[ORP] Samhain Masquerade (Sinclair Herd ORP)

[Faithofthefallen]

Vincento stood on his dais, his expression unreadable behind a fierce mask as he watched the sun slowly lower to kiss the edge of the horizon, painting the world in reds and golds. Most of his family was either still asleep or still sheltering in the caves until the sun had fully yielded to the darkness on this, the festival fully marking the beginning of Winter. His elegant features were completely hidden behind a black venetian styled mask, adorned with lace shaped to look like fangs and shiny ebony scales.

The second the sun had fully sank, he turned to Coquette and nodded, she let loose a resonant war cry that echoed throughout the ruined city and had their warriors tossing their lit torches onto the bundles of dry firewood and incense to light the towering bonfires in a massive whoosh of flame and fragrant smoke, on that note, the herd began to emerge. Samhain was a liminal night, when the boundaries between this world and whatever lies beyond have thinned, allowing both the spirits of those who have passed and the clever and often dangerous Aos Sí to pay a visit. The altars were already set up with offerings of food and drink for the souls of the dead and the fairies to feast upon as they passed the night in this world. Candles had been set out with small trinkets to invite the souls of their ancestors to partake in their celebration. The masks were an important part of the herd's ritual, meant to hide the souls of the living from those spirits who meant harm, it was felt that the souls of their ancestors would have no problem recognizing the bond between them and their kin, but that the dark awarenesses would pass through the revelry and without recognizing their prey. The fires would be stoked throughout the night, meant to cleanse and protect. It was a grave offense and seen as horribly dangerous to allow the fires to burn out, so plenty of fuel had been gathered, stored, and dried against this night. Each fire had two guards to tend and protect its' blaze and the flames would dance until dawn arrived and the danger had passed.

While Samhain was a time to revel, it was also a time of great caution, members of the herd were instructed to disguise themselves, travel in pairs, and to not venture too far from the fires. Strangers were to be mistrusted, children were to be especially guarded as they were particularly vulnerable to the spirits' tricks and much desired for changelings. Most of the foals were not only masked, but fully draped in elaborate costumes and protective charms.

Vincento peered out over his family, worry creasing his brow. Something seemed off this evening, Samhain was always a dangerous time, but tonight, it felt imminent, and he was on edge. He had a feeling this would not be an uneventful night.


Edit: Psst, just so everyone knows, I have big comprehensive Midterms Monday and Wednesday, along with two regular tests and work, so I miiiiight not be able to post again until late Wednesday, sorry for the inconvenience!

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Anyone is welcome to participate, whether or not you are part of the herd. If you do not have a herd member, bear in mind ICly that your soq will be viewed as a potentially dangerous spirit creature, both respected and feared, they will not believe who you are unless they have met you before and you are appropriately diguised. Don't worry about being left out, if you post and indicate you want to participate, I'll make sure I bring you in.

Also, specifically bear in mind that for Samhain in particular, members of the herd have been instructed to wear at least a mask, foals are instructed to be in full costume. Anyone NOT wearing a mask is going to be suspected of being a spirit in disguise, additionally, strangers will be suspected of being passing spirits.

In addition, unless you want to, pay no mind to any posts but the opener as you join, or any posts I or Spoof make in "shout" form. I know it gets overwhelming when a bunch of people have already posted, but you absolutely don't need to read everything thats happened to participate!

Here is the herd thread if you're interested in more of the background of the herd and a little more about the setting. You can also apply to join in the herd thread if you're interested - you don't have to be related to the family to join the herd.

I am putting this here because Spoof and I feel like rping some Cleavers in the spooky months, but we're opening it up so anyone can basically come in, see the setting for some inspiration, and react/participate however they wish. This is just for fun, its not anything 'soq official.'

You are welcome and encouraged to interact with each other, but it is absolutely not necessary, Solo responses are totally fine! I know it can get messy and confusing doing that with ORPs when you don't have time to post a bunch. I myself am back in school so I totally get it and I might not be able to reply to everyone in a timely manner. You can participate with as many soq as you want.

If you are absolutely only here to post a solo and don't want other people to respond to you, please indicate that in some way.

I'm not sure how long we'll keep this open, probably through November The next herd ORP will be for Yule, and begin at the end of December.

 

[LydaLynn]

Latcho hadn't planned on returning so soon, but he knew his Djilia felt comfortable with the Sinclairs as she rarely did elsewhere. So he convinced her he needed her company. Waiting for sunset for everything to start was almost torturous for him. He was restless, wanting to be back with his mate. But he knew his younger aunt needed this. The wolf mask Phoenix had made for him was simple irony. And he loved her for it. He didn't feel comfortable bringing his mate here, though she was fierce, she was also half flutter and easily seen as prey. So, while he knew he'd face her wrath when he returned, he'd left while she was sleeping.




Djilia relaxed as she waited for the sun to go down. While those here tended to be more predatory than she did, she still felt welcomed and accepted. She wouldn't tell Latcho how glad she was that he was coming and had invited her, but she was quietly grateful to her nephew. That he was older than she was always made her smile when she called him nephew.

Djilia wondered if there would be singing and dancing again. She longed to sing and be welcomed for her voices. Mostly she just wanted to be free and not have to hide. Though the little red lace mask she wore made her smile, since it didn't feel like hiding, more like a little fun.



Akos had met Latcho before while traveling. He still hadn't found his birth family and was wandering looking for the connections that had been torn from him when his mother and his siblings were killed by a skinwalker. When he encountered Latcho and his aunt on the road, he decided to travel with them for a while. The whole idea of a family coming together to celebrate stirred something in him. He was told of their nature, but an omnivore himself and raised by a kalona foster father, he wasn't bothered by it. Mostly he was just hoping to experience a family gathering. The mask he made was little more than leather cut and shaped, but he hoped it would work.  

[Faithofthefallen]

Talisa blinked against the glare of the flames as she emerged from her cave, surprised at how many of the family had arrived already. The air was heavy with incense, so much so, that she had to resist the urge to sneeze and clear her nose. The Princess of Hearts smiled in greeting at Ambros, who had likely been stationed outside of her cave most of the day while she slept, guarding his future queen when she was the most vulnerable. His blue eyes sparkled behind his the simple white silk mask, but he remained aloof and professional, as was his way. Talisa wrinkled her nose, the delicate mask of golden filigree was going to drive her mad before this night was done. The heart shaped ornaments in her hair clicked and the god leaf sprinkled over her mane to match her mask twinkled in the firelight as she glided effortlessly through the crowd.

Talisa glanced at her father as she passed and felt her muscles stiffen in alarm. Although his face was as serene as ever, tension was visible in every line of his body. Her heart began to pound, she wasn't sure what the problem was, but it was unlike Vincento to betray any sort of concern, especially publicly. She could tell he was trying to contain it, but she suddenly wished she was carrying her axe. It was widely accepted that Samhain was a risky time of year, but she had never seen her father show so much as a twitch of concern in their previous celebrations. Something was wrong.

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Holy cow, so happy to be done with the midterms this week. I forgot that was going to be going on this week when I originally planned this and didn't want to wait too long to get things going despite the inconvenient timing. My muse needs some stoking, but I wanted to get in a second post before the weekend. I'll plan to keep this rp open through the second week of November.

 

[belloblossom]

Lockes had gone to great efforts to secure a mask that would hide her identity, but not leave others completely in the dark of who she was. It was appropriately macabre, taking the shape of a bear, through this one was drastically more gruesome than those she had upon her back. This one had its eyes completely clawed out, though through small incisions, her eyes could be seen through the mask, if one looked closely enough. From the eyes a blood had formed and dripped off the sides of the mask, looking very much like the creature was crying blood. Its fur was matted and it looked every bit like Lockes herself had hunted down the animal specifically to wear it for that evening. This was not the case, it was Grimm who had done the hunting and surprised her with the idea. Since the bear was already dead when Grimm presented it to her bonded mare, Lockes shrugged it off. Why not? It was already there and she had to admit, it was a fetching idea.

She didn't worry about upsetting the other herd members with her mask. If they asked she would divulge information, but as it was, they were just there to have a good time. That said, as a guard to the herd, her blade was ever present, appropriately stuck in the head of the Papa Bear head on her back where she could grab it at a moment's notice.

Even Grimm had chosen to dress up, as per the herd's wishes. She had been asked to make herself look unlike her usual self and so she spent a great deal of time rolling around in the mud. Now with the fading light, she looked very much like a shadowy creature, dark in hue with ominous red eyes, bright even in the darkness. She trudged next to Lockes as they looked about. The last gathering the herd had, Grimm had feasted on deer meat to her heart's content. She was hoping that a similar thing would happen upon this gathering and those to come, too.  

[Faithofthefallen]

Claudette's heart hammered as her legs churned beneath her, carrying her ever up the well beaten path towards her family home. A fragile skull mask concealed her features, but her face was twisted in worry. It had been far too long since she had gone home and seen her family. The evening stroll she had taken to gather her thoughts had turned into a devastating fight for her life when she was attacked by a powerful skinwalker. By some miracle, Gravedigger had been near and heard the commotion. His quick intervention had saved her life, but her injuries had been severe enough to claim her in the end had he not also gotten her back to his master, Deathbringer. They had faught the last time she had seen him, and he had declared her no longer welcome in his graveyard. But when she had felt herself slipping away, the thread of her life nearly snapping under the strain, she had needed to see his face again before she went. Needed to soothe the tension between them before she could let go.
And she had wanted him to have her wings once she was done with them.

The very first time they had met, Deathbringer had found her, bloody, and standing over a recent kill. He had offered to help her make the remains of her meal disappear. For a price. Before they had settled on something more to both of their tastes he had playfully considered asking for her wings in trade for his assistance. On the brink of Death, Claudette had wanted him to be able to give them to him.

She had made it to the graveyard by some stroke of luck, but instead of watching her die, Deathbringer had kidnapped a talented healer to pull her through. The injury and healing combined had left her so weak she could barely stand. In a fury over her treatment, Deathbringer had left to exact retribution on the walker and been gravely injured himself, returning to the Graveyard and needing to be healed by the very mare who he had so unkindly stolen. But Miki had risen to the occasion, taking both patients under her wing and nursing them both back to health. Under Miki's watchful eye, the unspoken bond between Claudette and Deathbringer had bloomed.

The healing had taken months and not long after she had felt healed enough to attempt the trek up to the Sinclair herdlands, she had discovered her pregnancy.
Glancing down, Claudette smiled at the pale form of Raisa flitting to and fro across the path, between her legs. Elda, her wolf familiar patrolling the woods on either side of them. The other two foals had stayed home with their father. This meeting was bound to be emotional, she had been gone for years without a word, had no idea what her family had made of her absense. She wondered if her mother had thought she'd left with her father and sister at last. But she didn't want her children to be affected by whatever was about to unfold. Still, she had brought Raisa in the hopes that her appearance would soothe some of the hurt she had caused... And to purely honest with herself, she hoped they would go easier on her in the presence of her child.

Wincing, her muscles no longer used to this perilous climb, Claudette pushed forward. "Come, dear one." She urged her small white shadow.

Finally rounding the bend, Claudette heard the whoop of laughter and the steady murmur of conversation. The flames from the towering bonfires warmed her and despite her misgivings, she smiled. It was good to be home.

(If the other foals or DB want to participate in the ORP, just have them sneak out and follow her xD)  

[Ryuukishin]

Viktoria peered from behind a burial mound, eyes round in the moonlight as she watched her mother and sister's retreating forms. She'd chosen to stay home at first: uncomprehending to the possibility that a family reunion could be less than ecstatic, she misread the hesitance behind her mother's words and feared the imagined implications. However, the pain of feeling as if she was missing out proved stronger in the end.

She dashed towards the path they'd taken, scooping up a skull on the way. Her mother had stressed the importance of a disguise when preparing Raisa for the trip; while the mask was easy enough for Viktoria to find in the graveyard that made up their home (avoiding, of course, her father's coveted plots), the rest of the costume would be difficult to create on the fly.

The cold-hardened path turned suddenly to mush: she'd stepped on a patch of mud and slipped—and therein lay her answer. Made sticky by her new brown coat, she rolled in the fallen leaves nearby. No part of her could be seen beneath the debris; she looked like the unholy union between Bigfoot and a bush, but in her mind she was like to a nymph and clever besides, for having thought of the attire so quickly.

Thus regaled, she continued her pursuit, using the prominent bonfires to guide her where sight and smell could not.

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are u proud mOTHer!! (Claudette is 100% free to spot her before they reach the herd and fix her up if what she has isn't enough HAHA!! 😂😂😂)

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