[center][sub][b][h3]T H E   S P A R L I N G S :   T H E   V E N U E[/h3][/b][/sub][/center]
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[center][color=#bc8dbf][b]L I L A   S P A R L I N G[/b][/color][/center][indent][sub][color=#bc8dbf][b]Location:[/b][/color] [i]Mulberry Park --> The Gazebo[/i][/sub][sup][right][color=#bc8dbf][b]Timeframe[/b][/color] [i]Early Afternoon[/i][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][indent][sub][color=#bc8dbf][b]Interaction(s):[/b][/color] [i]Jason Sparling, Winnie Sparling[/i][/sub][sup][right][color=#bc8dbf][b]Previously:[/b][/color] [i][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5436938]Survival Squad[/url][/i][/right][/sup][/indent]
The pitchfork had lasted about twenty seconds and as many yards. Lila had nearly tripped Jason and skewered Winnie, who still thought it was okay to walk right in front of people and just randomly stop moving. It was now in the eleven-year-old's hands, God help them all. Canvas bag full of pasta on her lap, Lila pushed her way across the grass, wheels threatening to sink into ground still spongy from a recent Spring rain.

[color=7ea7d8]"Shit, they all came,"[/color] murmured Jason, and Lila, straining to keep up, pushed a bit harder, popping a hint of a wheelie to keep her front castors out of the mud. [color=bc8dbf]"You say it like it's a bad thing,"[/color] she grunted in reply, but she could tell that he was nervous. He'd started something and now wasn't sure if he was the man for the job. [color=bc8dbf]"The fact that they're here means they feel the same way, or at least close,"[/color] she tried. He was putting on airs of confidence with his swords and his 'tough guy' walk, but he didn't know what to do with his hands and that told her what she needed to know about her little brother's emotional state. [color=7ea7d8]"Yeah,"[/color] he agreed belatedly. [color=7ea7d8]"I guess they wouldn't be here otherwise, right?"[/color] 

[color=bc8dbf]"Right,"[/color] Lila replied, straining against a tuft in the lawn.

[color=ffdead]"Right!"[/color] echoed Winnie, taking a momentary break from swinging her arms loosely from side to side and twisting to look at her older siblings.

The gazebo was just ahead and the grass was treacherous. There was a wood chip pathway nearby and it was, if possible, even worse... for reasons beyond the readily apparent as well. [color=bc8dbf][i]Bless their little hearts, they wonder why I left.[/i][/color] In grade eight, when they'd had a petition assignment, Lila had written up a particularly eloquent one to the local council, researching online, finding links and recommendations, and double-checking her formatting with her mom's secretary in the hope that they would install a ramp and an accessible path to the Mulberry Park gazebo. The news station over in Rochester had even run a little feature when her petition had been selected. Then, after a couple of locals had complained that the ramp 'disturbed the historical character' of the gazebo, it had been torn down and rebuilt on the 'less attractive' far side, doubling the cost and not leaving enough funds for the paved path. She'd gotten 'levelling' and wood chips instead and, when the cameras had circled back for the conclusion of their feel-good story, it had ended up being one of the many, [i]'it's the thought that counts'[/i] moments in Lila's life, except, well... it hadn't. Good intentions don't magically make inaccessible things accessible. She'd made the mistake of smiling through the fiasco and playing along because she'd been a needy fourteen-year-old under social pressure, afraid of being left out or seen as ungrateful or not worth the trouble.

The nearer that she drew, arms and shoulders straining, the more that her mood began to sour. If the... zombies - the word was still surreal to say or even [i]think[/i] in a serious context - showed up, she would be dead, full stop, all because some pointedly anonymous HOA-esque asshole almost a decade ago had been so certain that their right to a 'historic' vista outweighed [i]hers[/i] to not have to be dependent on her fast-evaporating friends. For an extended moment, she glared at the path: utterly useless in its intended purpose. Then, Jason twisted. [color=7ea7d8]"If it's any consolation,"[/color] he joked, [color=7ea7d8]"Fucker's probably zombie chow."[/color]

[color=bc8dbf]"Or a zombie,"[/color] Lila snorted, shaking her head. [color=bc8dbf]"Now get outta my brain or at least pay me rent!"[/color]

He grinned. 

[color=bc8dbf]"If I kill one, Jason, this whole fucking time, let it serendipitously be [i]that[/i] piece of shit."[/color] She rolled her eyes and smirked. [color=bc8dbf]"Then my life will be complete."[/color] Jason slowed up until he was beside her. [color=7ea7d8]"Shake on it."[/color] He held out his hand and she took it. [color=ffdead]"Shake on it!"[/color] agreed Winnie, skipping up on her other side. Lila reached out with both hands and simultaneously shook, but her siblings didn't let go. [color=7ea7d8]"Now that we have her..."[/color] her brother teased, [color=7ea7d8]"I say we fling the cripple."[/color]

[color=bc8dbf]"Jason, I swear, if you do it -"[/color]

[color=ffdead]"The only question is 'how far'?"[/color] chirped her sister, malevolently Cheshire.

[color=bc8dbf]"Okay, seriously, the ground is muddy. I'll literally just faceplant!"[/color] Meanwhile, they were pulling her along, all three of them holding hands, until she reached the small paved area around the antique gazebo. Others stood around as they released her, some conversing, waiting for them or for some poorly-defined starting point. [color=7ea7d8]"Next time,"[/color] Jason warned, as Lila let out a small, appreciative [color=bc8dbf][sub]"thank you"[/sub][/color]. 

[color=ffdead]"She gonna fffflllllyyyy!"[/color] teased Winnie, twirling away, [color=ffdead]"But I get a ride, okay? That's what you owe me."[/color] She half-pivoted and struck a pose, as if she were about to stick her tongue out, before thinking better of it in front of the teens and twenties. Lila stuck her tongue out instead, giving Winnie social permission to respond in kind. [color=bc8dbf]"But then how am I gonna fly without a push from your big strong arms, Win-win?"[/color] Winnie bunched up her face, let out a little [color=ffdead]"Hmph!"[/color] and turned on her heel, bounding up the wooden steps with a series of loud thumps and leaning against a pillar. She faced her elders from a safe corner, eyes darting warily between them, trying not to be [i]too[/i] intimidated.

[color=8493ca]"Up or down?"[/color] Jason asked, and Lila didn't want to be any more trouble. She crafted a smile and shook her head. [color=bc8dbf]"I'm fine here."[/color] She held up her fists and winked. [color=bc8dbf]"Besides, you need a perimeter guard who actually watches your six."[/color] Jason snorted. [color=7ea7d8]"Then she should have a weapon."[/color] He pulled his [i]wakizashi[/i] from his belt, sheath and all, and handed it to her. Growing up around him and [i]not[/i] knowing what the midsized sword that a Sengoku or Edo period samurai would carry was simply an impossibility, as was not looking like a complete dork in the current context. Somewhere between grateful and cringing, she thanked him and placed the sword across her lap as he swept some hair from his face and thumped up after Winnie. Lila rolled over to the foot of the steps so she could crane her neck and at least kind of participate. She already had her suspicions about how this was going to go, but she'd also given herself a job. She could only hope it wouldn't be required.

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[center][color=#7ea7d8][b]J A S O N   S P A R L I N G[/b][/color][/center][indent][sub][color=#7ea7d8][b]Location:[/b][/color] [i]Mulberry Park --> The Gazebo[/i][/sub][sup][right][color=#7ea7d8][b]Timeframe:[/b][/color] [i]Early Afternoon[/i][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][indent][sub][color=#7ea7d8][b]Interaction(s):[/b][/color] [i]Lila Sparling, Winnie Sparling[/i][/sub][sup][right][color=#7ea7d8][b]Previously:[/b][/color] [i][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5436938]Survival Squad[/url][/i][/right][/sup][/indent]
Jason wasn't smart. A comparative dearth of smiley faces on his tests and homework growing up had taught him that. Disapproving looks from adults, 'evaluations' for learning disabilities, and the sneering disdain of self-appointed smart people like Lee had taught him that. 

Thing was... he wasn't [i]dumb[/i] either, and he knew it. Maybe he wasn't book smart - all the books they'd read in school were for girls anyway - but he doubted anyone else here had his sense of spatial awareness or his intuitive understanding of angles, positioning, force, and motion. Maybe he didn't know all of the formulas, but he could tell where a ball was going to go as soon as it left someone's hands. He could guess, with near-certainty, whether he'd be able to make it somehwere before being caught. 

The other part of that was knowing people, and reading them. He [i]hadn't[/i] been good at that as a kid, but he'd worked at it, and his carefully-honed skills in that regard now told him that he'd messed up. He hadn't even wanted to be some kind of leader - merely get the ball rolling because it had been a couple of weeks and this was the new normal and nobody else [i]had[/i] - yet now he was supposed to stand in front of a bunch of people - him: the class clown, the not-jock, the weeb - and deliver some kind of speech?

Jason sucked at speeches. 

He gripped the hilt of his katana with one hand, finding sensory solace in its intricate surface. Bless Lila; she'd taken his mind off of the anxiety before, but now she was down there and he was up here and there were so many eyes and expressions and...

[color=7ea7d8][i]Fuck it. YEET.[/i][/color]

[color=7ea7d8]"So, uhh, I'd like to thank you all for coming here, but, uh, first, I'd like to take a moment to recognize our security team for this event."[/color] He gestured in Lila's direction. [color=7ea7d8]"And our caterers."[/color] He took in those who had brought food for Holly and cleared his throat. [color=7ea7d8]"Finally, of course, how could we forget..."[/color] It was the quickest pause but it was a pause and he regretted it. [color=7ea7d8][i]Fuck! What were your names again?[/i][/color] [color=7ea7d8]"Carson and, umm, Alena - for booking this venue ahead of time for us. We all know what a hot property it can be."[/color] 

Jason grinned, impish and nervous in equal measures, and spread his hands. [color=7ea7d8]"So, listen, guys: I have some ideas, but I have no clue how to like... be a boss or whatever."[/color] He let out a snort. [color=7ea7d8]"I just saw that nothing was actually getting done and people were starting to run out of stuff, and the power's probably gonna go out soon, so I was juss like, 'we should probably all get together and figure shit out,' you know?"[/color] The middle Sparling glanced about, spurring himself to continue. [color=7ea7d8]"And I know the old people will probably find out, but I wanted it to be just us first so we actually get to talk without, I dunno, just being told what to do like we always are."[/color] He shrugged and walked over, leaning against one of the picnic tables under the shelter and crossing his arms. [color=7ea7d8]"That's the idea anyway. If anyone has a plan, I'm all ears."[/color] He paused and furrowed his brow. [color=7ea7d8]"Oh wait, and yeah, we should probably have like... a speaker's stick or like, you know, the conch from that book, like they had. Uhmm..."[/color] he trailed off.

[color=ffdead]"Lord of the Flies!"[/color] interjected Winnie, finding her voice.

[color=7ea7d8]"Yeah, that!"[/color] He'd ceded the floor. Now it was time to listen instead of speak... unless someone pissed him off. Someone would probably piss him off, or say something really dumb. [i]Probably.[/i]

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