[Open Log]

[bearshermark]

Who: Elliott and OPEN to ALL Different!
What: Beach Partyyy!
When: May 31st, all night
Where: Rockaway Beach
Rating/Warnings: Will update if needed



It's a good spot.

Two diagonal picnic tables are parked a within roasting fork distance of the fire pit. It starts as a small, flickering fire, but once everyone's gathered, Elliott takes the opportunity to kick the night off and turn up the heat with the aid of a few magical fireballs.

There's hotdogs and an overlaying grill to cook up Yotsuyu's mix of meat and veggie kebabs. A cooler filled with soda and water bottles sits further away to avoid premature melting. Cookies and marshmallows or s'mores feature as dessert- or dinner, if that's anyone's preference.

For entertainment, Roselia makes a live, musical debut with Lisa as its sole performer. Meanwhile, Elliott does his best to encourage socialization and facilitate any necessary introductions. There's even a volleyball net and ball, and at least one attempt is made to form teams and get a game going.

But for the quieter sorts, dark, ocean waves lap at the shore outside the firelight. The weather is perfectly clear, and the location affords a rare opportunity to enjoy the stars. There might even be a cat playing in the sand somewhere nearby.

Some accouterments (like cutlery or extra chairs) might have been accidentally overlooked.

...He tried okay.

Comments

[consortofalderaan]

The name didn't trigger anything in his memory, which was mildly disappointing. Because he'd sure like to know more of what was going on in his memory than the small bit he'd seen. But he couldn't pull information from his memory that it didn't want to share.

"Bail Organa," he said, smiling. "About a month, yes. I think that counts as new around here."

[aggressive_negotiations]

"Organa?" She smiles -- it's a long shot, but it can't hurt to ask. "Do I work with a relative of yours?"

[consortofalderaan]

Bail smiled. "It's possible," he said. "I have a very large family. Who were you thinking of?"

[aggressive_negotiations]

"Riley Organa? We haven't worked together extensively, but I remember him being very kind to me back with I was doing low-level work at the state house."

[consortofalderaan]

"Riley is my brother," Bail said. He usually let others bring up his brother. He didn't feel like he lived in any kind of shadow, but people had their opinions about politics and unless someone was being bigoted, Bail didn't see a need to bring up politics.

But if someone brought up his brother, he didn't mind.

"So that means you're in politics?"

[aggressive_negotiations]

"I am." She smiles. "You still want to talk to me?"

[consortofalderaan]

"My family has a rule of no political talk at family functions," Bail said, with good humor. "But we do still talk to each other. Are you a state representative, also?"

[aggressive_negotiations]

"Not yet," she says. It's not arrogance -- it's confidence. She has ambition, and doesn't see a reason to hide it. "City counselor, currently. District 7."

"I promise not to talk any additional politics. I'll just leave it at the fact that your brother's a good man. He's kind to people that can't give him anything in return. That's rare in our line of work."

[consortofalderaan]

"Our family keeps him focused, I think."

But the reason Bail first came over here was nagging on him. Leia looked just like the woman in his memory. It was uncanny. He knew that some people here shared memories, he just didn't expect himself to be one of those people.

"Can I ask you what your memory was about?"

[aggressive_negotiations]

If she looks vaguely surprised, it's only because he is the first person who has had the nerve to ask. She respects that.

"It's not very detailed. I'm in a field full of flowers, on a picnic. I look up at the sun, and see the blue sky and the outline of the flowers. I feel completely at peace." She closes her eyes, trying to remember more -- but she's been at this a hundred times, and there never is.

"I think someone is with me. I hear their voice off in the distance, but I couldn't tell you who they are or what they are saying."

She opens her eyes, and shrugs.

"Mine seems like one of the less specific memories. But considering what some people here are remembering, that may be a good thing."

[consortofalderaan]

That was nothing like Bail's memory.

"Mine was quite specific."

He laughed a little, almost like he was afraid to admit it. But that was silly among the other Different. "It had aliens. A lot of aliens actually. Apparently that's not uncommon, though."

[aggressive_negotiations]

"Aliens?"

Parliamentary inquiry: aliens? He's talking like that's a completely normal thing. She blinks, several times. Opens her mouth. Closes her mouth. Blinks again.

"I think I need a drink."

[consortofalderaan]

Bail laughed a little. "Understandable. Unfortunately, we are at the beach." New York was strict about their beaches like that.

"But I really do understand. As a psychologist, this is beyond anything I thought was possible. Reality is... changing."