| It's Easter. Celebrate! | ||
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| Summary: Random Easter festivities are had about Truce Fountain.   |
Oh, look! Somebody at the fountain is dressed up as an Easter Bunny, in full mascot outfit, and is giving away balloons to those who want them. Each balloon floats easily, roughly resembles an egg, and come in different colors. This attracts a bit of attention, of course, from children young and old. A few keep distance, though. At least one little girl cries. Isn't that always how it goes? "Any eggs?" Jack inquires amused. Or just the balloons. The little girl gets, well, he makes a silly face at her. Either it'll help or she'll run. It's all about as everyday and normal as one can get for such festivities. Some people take pictures, some photos include children with the rabbit, and it's generally not until Jack gets the performers attention that something may become a little stranger. "Celebrate!" cheers the purple rabbit and a balloon is held out by the string in offering to Hawksmoor. Thick fingers manage to pluck one from the mass gripped in the other hand. It's not just a voice from inside a mask; the bunny is...alive? His face shows glee, his eyes blink, and- "I wanted to offer some egg painting, but I don't have an easy way to keep a bunch of eggs from smelling from sitting out." Jack Hawksmoor accepts the balloon-egg. And considers that. "Hrm. A cooler might work," he says, thoughtfully. As for the bunny...doesn't he KNOW this bunny? This bunny is so similar to other encounters Jack has met in the past, although those were of a fox and a bear. "Oh, I don't have a cooler. Or a table. Or volunteers. Or even paint! Well, maybe I can get some paint. It's a bit late now, but everybody loves balloons!" Everything from tone of voice and body language and facial expression shows no shortage of excitement and happiness to be able to brighten the day of other folks just a little bit. At least nobody has taken a cigarette to a balloon yet just to be a bully. Yet. Jack's keeping an eye open; he doesn't like bullies. "Well, at least the Easter Bunny is on the job." Yeah, the guy's an actual bunny. Not the Easter Bunny, or he could solve all those problems, surely, with magic. "Oh- You know the Easter Bunny?" comes a hushed tone in reply from the tall purple festive figure. Before he can get an answer, the rabbit turns to another child that approaches to ask for a balloon of specific color and, after taking a moment to sort through which string is attached to which, the balloon is pulled away and held out. "Here you go. Celebrate!" The last word seems to be more of a catch phrase than a command. "Well, he's..." Jack shrugs, then whispers, "One of those fun stories we tell little kids." VERY quietly, because nope, not gonna tell the kids the Easter Bunny isn't real. What a scandalous conversation. "I know, right?" answers the bunny in matched volume. "He has a lot of great stories that are tons of fun. He went missing one year and we -- the band and I -- had to find him." The rabbit nods to this as if it's all very much a fact, but his attention is pulled away once more as the inevitable happens: somebody lets go of their balloon and off it flies. "Uh oh, we've got a code pastel blue!" Jack Hawksmoor can't fly. He's too slow/far away to grab the balloon, either. "Ack." Ultimately, nothing can be done. The balloon has had a taste of freedom and can never be domesticated again. However, the bunny guy has a solution: he holds out another balloon. "Here, give this to her. I think it's a girl. Tell her- Tell her it's the other balloon's sister and she's going to be her new friend while her sister flies off to go help rescue a prince trapped in a castle tower." The way the rabbit grins buck-toothedly at this explanation is something some would find cute. Jack Hawksmoor laughs a bit and goes to do that. At least he's not too scary, unlike some of his friends. He's not like instant-scare-off-child. With great approval, the bunny watches on as Jack saves the day (for one child, anyway). The story is completely silly and maybe the story doesn't even matter, but the balloon is replaced and the response is a very sheepish 'thank you' before running around to hide behind her mother. Thing is, having a good look around, it seems the people wanting balloons have grown thin or have been satisfied by getting one. "Yay, you did it. High five!" A fuzzy hand is held up in universal gesture. Jack Hawksmoor still has his own balloon. He does high five, though. "You know a fox?" he asks. They seem to be of a similar type, after all. The response is a solid nod. "Of course! Foxy is our bass player." There's a beat and then the rabbit adds, "My turn. Do...YOU know a fox?" It's almost like this is supposed to be some kind of game. That probably fits the MO fairly well. One arm held up to display the balloon bundle aloft, the rabbit turns his gaze to fall upon Jack directly and, strangest thing, his eyes seem to glow red for the briefest of moments. Jack Hawksmoor laughs. "I met a fox, he had a fondness for fake fights and dying dramatically. Same fox?" Bass player. That fits... "Fake fights?" There's a flash of confusion on the rabbit's face. "Well, Foxy has been in a scrap or two. How do you think he lost his right hand? *gasp* It was horrible, but... That's not my story to tell." A furrow of the brow shows a bit of worry that follows. "I hope Foxy hasn't been in any fights. Freddy will get mad." Freddy, spoken of in this way, must be the band leader or manager. "Oh, I mean an obvious fake fight. He apparently likes his theater." Jack grins at the rabbit. "I doubt Freddy has a reason to be mad, it wasn't anything dangerous. Of course, in that night of question, Freddy was actually present near the end of that encounter looking for Foxy but had missed all of the drama that took place securing the rooftop ship from boarders. The rabbit looks relieved, at any rate, as if a sudden weight is removed from his shoulders. "Sometimes I really can't tell if I should be worried or not when I hear things about Foxy. He's...very driven." The rabbit's free hand moves to help hold the strings from the balloons. "My name is Bonnie. What's yours? I don't get to meet many of Foxy's friends." "Jack Hawksmoor, although I wouldn't say I'm a friend of Foxy's, we only met once." But it was definitely a...memorable encounter. "Oh, I'm a firm believer it only takes one meeting to make the best of friends, but maybe you're intimidated by the fact he's a pirate." Bonnie straight up giggles at this notion. "That's okay, you know. I won't tell." Jack Hawksmoor laughs. "I certainly can't forget him. He's a little crazy, isn't he." "Oh, I don't know that I'd use that word. He's very spirited." Aren't they all. "And willful. And really very smart." Bonnie turns and wanders just a bit toward the fountain. "But I think Foxy, Freddy, and Chica are all smarter than me." His tone is a little on the sad side for a moment, but a smile soon washes away the notion of somberness. "I don't think anybody else wants a balloon here. Um..." That's when the rabbit takes notice of the police station; he points. "Hey, do you think the cops would like balloons? It wouldn't be disturbing the peace or something, would it? I wouldn't want to get in trouble for asking. Some of the people that work there look so stressed." Jack Hawksmoor tries to imagine Rayne with a balloon. It doesn't work. He bursts out laughing. Bonnie grins at the outburst not knowing what the source of the mirth possibly is, yet somehow seems to enjoy it nonetheless. "Hey, I didn't say it was a great idea. Cops are people, too, and everybody deserves a chance to Celebrate! now and then. I have to do something with these balloons. I don't want to just let them go. Should I?" "Sure." Jack grins at the bunny. "I have to go." And he heads off down the street. WITH the balloon. | |
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