I have only one burnin' desire [OPEN]

[weedyshyguy]

Who: Jhelbor citizens
What: Bonfire partyyyy~!
When: Sunday evening til ? :O
Where: Just outside the city
Notes: Let's just say Bret sent an invitation out. :| Seemed silly to do another journal (and I forgot to set a date in the first one, oops). ALSO: if you want to post something later in the night and there hasn't been many posts yet, just mark it

Comments

[eyeofthepsychic]

Ariana was very excited. Very, very excited, so much so that she didn't mind being Ariana for a little while and not some other person who's name she didn't know but whose mind she did know. She knew Bret was worried about her and fire, but it was ok, she knew fire hurt and knew that it was bad to set nice people on fire. And she didn't have any fire here anyway.

Except for now, because there was going to be a big fire! And she was very excited.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully as she skipped over to the group, looking thrilled at the prospect and waiting patiently.

[weedyshyguy]

Ariana was always cheerful, but she looked even more bouncy now. Bret figured that was good. Unfortunately for him, Ariana hit that sweet spot between being nearly a child and nearly an adult that was even more difficult to understand than actual children were, not to mention the fact that she was a woman and he had never really gotten the hang of them either. He was pretty sure he was doing a good thing right then.

So he chose to continue smiling and waved at Cris and the others, pointing at Ariana. "She's here! You can start!"

Turning back to Ariana, he realized suddenly that he could ask her how she was feeling, even if she was on the road to the land where 'fine' actually meant 'you called me fat just now' and 'you fat slut' could somehow also mean 'you're a bad boy, now take me out to that alley and do me against a wall while my date waits patiently.' Bret just did not get women. Then again, those women were all bastards.

He really hoped that Ariana wasn't a bastard. Still beaming happily, he asked, "You excited?"

[eyeofthepsychic]

"Yes!" Oh she was very very very excited and now that she was here she wasn't sure she wanted to be patient, but she was still because Ariana was a 'good girl' even if she was also 'crazy' but that didn't matter because they were going to light it soon and she wouldn't have to wait much longer. She bounced on her heels a little, absolutely beaming and probably looking quite a bit younger than eighteen, though she was never really mentally that mature anyway.

[weedyshyguy]

Bret nodded. "Good. I'm glad." He turned to watch as everyone went to work on getting the fire started, admittedly a little excited himself. But not pyromaniacishly. Fires were just nice.

He hoped that was really all Ariana thought of them.

"Hey, so, um. How's Iggy working out? Is he a good pet?" Bret found it a little odd to think that the two things he could discuss with Ariana were her bass-fixated iguana and how it's wrong to set things on fire. Although it really wasn't anymore odd than popping back in time randomly, in all honesty. He supposed life was just never going to be completely normal in Rowan.

[eyeofthepsychic]

Ariana watched in wonder as the fire ignited, looking absolutely delighted. Therefore, it takes her a moment to remember that she's around other people that she might need to talk to. "Yes! He still runs away sometimes but he's very nice and doesn't bite me."

[weedyshyguy]

"Yeah, funny how he-- er, or she? --seems to like biting Jemaine and nobody else." Considering Bret tended to get scratched by the cats more than Jemaine did, it was secretly a comforting thought to know that Jemaine wasn't exactly better with animals, he just...got along better with certain types. Or something like that, anyway.

He scratched his neck, watching the fire begin to take shape. "Sorry that he runs away so much. Don't know what he sees in that bass." It wasn't even remotely iguana-shaped. Let alone lady-iguana.

[eyeofthepsychic]

"It's alright. I don't mind chasing him. I find interesting things sometimes!" Meaning, she got distracted, lost him, and then just went to go see Jemaine because that's inevitably where Iggy ended up. She wondered why that was, but was then distracted by the fire.

She didn't know why, but it had always made her feel a little safer, even when she didn't have voices to tell her that it would be ok. She could get her lighter when she was lonely and just stare at it, pretending the warmth was from another person. And a fire this big? Was like a lot of people.

[weedyshyguy]

"Oh, good. That's good." He wasn't sure he wanted to know what the interesting things were, though. She liked fire and reptiles. He couldn't imagine what else she liked.

He turned and watched her for a moment before asking, "When'd you get so into fire?" It seemed a fair question.

He hoped it didn't start when she burned down a building or something, though.

[eyeofthepsychic]

That got her quiet for a moment- to answer that, she had to dig 'Ariana' out much more, and Ariana didn't like that very sometimes. But Bret was Bret so he needed an answer. Yes? Yes.

"I was very little," she said simply, eyes never leaving the flames, "Mom used to light a candle on Dad's birthday, but she stopped when I got older... She said that it was in his memory. I didn't understand that it meant it was for him, I thought it was him. So whenever I got lonely, I'd sneak into her room and light the candle so he'd be there and I wouldn't have to be alone."

[weedyshyguy]

Bret felt a chill go through him. It was odd, considering the fire. He was pretty certain it was guilt.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring back bad memories or anything." He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked up at the sky, trying to think of something he could say that would change the subject but not make her feel bad for sharing what she had. "It's getting dark. People will be coming soon."

[eyeofthepsychic]

"It's alright," Ariana said, because it was. Ariana's mind was buried again, buried away deep deep deep down somewhere were it wouldn't bother her, where she wouldn't have to think about the many lonely hours she spent in their apartment, no mom because she worked, no Myriah because she was studying, no pet because they weren't allowed, and no Ian because he left.

Maybe she could be 'Bret' for now. But Bret was sad. Don't be sad, Bret, be happy. Because Ariana wanted to be happy too.

[weedyshyguy]

Bret chewed his lip, feeling he'd failed in the distraction department. Maybe it was worth another try. "Um, so you like fire. Do you like songs about fire too?"

Holding up a just-a-minute finger, he jogged over to a rock a few feet behind them and scooped up his lute from where he'd leaned it up against it. Jogging back, he explained, "I know some. Do you have any favorites?"

[eyeofthepsychic]

Songs! Oh, songs were very distracting and she could bring Ariana out a little more songs. Not too much, but Ariana did like songs. "I like songs about everything! Play one you like."

[weedyshyguy]

Bret nodded and thought for a moment, and then grinned when he thought of something perfect. "Okay, I've got one." He started playing, his mind working double-time to remember all the words.

"Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio..."

Bret squinted, concentrating as he made his way through the list. When it came time for the chorus, he was noticeably relieved and started bopping, enjoying himself immensely.

"We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it..."

[eyeofthepsychic]

Swaying back and forth, the girl watched in sheer delight as Bret sang. About fire, when there was a fire! And there were people around, and everything was perfect. She could lose her mind very easily here (literally or metaphorically) and be perfectly content in the moment. She didn't interrupt Bret's song, happy to just listen.

[weedyshyguy]

Bret bounced happily as he sang, glad to see Ariana so apparently elated by it. He was glad he'd taken the time to think of all the fire songs. Too bad he'd had to approximate so much of the arrangement, but there wasn't much he could do. He missed his CD collection. Maybe when the gods had been generous he should have wished for one. Of course, then he'd probably have a gecko after him all the time.

He finished, beaming. "You liked it?" He could tell she had. Which was really kind of awesome compared to all the apathetic audiences he and Jemaine had had back home. He was more than a little pleased at their reception in Rowan.