Strike (Preternatural senses) Exceptional success
Max hadn't been to all that many ren fairs in his life. A couple of visits to King Richard's Faire when he'd been a teenager, a joust once, in Germany, but he barely remembered them. He'd been casually curious about the whole thing when the flyers had started popping up. He remembered it from last year too, but he'd been too busy to pay attention to it.
Now, Max was both working on the festival grounds and keeping an eye out for familiar faces. He'd spent the first half of the day at the medic's tent, occasionally heading out to deal with minor emergencies. It was mostly dehydration and minor injuries, nothing truly alarming. Although, there'd been a close call near the blacksmithing tents when an ember had almost set the woods on fire. A few reminders on fire safety to the young apprentice blacksmith and some additional preventative measures dealt with that.
Now, moving past afternoon, Max had been relieved by the next shift's arrival, finally freed up to wander the grounds himself. He was still in the uniform, although more relaxed than any emergency response ever had him. His suspenders hung down around his hips, his uniform trousers black with bright yellow markings, and his shirt declared him as one of the medics.
Checking his phone, he saw nothing new was waiting for him, just the text exchange he'd had with Em about being at the fair, teasing her about coming to keep him company at the medic station, and the one from yesterday with Hailey. She'd mentioned she'd be coming, he'd mentioned he'd be working until now, but they should find a time. From the time she'd given him, he figured she had to be newly arrived unless she was running late.
Max tucked the phone away, heading towards the entry area. The whole place was bustling, a riot of colours with the cloaks and the tunics. Some of it looked more fantasy, while others went the more historical route, but Max's understanding only went so far. He probably missed out on the nuances. The miasma of the place added to it; wafting body odour, cooking food, smoke, and wood sap. He caught the cloying sweetness of cotton candy too. By now he was used to every scent and stink of a city clogging up his nose, so it was a little easier to ignore it all out here. Still, he wondered if he could catch familiar scents even in all of this. Or unfamiliar, considering he'd only had a short meeting to take in Hailey's scent in person. Was she even here?
He took a moment, standing out of the way of the incoming and outgoing foot traffic, but then he caught what he thought might be what he remembered from that meeting at the coffee shop. He followed it, craning his neck to look over the heads of the crowd and following what he'd started to think of as the 'main street' of the place. It led straight to the tavern, and as he got closer he finally spotted Hailey, queueing for a drink, maybe?
“Hey, Hailey!” Max called, catching her attention as he caught up with her, grinning as he stepped up next to her. “Blending in with the locals?” he teased, reaching out to tug at the sleeve of her tunic, a stark contrast to his very modern uniform.
Max hadn't been to all that many ren fairs in his life. A couple of visits to King Richard's Faire when he'd been a teenager, a joust once, in Germany, but he barely remembered them. He'd been casually curious about the whole thing when the flyers had started popping up. He remembered it from last year too, but he'd been too busy to pay attention to it.
Now, Max was both working on the festival grounds and keeping an eye out for familiar faces. He'd spent the first half of the day at the medic's tent, occasionally heading out to deal with minor emergencies. It was mostly dehydration and minor injuries, nothing truly alarming. Although, there'd been a close call near the blacksmithing tents when an ember had almost set the woods on fire. A few reminders on fire safety to the young apprentice blacksmith and some additional preventative measures dealt with that.
Now, moving past afternoon, Max had been relieved by the next shift's arrival, finally freed up to wander the grounds himself. He was still in the uniform, although more relaxed than any emergency response ever had him. His suspenders hung down around his hips, his uniform trousers black with bright yellow markings, and his shirt declared him as one of the medics.
Checking his phone, he saw nothing new was waiting for him, just the text exchange he'd had with Em about being at the fair, teasing her about coming to keep him company at the medic station, and the one from yesterday with Hailey. She'd mentioned she'd be coming, he'd mentioned he'd be working until now, but they should find a time. From the time she'd given him, he figured she had to be newly arrived unless she was running late.
Max tucked the phone away, heading towards the entry area. The whole place was bustling, a riot of colours with the cloaks and the tunics. Some of it looked more fantasy, while others went the more historical route, but Max's understanding only went so far. He probably missed out on the nuances. The miasma of the place added to it; wafting body odour, cooking food, smoke, and wood sap. He caught the cloying sweetness of cotton candy too. By now he was used to every scent and stink of a city clogging up his nose, so it was a little easier to ignore it all out here. Still, he wondered if he could catch familiar scents even in all of this. Or unfamiliar, considering he'd only had a short meeting to take in Hailey's scent in person. Was she even here?
He took a moment, standing out of the way of the incoming and outgoing foot traffic, but then he caught what he thought might be what he remembered from that meeting at the coffee shop. He followed it, craning his neck to look over the heads of the crowd and following what he'd started to think of as the 'main street' of the place. It led straight to the tavern, and as he got closer he finally spotted Hailey, queueing for a drink, maybe?
“Hey, Hailey!” Max called, catching her attention as he caught up with her, grinning as he stepped up next to her. “Blending in with the locals?” he teased, reaching out to tug at the sleeve of her tunic, a stark contrast to his very modern uniform.