( ™ ) and it instantly has lance's attention because paranoia or not, when keith's attention gets shoved in one direction or another over anything else, it usually means something. usually.
he looks around them, but of course he doesn't see anything right away, so he ends up looking right back at keith for some sort of. direction or something. ) Heard something like. What? ( pause. ) A bear?
If you leave bears alone, they probably won't attack you. It sounds like we're being followed.
[ okay, so keith might be mister paranoid. or he might have been when he was booted out of the garrison but those suspicions were far from unfounded. it was partly through that inkling, that hope of something being out there, that jettisoned all of them into space. ]
I don't know, [ keith murmurs through gritted teeth, frustrated that he can't even see it, even when he squints through the trees. ] It isn't even that dark out.
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which means that it might all be a facade, and something is going to jump out from the nearest piece of foliage and bite him in the butt, but. nothing has happened to them so far? so. they should be safe. still: ) Waterlilies, huh … ( so what if he's caught up on that more than he is the thought of entering forbidden territory. it still sounds like a neat way to spend the time. ) Those don't sound very forbidden … ( but what.
if they're.
forbidden lilies, lance.
what if! ) Oh, it had to be the party. You, the party animal. ( look we just took party lion and ran with it. you know this. why would you expect anything different. ) M'not too tired either, though. This'll be nice.
no subject
anyway, he sees how you're looking at him lance, ok. ]
I think I'm done with parties anyway.
[ well, at least they're in agreement there. honestly, they haven't really bickered in sometime, though you'll never catch him admitting that he might have missed it in the time away. ] I like walking at night, [ keith finds himself admitting, his eyes cast to the sky again. ]
Especially when I can't sleep. Gives me something to do.
no subject
and maybe keith is right not to trust the calm; this has been an incredibly peaceful place so far, and why wouldn't it be, when it's supposed to be a vacation spot, but if their previous luck with relative calm is anything to go by, it has a tendency to be before the storm.
but. there's nothing saying they can't enjoy it while it lasts. and don't worry about the bickering … they're sure to disagree on something sooner or later. it's just the nature of who they are, and who they are when they're with each other. ) I used to take walks on the beach back home. ( he says idly, steps unhurried. as much as he's still homesick, it makes him smile to think about it, and just sharing that little bit with keith makes him smile wider. )
Like, after it got dark and a little chilly. Always barefoot, because I like the way the sand feels. ( read: he likes the way it squishes between his toes when it's wet, because he's literally five years old. )
no subject
he doesn't really think about it, how far lance is from his home and his loved ones; of course, keith has never fully understood the concept of having a family that large and and loving, at least from the stories lance has told in the past. until shiro, he had really been looking out for himself for several years.
a small grin forms on his lips as he glances over while listening to lance, imagining this little kid squishing wet sand under his feet. cute. ]
And you brought things home with you, [ keith remembers, having made a point to actually pay attention to lance and the things he says now that they're not rushing headlong into another round of danger and fighting. ] How different was it at night?
no subject
he's found himself trying, at least recently, not to actively talk about his family so much — more because he realizes that keith must not know what that's like, and doesn't want him to feel left out than any measure of his own realization that the more he talks about them, the more he thinks about them, the more he ends up missing them. so. really it's more for keith's benefit than his own, and isn't that something new?
but it doesn't mean he doesn't miss them, of course, and this extended vacation is only going to make his homecoming that much more.
so he thinks.he sighs out a small, happy noise, the smile on his face threatening to split it right in two. ) Yep. Rocks, shells … my sister took home a hermit crab once on accident. Freaked my mom out something fierce. ( there's a pause, and if keith chooses to look over that this dopey boy now, he'll see him lit up like a gosh darn christmas tree. )
Oh, dude, it's gorgeous. Especially if the moon was full, and you could watch it rise over the water. You'll never see anything else like it. ( he says this like he. might actually want to show the other this, sometime. hm. maybe. )
no subject
keith doesn't think he has ever associated that word with lance before. a nuisance maybe, a good fighter sure, but never endearing. there is warmth radiating from lance as he describes each memory, painting a clear picture of family and home that keith never had growing up. but what he feels isn't jealousy – he never could, not when lance has been so far from his since they were shot into space when the orphan had been given one amongst the stars.
lance beams and keith grins. ]
What about night swims? [ he asks idly, stepping over a thick, visible tree root and pulling his hand out of a pocket so that he can gesture for lance to follow and pay attention. you'll note that he's without those fingerless gloves he always keeps on his person though, unfortunately, keith is still always armed. that's one crutch he will never give up. ]
no subject
maybe there are some things that are endearing about one ( 1 ) lance mcclain. maybe he has this way of thinking-slash-talking about the things he did when he was younger that makes them seem not so distant, even if there's a good chance a handful of those things haven't happened for longer than he really wants to remember. it's been … jeez, how long? since he'd been able to walk along the beach at night and feel the sand squishing between his toes.
maybe it hasn't been since he joined up with the garrison. maybe it's been long enough that he's suddenly homesick again, but before he has to think about blaming misty eyes on anything ( can't be space dust, not this time ), he gets himself back under control and takes a steadying breath.
where did all this introspection come from? huh? sheesh.
he barely misses the root in a way that would have seen him pitching himself forward — but he does end up stumbling just enough to need to reach out for that outstretched hand to steady himself, maybe just a little bit started by the skin to skin contact due to the lack of those infamous gloves.
um. he's fine now. he's upright. and shoving his hands back into his pockets really quick. ) Every night I could get away with it. ( he's still beaming, but it's just a little bit more subdued than it was a couple of seconds ago. ) The air would be kinda chilly but the water still so warm … I'd never have any trouble going to sleep after.
no subject
maybe he can give him a little more of himself too. it's only fair as friends.
but then lance trips and the illusion doesn't quite shatter but it does shift a little as he reaches for keith's gesturing hand. he freezes then, just for a split second before lunging in to make sure the other boy doesn't fall flat on his face. but then they're good and keith returns to having his hands shoved into his hoodie pockets. ]
That sounds nice.
[ but then suddenly he pauses, holding his breath, lifting a hand up to ask lance to pause as well. there's an uncomfortable prickle on the back of his neck. ]
Wait.
no subject
there's a very small moment in which everything might find itself ruined because somebody can't keep his balance, can't pick his foot up high enough to keep from tripping over a root — but keith doesn't let him fall, comes close enough to catching him that he regains his balance without much flailing ( there might have been a tiny bit of it, but with those long arms and legs, what else would you expect ), and hands are shoved quickly back into pockets by both parties like nothing ever happened. ) It was — huh?
( he pauses near-instantly, trusting the other's instincts as he's learned to do over the past little while. ) What's up? ( is it a waterlily??? )
no subject
I don't know.
[ keith sets his jaw as he always does, hands at the ready and no longer shoved into pockets or folded under his arms. they could be getting themselves into some trouble here, but that is absolutely nothing new for these two. after all, that sort of investigation ( and paranoid ) had gotten them into their lions in the first place. ]
I heard something.
no subject
but that bonding is going to have to be put on hold, because keith heard something ( ™ ) and it instantly has lance's attention because paranoia or not, when keith's attention gets shoved in one direction or another over anything else, it usually means something. usually.
he looks around them, but of course he doesn't see anything right away, so he ends up looking right back at keith for some sort of. direction or something. ) Heard something like. What? ( pause. ) A bear?
( lance why the hell would it be a bear. )
no subject
[ okay, so keith might be mister paranoid. or he might have been when he was booted out of the garrison but those suspicions were far from unfounded. it was partly through that inkling, that hope of something being out there, that jettisoned all of them into space. ]
I don't know, [ keith murmurs through gritted teeth, frustrated that he can't even see it, even when he squints through the trees. ] It isn't even that dark out.