Gathering Post

[londoncallingmods]

The best thing about London was that there was always something to do, no matter what your interests were. This weekend there was a jazz festival in Bloomsbury, an ale festival that would take you through a drunken train tour of the city, an African culture festival near Covent Garden, and several movie screenings, parties, and other pockets of fun.

Tourists were flooding in from all over, and many Londoners were slipping off to, or coming back from, their latest trips to Barcelona, Paris, or Ibiza. The weather was warm, and it had been fairly dry and sunny lately- Really, it was the perfect place to be right now. ...At least that's what anyone who wasn't heading off to some tropical wonderland would tell you at least.

As day faded into evening, bars came alive and shop windows lit up, inviting in tourists and locals alike. The city buzzed well into the night, calming only briefly in the morning, before bursting back into life again.

(Have your pup be anywhere in the city you like. This GP is intended to take place over the course of Sat and Sun, but will be open all week long! Remember to add your pup's tag after you tag in!)

Comments

[akatawitch]

Sunny had been looking forward to the African culture festival all week. There were a lot of Nigerians in particular in London--long-term effects of colonialism, get over it, you xenophobic bastards--and Sunny loved nothing like a good, fun multicultural event. The art, the fashion, the food, and most importantly, the music. Nothing topped Afrobeat performed live.

She got there early and had plans to stay just about all day long. She didn't go fully traditional or traditionally inspired with her clothes. A wrapper with a loud print and a solid tank top, all in blues and purples. And of course, her parasol.

Occasionally of course she got looks as she always did particularly from people of African descent or origin, but she was ready to stake her ground as she always did with fluent Pidgin English.

And who knew? Maybe she'd run into other Leopard People today.

[harrowgate]

At least one other Leopard.

Felix was not the only Caucasian person at the festival -- he'd brought along a second in the form of Shannon, after all -- but he was certainly the most obvious. He stood half a head taller than most people of any color, and his spring-and-mint jacket over an unabashedly expensive t-shirt was unusually decorous in the flood of colorful prints swirling around them. From time to time, he slung the jacket off as it got too warm, and hooked it by one finger over his shoulder, baring the tattoos from knuckle to elbow that sang against his pale skin.

He had hold of Shannon's hand, threading through a particularly crowded section, when he found a familiar face. Well, a familiar parasol, first, with the face under it. "Sunny darling," Felix called out, "we're famished, show us something not comprised of sheep brains, would you?"

[akatawitch]

Sunny looked up at the familiar voice, picking out Felix immediately. He was going to stand out wherever he went--something she experienced and understood very well--but here, well... yes. Yes he did.

And she was delighted that he'd decided to stand out here.

Though her bright smile easily gave way to smirking. "You live on an island which--issue of three very different countries aside--gave rise to haggis. Pot, this is kettle. He's black."

The bantering tone and challenging expression left when she turned her gaze to his companion, though. She recognized him from the splatter the tabloid press had been trying to make, and from one very brief encounter that had not lasted long enough to involve the exchange of names. "You must be Shannon."

[shannonteverius]

Their previous encounter had been brief enough to have vanished completely from Shannon's mind. He decided that Sunny must be one of Felix's eclectic acquaintances. His lover did seem to collect them.

Shannon favored Sunny with a smile. "I am," he confirmed, "and who might you be?"

[harrowgate]

Felix presented Shannon like a prize he'd won at a game of utmost skill. "Shannon Teverius, Sunny Nwazue. We met in a bookshop," he added to Shannon, which very likely told him much more about his relationship with the young lady than what he actually said. And of course Felix had told Sunny about Shannon.

If she wanted to clue Shannon in about why they'd begun talking, that was her own to reveal. Felix wasn't about to publicly out another wizard without her leave.

[akatawitch]

Something that it didn't even cross Sunny's mind to do. She'd nearly been caned as a child just for exposing a hint of her magic to a bully. It had almost cost her being mentored by Sugar Cream. The lesson stuck. Lambs were not to be told. She wasn't even out to her mother. And Shannon Teverius was definitely a Lamb.

"Trading points on the fine art of punishing people for staring," was what she added instead. "It's nice to finally meet you."

[shannonteverius]

Shannon eyes twinkled at the mention of books. They were the only rivals to his collection of clothing. Somehow literature and fashion managed to coexist in the spare bedroom of his and Felix's apartment, but it was a precarious peace at the best of times.

"I am sorry to have missed the conversation," he said. "And I'm impressed you managed to get Felix to speak of something other than books when surrounded by them." He flashed a teasing smile at his lover.

[harrowgate]

In his own defense, Felix merely said, "She delivered a stunning reprisal to some drooling local who felt it their right to stare at her as if she were some ambulatory zoo exhibit. It was magnetic. You can't imagine I let her get away after that."

[akatawitch]

Without warning--though Felix would probably see it coming--Sunny made a switch to a Nigerian accent that was so natural and so thick that if one hadn't already heard her speak, it would never cross their mind that she'd so much as set foot on American soil. Just as, though her surname spoke of her ancestry, her American accent would say she'd at best only visited Nigeria a few times. "I have no idea what anyone might think is so unusual about me, sha."

[shannonteverius]

Shannon blinked in surprise at the heavy accent and then smiled to cover it. "I can see why you caught Felix's attention," he said. Her personality alone would catch his lover's eye, not to mention her more unusual traits.

[harrowgate]

Felix chuckled openly, his odd eyes alight with a similar mischief. "She barrelled right through a herd of reporters, that day the story came out," he told Shannon. With a few weeks of distance, Felix had decided to be frank about that day, even if it made people uncomfortable. Probably because it made people uncomfortable. "She's a menace with that parasol," he added approvingly.

[akatawitch]

Sunny shrugged. "You grow up in Nigeria looking like this, you learn a few things about vulture circles and busting them up with umbrellas. Anyway! You asked advice on lunch. West African stuff I can help you with. If you're interested in any other region, probably not so much."

[shannonteverius]

"I don't think I'd know the difference," Shannon admitted. "I haven't had much African cuisine. Our introduction is in your hands, Sunny."

[the_hastings_way]

How she'd wound up at the African Culture Festival was a long story that stemmed from panicking while searching for an excuse not to spend the day with her sister- But the gist of it was that she'd lied, and then she'd found herself stuck in that lie.

So here she was, sticking out like the wasp-y sore thumb she was, instagramming as much as she could to appease her sister's curiosity, and trying not to draw too much attention to herself as she wandered through the craft section- And nearly walked right into Sunny.

Given what a mess she'd been the last time they'd crossed paths, Spencer couldn't help but look a touch embarrassed as she offered a little wave- Not realizing she was still holding the somewhat phalic looking statue she'd been looking at.

[akatawitch]

Sunny smiled when she saw Spencer, and smiled even wider when she saw what the other girl was holding. She was perfectly at ease as she approached, even though she was paler that anyone here who originated from the continent. "You look so overwhelmed! What's wrong?"

[the_hastings_way]

"Nothing! I mean- Just... Well, um- I'm going to be totally honest here. I'm very white- I mean, obviously I am, but- I mean I am just the whitest white girl in the world. I literally once got a pony for my birthday, and the town I come from is so white it makes vintage Disney films look diverse," Spencer replied. "I kind of feel like I shouldn't be here, but I told my sister I was going to be here, and if I'm not here, posting pictures on my intagram, I'm going to have to explain to her why I lied about going to an African Culture Festival instead of out with her and her boyfriend- And I just can't do that, because that is a can of worms I just can't face opening right now... And I'm talking a lot, sorry, I just- I'm having a day. ...I feel like I'm always having a day."

[akatawitch]

"Relax," Sunny said, slowly and dragging it out a bit. That had been a pretty impressive ramble, but hopefully Spencer would take a breath before she passed out.

"First off, you have just as much right to be here as anyone else. Would you rather leave?" The question came without judgement. Sunny understood hiding from family, and she knew stuff like this wasn't everyone's cup of tea.

[the_hastings_way]

"Maybe? I don't know," Spencer sighed. "I think my blood sugar is just low."

She finally realized what she was holding, and blushed as she quickly put it down.

[akatawitch]

Sunny bit her lip hard so she wouldn't laugh. And then, when she got herself under control again, she asked, "Wanna get some lunch, then? Food's always the easiest in anyway."

[the_hastings_way]

"That would be awesome, actually," Spencer replied, relaxing and letting out a nervous laugh. "I swear, I'm not usually this neurotic. You just seem to catch me at my worst."

[akatawitch]

"Not always," Sunny answered with a hint of a smile. "Have you had any African food before? Mostly I know West African things." In her experience if white people had had anything it was Ethiopian or maybe Moroccan.

[the_hastings_way]

"Not really. Only once or twice, and I don't know if any of it was authentic," Spencer replied, shrugging a little.

[akatawitch]

"That we can fix," Sunny assured her. "Any dietary restrictions I should know about?"

[the_hastings_way]

Spencer nearly said something about how she was on a low carb diet, but in the end she just shook her head. "No, I'm game for whatever," she decided.

[akatawitch]

Sunny couldn't help being a brat for just a moment, grinning widely. "Ever eaten goat brains?"