I'm Just Here For The Leis (Summer 2021 Beach Party Mini Event)

It had been quite a while since Samira had last visited the town of Hargeon. Ever since Lamia Scale had disbanded the summoner had little reason to make frequent trips to the place. A job might take her there every now and then, but it was rare. More often than not whatever business she was up to took her away from the common towns and cities. There were, of course, times when she was free to do what she wanted. The current day was such a case. Her agenda was clean and empty. Rather than take the day to stay inside and disappear from the world she had the desire to instead check in on the town and see what a few individuals she knew were up to.

The person that entered the town that day was not what most would label as Samira, however. The truth of the matter was that she did not want to be too easily recognized while there. It was a day off, and that also meant a day to get away from the normal reactions of others and the expectations. Well, unless a serious interruption to the town's daily life came along. That couldn't very well go ignored. Either way, the Goddess of Ishgar was not wearing her normal attire or hairstyle. She had opted to instead wear common summer clothing that would easily blend in with others around her. Blue jean shorts and a white peplum top with soft floral patterns made most of the outfit. None of her usual accessories were present, aside from the usual golden keyring she always kept on her person and a newly acquired pair of black sunglasses that covered her emerald eyes. It was a far cry from her usual golden appearance. Her hair was even tied up into a ponytail rather than being allowed the freedom to do as it pleased while worn down. Yes, totally not her. No one would ever suspect.

The large gathering at the beach had gone unnoticed by Samira at first. After all, it was a beach. There was always traffic there unless there was a storm. She went about her day visiting the friends and acquaintances on her mental list. By mid-afternoon it had seemed the woman had obviously passed by every flier, poster, sign, announcement, and conversation in town that had the beach party as its topic. It wasn't until a man walked by wearing several layers of flower garlands around his neck that her attention was caught. The clash of vibrant colors was hard not to notice. Well, technically she wasn't even the one that noticed it. It was the summon that sat on her shoulder.

Due to a prank done by another of her avatar god summons the avatar of Hades was generally always stuck in a state that made him doll-sized. He was anything but intimidating with that appearance, and his habit of munching on small bags of cookies didn't help his image either. Upon seeing that man pass by with his blinding clash of color necklaces the small spirit immediately hit the mental pause button on his action of devouring the sugary baked goods. He even dropped the bag. He wanted one of those neck garlands. He wanted them all! The glowing green eyes of his got a sudden mischievous glint to them. A misty purple hand appeared in front of him and just as it was starting to reach out for the stranger to take those flowery accessories one word made the hand, and his plan, vanish just as quickly as it was created.

"No." Samira didn't know fully what the small spirit was up to, but the use of magic, however minor, had not gone unnoticed. It was trouble, and that was all she needed to be aware of to put a stop to it.

Hades was a bit shocked at first from the sudden interruption, but he was quick to let out a groan to let his disappointment and dissatisfaction be known. "I only wanted his flower adornments!"

Curious, Samira turned around to spot the man with the collection of leis around his neck. Each one was a different vibrant and bold color. That... wasn't the usual style of the town that she could recall. She scanned the area a bit to see a few others were wearing a lei or two as well. Huh. Intriguing. It was then she no longer felt the spirit on her shoulder. Her gaze immediately shifted and followed him as he floated off to a nearby building with a poster on it. She quietly followed and once there she stared at the poster and gave it a read. It was one of the many announcement posters for the local beach party. Funny. The people she had talked to earlier never mentioned it. Maybe they knew that she wouldn't be too interested in it. If only her avatar spirits felt the same way. It wasn't even a second later that her head exploded in a multitude of voices, each one desiring to be heard over the others. Samira's right eye twitched. It had been such a quiet day until then...

Fast forward for a bit of travel time with the ending result of Samira now standing on the beach. Hades wasn't going to give up on getting a lei, and the others... well unless they got their time to party they were never going to be on their best behavior. Why they just couldn't have a party in their own realm was beyond her comprehension, but she supposed letting them have a bit of fun couldn't hurt. Too much. If they didn't cause trouble. Actually it was probably a bad idea to let them loose. Was it too late to change her mind and offer an alternative? The glowing trails of energy erupting from the keys on her keyring that soared to various parts of the beach party told her yes. It was much too late. The only one that stayed with her was Hades, and that was mostly because he wanted Samira to get the leis for him. His imagination of him participating ran wild and horrified him. What if the children decided to use him as a decoration for their sandcastles? How was he supposed to play volleyball when the ball would smack in right into the sand and bury him? What if... actually he probably could do the Limbo just fine. He was small. Nah. It was better to just let Samira do the work.

(Word Count: 1091)

Rolling for Fishing Contest...

The member 'Samira Nassar' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

---

'Normal Dice' :

Samira was not unaware of how to obtain the leis that her spirit companion so desperately wanted for some odd reason. The poster had explained that they were earned by participating in the party's games and contests. It was a shame that she couldn't just buy a few and be on her way, but she supposed participation was also fine. It was a guaranteed lei. Having to win would have been quite the barrier to get by. None of the ones listed on the poster were exactly things she excelled at or even tried. Surfing for one was an automatic no. She wasn't even dressed to be out in the open water to do such an activity. What exactly could she do that wouldn't make herself look and feel like an incompetent fool though?

The summoner walked around a bit, watching others party on and participate in the various things the beach party had to offer. It wasn't until she reached a wooden stand that she stopped. Moreso because she was forced to. "Want to take part in our annual fishing contest?!" A woman enthusiastically asked with a grin so wide it should have been categorized as impossible to even accomplish. Yet it was there and getting more creepy the more Samira stared.

"Fishing?" That was on the poster. Samira recalled seeing its bright and bold lettering earlier. She had assumed it was an all day thing and had started much earlier in the day. It hadn't started? How odd.

"Yep! All you have to do is catch a bigger fish than your competition! Nothing too hard about it at all."

Samira doubted that statement. Fishing was an activity of patience. One could cast their line out all day and catch nothing by sundown. The contest was a strange choice indeed. Well, for anyone that did not have the magic to ease the process, she supposed. Surely such a thing was not allowed in the contest though. Not when those without magic would likely also be entering. "I will give it a try." Honestly, even though her words sounded confident enough she severely doubted that she'd do well. She tried when she was a child. Once. Her neighbors had tried to teach her one day but that led her to being banned from the fishing pole for life. Well, so long as they were around. They weren't there to keep it away from her that day.

The event coordinator did not hesitate to reach for one of the many poles she had around the stand. "Here ya go!" The fishing pole was handed to Samira and after it was in the summoner's hands the strange woman began to push her around the stand and towards the water. "I think you're the last one we needed. There will be a whistle to signal the start of the contest. You have fifteen minutes after that to catch whatever you can!" Now that Samira was in the designated spot, the woman stopped pushing and took her hands off.

"Just fifteen minutes?" Samira inquired, surprised by the tiny time limit she and the others were given.

"Trust me. It's all you need. Just cast your line into the swirls in the water. We had some mages do some bippity boppity boo routine with their magic so there should be plenty of fish just waiting to bite. Everyone here is bound to catch something. It's just a matter if you get lucky enough to catch a big one." The event coordinator gave a wave and turned around to start to head back towards the stand. "Good luck!"

Samira was alone now. The other competitors were also at designated spots but were far enough away so they all had their own little space. Looking into the water Samira could indeed see the dark swirls on its surface. She could even see fish just circling around and around with no interest in leaving and escaping to deeper waters. What weird magic but she wasn't going to question it. The short time limit on fishing made sense now as did the fact that the contest itself offered no true prize for winning.

There was only one thing to do now. The whistle to start sounded. So started Samira's attempts at casting a line in the open water. It was a horrendous sight. She had even forgotten the step of adding bait to the hook. Hades' optimism fell. Did not even getting a line out into the water still count as participation? His glowing gaze looked at the other competitors. Already most of them had some caught fish in their buckets. The fifteen minutes were going by quickly.

Eventually Samira did manage to get her fishing line cast into the water and right where it needed to be to catch the fish for the event. Perfect! Participation completed. Even Hades clapped his hands to celebrate the achievement. The two were now happy and perfectly content to likely catch the smallest thing there. It was the most realistic expectation. Then there was a tug on the line. The two stared at the fishing pole Samira held in suspense. It took another tug for them to snap out of it and realize the thing wasn't going to reel itself in.

The whole process Samira just had to wing through. There was probably some sort of expert level method of successfully reeling in a caught fish but she sure didn't know it. The level before beginner was hers so all she knew how to do was keep pulling and turning the handle. Whatever was on the line wasn't as small as she thought it would be. Not unless the smallest fish just so happened to also be the strongest one in the water. The line was likely going to break at some point.

Fast forward for the fish catching montage with a few of her avatar spirits having come along to act as the cheering support group. By the end of the contest Samira now had a single fish to add to her name. One was all she needed for participation and apparently one was all she needed to win the contest as a whole. She didn't even know what kind of fish it was. Her knowledge of that sort was minimal and probably would be corrected in the near future. It was big though. There were some others that nearly rivaled it but hers still came in as the largest and heaviest. Beginner's luck maybe?

For taking part in the contest, the event coordinator gifted Samira with a blue colored lei. "Congratulations!" The woman shouted cheerfully as she placed the flower garland over Samira's head and around her neck. After Samira said her thanks, the coordinator smiled again and went about her business to set up another round of the contest. As for Hades, he did not hesitate to relieve Samira of the colorful lei and put it on himself. Or at least attempted to. It was too big for him and fell right to the ground. He needed a smaller one!

And so the two went on to find another activity to do to earn another lei.

(Word Count: 1197
Samira Total: 2288)

Samira has earned a Lei from the Fishing Contest
1/4 Leis Acquired

Rolling for Sandcastle Contest...

The member 'Samira Nassar' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

---

'Normal Dice' :

The next little activity that caught the interest of the two was one that revolved around the building of sandcastles. Sort of. Samira signed up for it despite the spirit's protests otherwise. It was an activity for children. He didn't want to be around them. At least his wild imaginings wouldn't come true with his summoner there though. Maybe. Just to be safe he clung to her until they were safely at a spot that was.... decently far enough away from the terrifying brats. He then floated away from Samira a bit and higher into the air so he could get a better viewpoint of her sandcastle building progress.

About ten minutes had gone by with Samira just quietly working to make some kind of sand thing that resembled a castle. It wasn't going all too well but she didn't care. She was enjoying the activity regardless of her less than professional sand architectural skills. Hades rolled his eyes as he watched. He couldn't take watching such an amateur at work. The castle needed to look better than that. Way better!

He destroyed a part of Samira's castle, much to her disappointment. She frowned deeply and stopped but said nothing. There wasn't much she could say since after destroying her work the spirit was putting some effort into doing his part. That much she could approve of. The leis were something he desired so the least he could do was help.

Samira started to build once more. With the two of them working together they had built a sandcastle that was much better than the original. It wasn't grand enough to win the contest but it most definitely wasn't the worst either. In a way that was a win on its own.

Another lei was given for their participation efforts. Once again too large for the spirit to wear normally. To correct that issue Samira just looped and twisted it around his neck twice. It worked well enough. He was satisfied with his new purple lei. But, he was pretty much all purple already. He wanted another color as well. Obviously not the blue one that Samira had kept from the fishing contest. It was time to seek a third activity to complete for an additional lei.

(Word Count: 377
Samira Total: 2665)

Samira has earned a Lei from the Sandcastle Contest
Samira previously earned a Lei from the Fishing Contest
2/4 Leis Acquired

Ten minutes later the summoner and spirit duo had set their sights on the Horse Shoe Throwing minigame. A simple and short game that did not have much of a line at all. It was the perfect activity to get that extra lei as soon as possible. Samira walked up to the game area and was given five plastic horseshoes in order to play the game with. Hades took one. He might as well try too, right?

The small summon floated into position, gave the peg distance a look, stared at the horseshoe he held, and then back to the peg. He was supposed to throw it that far?! Ridiculous! He couldn't do that! His little arms didn't have the strength to toss the plastic horse shoe that far. Hades continued to float there in silence, growing more agitated by the second. Was it against the rules to just float over to the peg and toss the horse show down onto it? Technically it wouldn't have touched the ground. As he thought about that cheating plan, Samira threw some of her own. She had missed. Her aim wasn't that off per say. The horse shoes had gone over it, but if she had just put in a little less force into her throws they probably would have met their mark. In a way it was similar to throwing her chakrams, but those were a bit heavier which made her calculations a bit off. Plastic horseshoes needed a bit less strength behind the throw. Her last one had met its mark after she made the adjustments to her technique and concentrated a bit.

As for Hades, the verdant glare of Samira stopped him from getting too far into his plan. No cheating in a game of horseshoes. Fine. Back into position the small spirit tossed the horse shoe while holding it with two hands and spinning around. It zoomed when he let go, but not in the direction of the peg. Instead the two watched as the horseshoe soared in the direction of the game stand and struck the event coordinator in the head. Oops. At least it was a plastic version and not the real type made of iron. After a swift apology from Samira, and a reluctant one from Hades, all was forgiven. They were granted another lei for their collection. This time a bright red one. Samira let him have it and made it fit around him like she had done the purple one earlier. He was now greatly content with his new summery fashion accessories.

This meant that it was time to go, right? Nah. There was one other thing to do first. It was time to eat a bit of something. Some of her summons had already been to the Tropical Feast and had made it known that the food there was pretty impressive. Well, the hungry summoner's interest had peaked. Once she got there she could see, at least visually, why they had spoken highly of it. There was a huge variety of tasty options, especially seafood. That would make sense with being in Hargeon and all. There were other sorts too as well, of course. Barbeque, fruit, desserts, chilled beverages, and much more.

With a smile on her face Samira grabbed a clean empty plate from the stack and began her search for the options she would thoroughly enjoy. Fruit, of course. That was always on her diet. Watermelon, pineapple, mango. Just a few small slices of course. She added a bit of seafood to her plate as well. Nothing too crazy. Samira wasn't going to be wasteful. A cold glass of lemonade would complete her first course, assuming there was another after. Hades followed the woman as she went to take a seat at an empty table. He wasn't really interested in having a plate of his own so he took nothing. He might go grab an entire pie for himself later, but for now he stole a chunk of pineapple from his summoner's plate.

By the end of the meal a fourth lei had been earned. This one colored a vivid yellow. Apparently eating the food at the feast was another way to earn a lei. Or at least that was what was told to them when the feast coordinator came by and placed the lei around Samira's neck over the blue lei she already wore. Neat. In a way she was glad she took the time to participate in the beach event that day. Now she even had souvenirs to remind her of the occasion.

(Word Count: 764
Samira Total: 3429)

2000/2000 Event Word Count Achieved
Samira has earned a Lei from the Horseshoe Throwing
Samira has earned a Lei from the Tropical Feast
Samira previously earned a Lei from the Fishing Contest
Samira previously earned a Lei from the Sandcastle Contest
4/4 Leis Acquired

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