Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

[unit_girl]

It was much easier to organise the second time round. Even if Evey seemed less than excited about the party aspect, last year's Bonfire Night had been enough of a success to do it all again. Which was good because somehow it wasn't the 5th November without fireworks and they were something you never grew out of

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[unit_girl]

Jo sat on the ground near the fire. Next to her was a plate, and on it was a knife, a pile of bread and a rapidly melting slab of butter. With a pair of tongs she held a piece of bread out to the fire, checking it occasionally to turn it round and check how brown it was getting. She'd done toasting marshmallows before and now she'd decided was the time to try toasting toast on an open fire.

[2ndtechnician]

"Hello there Jo," Arnold called out as he approached. "How's the celebration going so far?" He noticed the bread she was toasting on the fire. "Decided to give the sausages a miss this year?"

[unit_girl]

"Hello." Jo smiled at Arnold. "We have a bonfire and fireworks and people, so I think it's going quite well. I don't eat sausages," she replied, although the mention of them made her wish she did. She had another look at the piece of bread she was currently toasting and decided it was brown enough to eat. "Would you like some toast?" She started to butter it.

[2ndtechnician]

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't know. I mean, I just assumed, what with the all the Bonfire Night preparations and all, that..." He shut his mouth before he could make an even bigger fool of himself. This was supposed to be a celebration and he didn't want to bugger it up by acting like a smeghead.

Even so, he winced a bit when Jo offered him some toast. He couldn't help it; it just reminded him too much of Lister's bread-obsessed toaster. Mentally berating himself too pull it together, he reminded himself that the toaster had been smashed into tiny little pieces and scattered around Red Dwarf's cargo bay.

"Some toast would be marvelous," he said, sitting down next to Jo.

[shot_my_shoes]

Watching fireworks sounded like a better thing to do than anything else Harry could think of. So after his evening clinic shift had finished he headed over to the Bonfire just in time to see the firework display. It did remind him of home a little, but there had been fireworks on the island too, enough times that he admired the ingenuity of the people who made the fireworks. He was content to watch with the rest of the crowd with a smile on his face.

[2ndtechnician]

"Greetings my good man," Arnold said by way of introduction. "Enjoying the bonfire? I helped build it you know." He sounded quite pleased with himself.

[shot_my_shoes]

"Good evening," Harry replied amiably. "I am. It's a good bonfire, although we don't need it for the heat so much here."

[2ndtechnician]

"No, there isn't much call for that here, is there? Still, it makes a splendid light show, don't you think?" Arnold took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring, then let out a satisfied sigh as he admired the bonfire. "I haven't been to a Bonfire Night celebration in simply ages," he remarked. "One is disinclined to start a fire when one is trapped on a ship in deep space."

[percy_jackson]

As I showed up to the party (and who could miss it? Everybody was talking about how good the last one could be), I couldn't help but feel guilty that I'd left Mrs. O'Leary back at home. But then, I didn't know how well she'd take to the fireworks.

I felt a little awkward just coming out, all on my own, but perhaps a festive bonfire was what I'd needed to dampen the memories of the really creepy one I'd seen the other day.

I stood around, ate food, and kept an eye out for a familiar face.

[spirited_hero]

[percy_jackson]

I smiled. "Hello, Zell! It's good to see you here. How are the legs?"

[spirited_hero]

[polly_okeefe]

I smiled as I saw the pile of wood take shape, and handed off my plate of chocolate chip flatbreads to Jo. I nodded and smiled at Harry as I spotted him across the party area. I felt... good. Even though this reminded me that I'd been here over a year, now, I couldn't help but remember the last Guy Fawkes bonfire, and the friends I'd met that day.

I went over to the food table to see if I could help.

[withoutasea]

She remembered older, colder days. She remembered huddling in the light of the fire wrapped in furs, and celebrating her dead while she mourned them. Now, the heat was rising and she stood with arms and feet bare, the silk of her skirt tugging in the breeze. She wore black, for her lost. She wore black for Merlin, and Uther, and her mother and her father.

For herself, and Arthur, and for Lancelot du Lac.

[giftless]

It wouldn't be right to say Edmund approached with caution, but he did wander over to Jenny's side with a care to her thoughts. Not everyone celebrated holidays the same.

"Did you leave Ygrainne at home for this one?" he asked quietly.

[withoutasea]

"Wild things are as easily drawn to fire as water," she said, and she found a smile for him, reached out and up to ruffle dark hair.

"She was safer with her family."

[giftless]

He let her ruffle his hair. Even if she weren't older than he, which was questionable, or family, in a very loose sense, she was still Queen Guenevere and that outranked King Edmund any day.

"Obviously, as you're here," he teased, very gently. If she was going to ruffle his hair like his sister or Charlie, she opened herself up to a little joke. "You'd think they'd love a good bonfire night, from what I've heard of Westeros."