Grandma Senka: October Monthly Prompt

Xingyue had made it his personal mission to show Senka around sol, both to check out the preparation for the harvest festival, and to help out wherever they could, to assuage Senka’s guilt about the destruction they’d caused. After showing Senka around much of the city, and explaining things like pumpkin carving and other festive activities, they found themselves approaching a group that seemed to be doing something with a large bolt of cloth. Xingyue was curious and so approached the group and asked what they were doing, Senka trailing behind a step or two (which for her massive size was quite a way back). 

Xingyue asked a mint green dragon who seemed to be overseeing the group what they were doing, and the dragon Firen answered ‘“We are cutting this cloth to make emergency hammocks and tents.”

“It’s getting colder now, and those that don’t have anywhere to live or sleep will suffer.”, Xue Qing added after Firen had finished speaking, clearly quite happy she’d managed to remember what Firen had told her earlier in the day.

Xingyue shared a look of consternation with Jin Xian and Firen, while Rage took action and slapped Xue Qing softly on the back of her head.

“Nice going, you socially inept doofus.”, came Rage’s mostly long-suffering words.

“Ow! What did I do now?!” Xue Qing asked with a plaintive, clueless look on her face.

Xingyue, Firen, Rage and Jin Xian were already looking at Senka, concerned, while Xue Qing was looking at the group trying to figure out why everyone was acting weird. 

“It’s quite alright,”, Came Senka’s quiet voice, “It’s the truth after all, people here are without warmth and safety because of me.” Senka had a soft voice for such a massive bird.

The group was at a loss on how to fix the current situation. Luckily Xingyue tried to resolve the awkwardness by asking Firen a question, “So what are you all doing here?”

“We are cutting up these large sheets of cloth into the right sizes to make tents and hammocks, so people can be out of the wind and not sleep on the cold wet ground!”, Came Xue Qing’s enthusiastic and quickly spoken reply.

“But it’s a bit unwieldy, even with the four of us, this thing is massive.” Jin Xian complained loudly, as he had been doing since they started this morning, while trying to hold up the giant bolt of cloth.

“Cou-, could you help us, maybe?” came Xue Qing’s tentative query.

“If you are free of course!”, Rage added on, always happy for extra hands and claws.

Senka seemed a bit hesitant, almost unsure if she’d be welcome, but Xingyue chirped an encouraging trill. He was able to sense Senka wanted to help repair what she had broken, but wasn't sure she had a right to help. 

“We get to keep the scraps to make costumes with you see,” Firen explained, “We’d help anyway of course, but that’s an added benefit.”

“Speak for yourself.” Jin Xian muttered not-so-quietly.

“Me and Rage are going to be ghosts!” Xue Qing spoke, excited to share her Festival plans.

“I’ll be a mummy, it would be a crime to completely obscure my beautiful fur with a simple sheet.” Jin Xian preened.

“I’m going to be an undead shepherd, as I'll be shepherding the little ones around trick or treating later. I’ve already made my costume, so I don't need any of this spare fabric.” Firen explained, an encouraging smile on his face. 

Bolstered by the friendliness of the group (Jin Xian excluded) and desperately wanting to help Senka looked at Xingyue and he nodded, happy. Xingyue turned to Jin Xian, Firen, Rage and Xue Qing (though she was currently half buried under the fabric), and agreed to help,“We have time.”

Now there were six people helping to measure and cut the large swathes of fabric. The process was much quicker, and soon the team got into a rhythm, and the large bolt of fabric soon became many neaty cut pieces of what would be tents and hammocks come nightfall. 

Senka’s massive size proved invaluable, as she could hold the massive fabric sheet aloft, so the team could properly cut and measure it without dealing with crinkles or getting it wet or dirty from laying it out on the floor. Senka’s nervousness and hesitancy soon melted away as she found purpose in helping to repair and create, rather than break and destroy. 

It had been early morning when the six of them had joined forces to cut the cloth, now the sun was beginning it’s descent below the city walls, and the place was bathed in the warm orange-reds of the setting sun. It was not the dark corrupted red light that Senka had poured forth when she was corrupted, but clearly it was close enough in colour for Senka to have been reminded of it. Xingyue hoped that making the costumes, something quite unrelated to Senka and the destruction they’d wrought would cheer her up, the four dragons they’d met were certainly lively enough.

 And so the group trundled to the middle of town, Senka with her size carrying the bulk of the cloth burden, to the fabric to the group in charge of creating the tents and hammocks. Afterward the group returned to where they had cut the cloth, collected all the scraps and began making their costumes. Xue Qing and Rage’s ghost costumes only really needed some eye holes created, as the large fabric scrap sheets were torn and frayed from the group's earliest attempts at cutting the fabric.

With Xue Qing and Rage’s costumes quickly completed, the group began the process of dressing Jin Xian as a mummy using the longer thinner castoff strips of cloth. It was a much longer process to make Jin Xian’s mummy costume, not only because there were so many strips of cloth to pin and maneuver, but that Jin Xian was extremely picky and adamant not a single strand of his shimmering gemstone markings should be obscured. Jin Xian was clearly jealous about Senka’s beautiful runes that still shimmered around her, if he was making this much of a fuss about his own shimmering fur. But in the end the motley group managed to create the costume before the sun had set fully.

Xingyue and Senka were the only three left without costumes. Xingyue was adamant he was not partaking in the trick or treating this year, the happy young ones were fun to see, but they were very loud, so he vowed this year he’d sit it out. However Xingyue could sense that Senka was intrigued and a bit wistful about the trick or treating part of the festival and would probably like to take part.

“Well, the Harvest Festival isnt for a few days yet, we have plenty of time to think of a costume for you Senka, if you want to participate?”, Xingyue queried enthusiastically, knowing that if he came across as hesitant, Senka would certainly feel unwelcome. Before Senka could say yes or no, there came a comment from Xue Qing.

“You're old, how about a grandma costume?!” Xue Qing spoke without thinking, again.

“You don't say that!” Came Firen’s scandalised response, as Rage moved to slap Xue Qing again for her utter lack of social awareness and tact. Rage was stopped from doing so by the gentle and quiet voice of Senka from above.

“Wait,” the large Bird spoke, “That sounds,” there was a pause as they thought about the idea and it’s meanings, “Good, warm, comforting, yes? Not scary?”

Xingyue pondered for a moment, “That’s true enough…,” he reasoned, “There are some truly mammoth trees that were knocked down recently, we can use one as a walking stick for the costume.”

And that was the cue for the rest of the group to jump in, bustling with ideas and excited chatter, united in their desire to make a costume for Senka, not a frightening, scary one, but a kind, warm one. The idea of using some cast off raw wool from a buffalo-sheep as ‘old lady hair’ was posited by Firen. And other ideas flew around the group, and soon enough a ‘grandma’ costume large enough for Senka to wear was taking shape, just as the lanterns of the city were turning on.

All in all it had been a very good day, Xingyue thought as he looked at the slight smile on Senka’s face, and that the guilt in her eyes was a shade lighter. It was a very good day indeed.