Cry of the Gypsy

Players:

Rahne

Kurt

Miriam

Caitlin

Barbara

Ralph

Late afternoon. The sun hangs low in the sky, turning the clouds a reddish-purple as it struggles to pierce the trees and fight the shadows through the park. The festival itself is in full swing and the gypsies are mingling amongst the crowds; serving food, playing music, dancing, hawking wares people genuinely seem to be enjoying themselves.

The food is of higher than average quality; better than one would expect from a carnival and easily half the price. Trinkets being sold range from good luck charms to cloaks to hats and they're all very reasonable. A fortune teller's tent has a long line of people waiting for their chance to enter; the scent of jasmine strong in that particular area.

The police presence seems to stick to the outside of the area, watching within but not really patrolling through. People are orderly and there aren't an abundance of children. The evening's real dance will take place in a while, the rumors about the wild flurry circulates through the crowd as a 'must see' event. Drums are being prepared and it seems that they've secured a permit for a fire too (though it's located in an elevated cement pit to not scorch the ground).

Rahne steps into the park, brushing her hair back out of her eyes and opening them wide to take a good look around. "Ach, woul' yeh look a' all tha'," she says in a quiet, awed tone, looking around at the festive surroundings. "I always though' that the park was pretty, bu' this makes it look like something righ' ou' of a story. All we need now is a fairy princess." With a crooked smile, she looks over at her friends, as if perhaps expecting one of them to volunteer for that role.

Stalking slowly through the throng, a light smile curling her lips, a tall young redhead in a monochrome outfit of white linen, black silk and sable velvet turns her head to and fro as if searching among the crowd for someone in particular. Gloved hands tucked behind her back, Caitlin moves carefully, as if wary of bumping too firmly into the bustling passers-by.

Sure, it was apparently a little weird last time Miriam was here. It wasn't weird to *her*, though. Besides, the email from Caitlin prompted her to risk teh weird and make her way to the park once again for the gypsy festival. She's strolling casually among the stalls and people, watching the latter more than the wares for sale in the former. Though, she's clearly at least bought herself something to nibble at while she walks. With all the people here, it takes her a bit before she can spot the familiar face. Getting over there'll take a bit, too.

"Don't look at me," Kurt quips as Rahne looks over. Cloaked by his image inducer and clad in sedate, dark colours, he's probably a bit of a contrast from gypsy garb that some are sporting here. Nevertheless, he looks out at the various tents and activities, the people bustling about the park with a sort of thoughtful, almost nostalgic expression. He doesn't seem to notice the police about the perimeter, or else he's ignoring them in favour of the far more interesting sights and sounds in the festival itself. "Wunderbar. I haven't a clue as to where to start."

Barbara is not going to be the aformentioned princess at all. Barbara is wearing a barret on her head along with a treachcoat, her gloves and a scarf which she occasionaly uses to cover her mouth, not wanting to breath in any of the dust often found around these places. She turns to Rahne. "All I am saying is keep your eyes open, when I came here yesterday... something seemed odd." she is also quite brazenly holding a book in her hand. Sure she is 'trying' to understand this culture but that dosn't mean she dosn't want to read up on Botany when she gets board or her eyes hurt.

Rahne lets out a little laugh as Kurt so quickly abdicates the fairy princess throne. "Fine, bu' yeh willnae get to wear the tiara then," she informs him, as if sure this will hit him where it hurts, all in good fun, of course. Her smile falls away just a little at Barbara's warning, and those pale eyebrows quirk upwards in bemused curiosity. "Odd? Wha' sort of odd?" She glances around with a vaguely wary expression, expecting the odd to loom out at her any moment.

Distracted and delayed by a vendor offering a selection of cloaks and capes for sale, Caitlin comes to a halt, rather longingly eyeing the array of extravagant outerwear on offer. Still, when next she looks around, her comparatively lofty height lets her see over the heads of the smaller members of the crowd. Spotting Miriam, she raises one hand to wave at her, breaking into a flurry of apparently good-natured ASL as the woman approaches.

"Ach, you wound me, meine kleine," Kurt replies to Rahne, feigning hurt. He reluctantly pulls his eyes away from a nearby table full of charms to look over at Barbara as she gives her warning. "Hm. Everything seems fine now." He glances between his companions, then to their immediate vicinity, but doesn't seem overly concerned. "Maybe it only seemed weird because it was unfamiliar?" After all, he's not sure how out of the ordinary something like this is for her. Nevertheless, it's obvious that he's wondering just what sort of odd it was as well.

Barbara gives a small grin to Kurt. "You would look good in a tiarra Mr. Wagner. It fits your head." she says before she looks back out to the audiance. "One of the dancers was staring at a woman..he just stoped dancing and stared at her. Weird really but she seemed attractive so maybe that was it." she says before she shrugs.

Miriam waves back as she makes her way over to Caitlin. Once she's close enough to speak with the other she laughs and says "Yeah, because I have any idea what any of that means." She offers a piece of fried dough from her plate, then. "Everything good?" She's still watching around them, at all the people and things going on.

A loud voice rises above the crowds. "Free drinks!" The accent is Eastern European. "Come to the fire!" And indeed, a small table has been set up and tiny pewter goblets are being filled with something dark. "Cups are free too! Souvenire from our home land!" People begin to mill in that direction, the more adventuresome grabbing up the goblet as soon as they're near and tossing the drink back. Eyes squint or faces contort in surprise but the first reviews state that it's good stuff... whatever it is.

Rahne just flashes another grin, slightly self-conscious, as Kurt plays along with the teasing about the tiara, and she gives a little laugh before turning to look at some things on display as the pass. Her attention is soon back to Barbara as she explains the weirdness, her eyebrows lifting again as she considers it. "Aye, well maybe tha' was it. Though he couldnae have been verra professional if he jus' up and stopped like tha' for a pretty girl." She glances up at Kurt as if to see his opinion on it, but the voice calling out pulls her attention away. "Ach, they're free? Tha's generous of them."

Caitlin grins happily, offering Miriam an amiable shrug - then a rather extravagant bow of thanks, before accepting the offered food. Munching contentedly, she gestures excitedly around the carnival - or at least the nearby stalls - and bounces on the balls of her feet. The shouting about free drinks catches her attention, and she quirks a quizzical eyebrow at her companion.

Barbara gives a small shrug. "Hence why I thought it was odd." before she suddenly blushes slightly. "Mind you I think she was pretty, if one judges the standerd used in modern society." she mutters quickly and with little emotion in her voice before she glances over to the table. "Oh... that is foul. Don't people have any idea how much free dirt is in the air out here? They might as well be licking the ground as drinking uncoverd liquid in the park."

Miriam grins. "Yeah. It all looks pretty cool." she agrees to what she has to assume Caitlin is inferring with her gesture. "I figure I'll try a little of a bunch of the food. Just to see what it's like." The shout with the offer of freed drinks causes her to look over too, curious. "Huh." She doesn't look too tempted, though. "Who knows what it is and what's in it. You can if you want to?" She's not an expert or anything, but it just seems unwise to drink something being offered by a total stranger.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Kurt doesn't wear 'tough' well and cracks a grin to Barbara's teasing. He sobers a little as she explains what happened, however. "Hm. Odd. I'd think that he would take his performance a good deal more serious than that. But maybe that's it -- pretty girls can be distracting, after all." As the announcement of free drinks drifts his way, Kurt arches an eyebrow and looks toward the source. "It's not /that/ dusty out here. I really doubt it'd be that bad," he replies thoughtfully.

Rahne looks like she was tempted to at least head over and investigate before Barbara's vehemence gives her pause. She blinks around at the air, already knowing she won't see anything but feeling the need to try anyway. "Ach, aye, it cannae be /tha'/ bad, can it? Wha's a speck or two of dirt, anyway? I cannae imagine tha' woul' be enou' to make someone sick." She gives a shrug, now standing on her tiptoes to try to see better, but she's just too short and it's a losing battle. "We coul' jus' go an' see maybe? We wouldnae have to drink it if it looks foul. Or alcoholic."

Caitlin grins and offers a thumbs-up in response to Miriam's comment about sampling the food on offer, before pursing her lips and shrugging in the direction of the free drinks. Then, having polished off her scrap of food, she gazes with ostentatious longing towards the stall of capes and cloaks, lifting her hands to her chest to mime a swift-beating heart while her expression becomes wistfully love-lorn.

Barbara gives a small sigh as she shrugs. "You two if you want, I brought my own." she says as she reaches into her trench-coat to pull out a small thing of bottled watter before she suddenly blinks. "Archery...." pointing at a booth a bit in the distance. "Can I Kurt? Please Please?"

"Let's take a look," Kurt agrees with Rahne. "If only for curiosity's sake. No one has to drink anything, like you said." But as Barbara seems inclined to break off he gives pause, glancing from the girl to the booth and back. "I suppose so. Just keep track of where we are; I don't want to get /too/ separated in all of this." Not if there's any sort of weirdness going on. He seems torn as to whether to correct her on using his first name. Then again, this is definitely outside of school; ah, the woes of being a new teacher.

Miriam grins more as Caitlin geastures towards the capes. "I can see that being your thing." It doesn't seem to be hers, though. She takes another of the dough pieces, then offers another to Caitlin. "The good thing about there being two of us is that we can split food and not fill up so fast." She does still seem very curious about the people choosing to drink whatever's in those little goblets. "You know... Maybe I'll get one of the cups, at least. No reason I have to drink what's inside. Maybe it'll be worth something someday as a curio." She does head over unless Caitlin objects.

"Aye, all righ'," Rahne agrees with a little smile, though she now is a little torn between drinks and archery. Oh this surfeit of riches. "Yeh jus' give a yell if yeh need us," she adds, unable to keep from worrying too much. She flashes the other girl a quick grin before turning her attention back towards the free drinks and begins trying to duck and weave her way in closer, careful not to lose Kurt by slipping into spaces between only her tiny form will go, though it does perhaps mean doubling back a few times.

Caitlin accepts the second dough ball with a grateful nod, laughing silently and shaking her head in response to Miriam's comment about the food. When attention moves back to the free drinks, she shrugs, grins and nods, following Miriam that way, eating as she goes.

Barbara gives a small nod. "Don't worry, I will keep my eye on you guys." she says as she quickly skitters over to go look at the bow and arrows. Stuffing the book into her pocket as she picks up one of the bows, turning breifly to look over to Rahne and Kurt, to see what they are up to, not that she would watch them drink that, unsanitary thing. She never was fond of carnival food of any sort

Kurt watches Barbara for a moment as she heads off for the archery booth but soon realizes that he's going to lose Rahne if he doesn't get a move on. It's a trick to keep from brushing skin with people whilst moving through the crowd but he seems to be managing well enough; it's a good thing he wore long sleeves today. "Wait up," he calls gently, though he still has a pretty good bead on the little Scot.

Fiddle work picks up. Music grows a bit louder and people who have had their free drinks move off to enjoy the place some more. It's obvious when someone tries to snag a second free drink because the young woman at the table knows and shoos them away. Perhaps oddly, none of the people seem overly willing to give her any guff about it, electing instead to gracefully mingle back into the crowd.

The drink table is not swamped with people. It's very orderly in fact and there seem to be crates of bottles near one of the tents behind the girl. She's dressed in a white blouse and long, flowing skirts with a myriad of colors streaming off and the trademark black hair of a Gypsy. She pours more cups and offers them up as people arrive. Getting next to the table, there's a berry scent; something sweet like pomegranate.

Rahne slows down a bit at Kurt's bidding, though also because it's easier going here by the table where people are being so orderly. "An' Americans get a bad reputation for being rude," she scoffs in a quiet voice. With a curious look, she approaches on the table, not reaching to take a glass yet, but watching those who are taking it, sniffing at the sweet smell as she tries to place it. "Ach, wha' is it?" she asks aloud, of no one in particular, hoping either the woman serving or someone who's tried it already might answer her soft voice in the crowd.

Catching up with Rahne, Kurt cranes his neck a little to eye the bottles, still trying to discern whether or not there's alcohol in the drinks or not. "It smells... well, nice. But I'm not sure aside from that." Clearly he's also hoping that someone better informed will answer the question. He, however, dares to reach out for a cup.

Barbara continues to watch them even as she looks through the bows, pondering wheather or not to buy one. Well she didn't want to be impulsive or worry the fuzzy one so with a nod to the booth tender and a promise to return she begins heading over towards Kurt and Rahne again.

Miriam makes her way over to the table with the cups, not looking comfortable at all among a crowd. Even though it isn't as swamped as it could be, she plainly doesn't like having so many people so close to her. She waits her turn, the lines fortunately not moving very slowly, and then finally takes one of the little goblets for herself. The line she's chosen comes in from the opposite direction as Kurt and Rahne's and when she looks up from the liquid in the cup, she looks surprised. "Kurt." she says, seeing him there. "Hi."

Caitlin moves up behind Miriam, peering over her shoulder at the goblets - before looking up, rather surprised, as her companion addresses the man nearby. She doesn't attempt to interrupt, however.

Barbara continues to skitter in the dirrection of the two before she moves to stand next to Kurt, clearing her throat. "I will join you two to get a cup Mr Wagner..if you don't mind." though she turns to look at miriam and cocks her head. This woman DOES look very familiar and she seems to know Kurt.

The woman answers the question of 'what is it'. "Romanian Peach with strawberry and cherry. There's a syrup for sweetness and mountain spring water for the base." She pauses to fill another goblet and pushes it to someone else. "It's said to have the power to bring out great passion and happiness. Perfect for the dance."

"Aye, it's pleasant, isnae," Rahne muses, taking another whiff. As Kurt reaches out for the goblet, she glances up at him and then shrugs and then decides to take her own serving of it, since it doesn't sound like anything objectionable or not suited for those only 15 years of age. As Barbara reappears, she offers the girl a grin. "Aye, the goblet is pretty, even if yeh dunnae want wha's inside. Though yeh migh' be missing ou'," she teases lightly. The woman who seems to know Kurt gets a curious look, but there's too much going on to linger there right now.

"Miriam," Kurt answers in pleasant surprise of his own as he turns to face the woman. "Having fun? I hadn't expected to see you here." His attention is momentarily diverted as the lady at the booth explains what's in the goblet that he's holding and he looks down at it in consideration. "Well," he says to Rahne, "I suppose it's alright to drink. No alcohol to speak of... And I suppose we could all do with a little 'power and happiness'. And ja, the craftsmanship is incredible," he adds, tapping two fingers against the goblet. And without further hesitation, he tips it back for a taste of the drink.

Barbara reaches out for one as well. "Well, it sounds silly, as far as I know, none of those fruits have any sort of euphoric side effect whatsoever." with a small nod before she sniffs the drink lightly. "Though it does smell nice... " she glances back up towards Rahne. "Are we dancing? Er you... I mean um...are you going to dance with them?" she sputters out. Oh gods need something to do so that she dosn't need to look her in the eye. She closes her eyes and tips her head back, gulping down the drink before her face goes green for a moment. Oh gods, she did NOT just drink this swill did she?

"I didn't really expect to see me here." Miriam agrees with a bit of a chuckle, though then she has to move some to get out of the way of the others waiting. "But, yeah. I am having some fun." she replies to him, then has a taste of the liquid once they're informed it isn't alcohol. "Are you? I didn't really expect to see you here, either." She does look a little puzzled as she thinks that over, then looks to those he's apparently here with.

"Sometimes we need a li'l more silliness in our lives," Rahne says sagely, but with an impish grin. She sniffs at it a few times and then with a shrug follows the lead of her friends and tips it all back. "Dance? Ach, I dunna. No' unless this stuff is magic an' some sor' of miracle worker. Bu' I wouldnae mind being happy while watching frae the sidelines, aye? Are yeh wanting to dance then?" she asks, squinting down into the empty goblet as if hoping for a further hint about what makes this such a special brew.

Caitlin moves around beside Miriam to collect a goblet herself. She eyes the sputtering Barbara curiously for a moment, then bends her head over her drink to sniff at it - then sip carefully, sampling the taste of the unusual-sounding mixture.

Barbara gives a small grimace. "Well, at least it dosn't taste bad." she says before she glances at Rahne. "Don't look at it I recomend and no no.. I don't dance." she says with a small nod, staring off to the distance for a bit. Yes lets pretend we are mute.

Kurt follows the lead of the others in stepping away from the table so as to let others have a taste of the tasty beverage. "We've only just arrived," he tells Miriam, "but so far it's great." As if to punctuate that he tips back his goblet and empties the rest of its contents. "This isn't bad at all." As the mention of dancing catches his attention he turns toward Barbara and Rahne. "You two don't dance at all? You're not even going to give it a try?" It's difficult to tell whether he's being goading or encouraging, though he's not pressing very hard at least.

When it seems that no one else is going to take one of the goblets, they clear the table out of the way and the woman offers a curtsey as she withdraws into the tent area, which for the most part seems rather private. The music becomes even louder now and the musicians gather around the fire as they prepare for the dancers to gather. It's still sometime off... but their passionate playing certainly does set the mood. The sun is going down; kissing the horizon as it turns the sky purple and red.

Rahne goes a little pink and she shakes her head rather adamantly at Kurt's goading/encouraging question. "Ach, nae. I woul' jus' make a proper fool of mysel'," she says sheepishly, ducking her head a little, now suddenly rather fascinated with the workmanship of the goblet. "Bu' I like to watch others. So tha' shoul' be all righ' then." She looks over as the musicians start getting ready, still a little pink, but smiling eagerly now.

Since the others all seem to be fine with drinking the stuff in the goblet, Miriam swallows the rest of hers as well. Then, she takes a spare scarf from her shoulder bag, wraps the goblet in it, then stores the cup. "I came the other day, too. The dancers are... interesting. There was some weird too, but I didn't actually see it. They were kind of fun to watch."

Caitlin loiters close by Miriam, sipping at her drink as her gaze roams over the crowd, and the preparations being made for the dancing. Smiling silently to herself, she seems content to eavesdrop upon Miriam and Kurt.

Kurt glances toward the gathering musicians; though he stays his ground for the moment it seem all of this has his mental wheels turning a bit. He switches his hold on the goblet, grasping it by the stem and rolling it between his thumb and two fingers. "I heard something about the, er, 'weird' with the dancers," he admits to Miriam. "I'm hoping that all goes smoothly today, though." To Rahne, "You wouldn't make a fool out of yourself, I'm sure. Besides, chances are that the only ones with formal training are their troupe of dancers." He gestures broadly to indicate the gypsies at large. "Training in this sort of dance, anyway." So she wouldn't be alone in her inexperience. "Though it should be fun to watch as well... What about you, schatz? Planning on joining in with the dancers tonight?" The last is aimed back at Miriam.

"All the same," Rahne demurs, not seeming too comforted by the idea of being joined by other people who know as little as she does. She's of the mindset that she alone would be truly the worst one out there and everyone would turn and stare. "Bu' aye, I'm happy to watch," she confirms for a third time, this time backing it up with a little nod as well. Now that she's not quite so busy with figuring out the mystery of the gyspy drink, she has more time to take in Miriam, studying her quickly, careful not to stare or be rude about it, and then offers a little smile of greeting, even if it is a little belated at this point.

Barbara gives a small nod. "I would much prefer to watch." she says turning pink as well. "I don't want to touch ...people, and dancing is very...sweety.:" she says with a grimance before she glances at Miriam. "Ah.. you were here the other night, I thought I rememberd you."

Miriam's eyes widen a little. "Me? Dance?" She looks at Kurt as though he's grown, um, a tail. "Uhh... no. I don't dance. Really. Ever." She sounds very certain of it. "I wouldn't even know where to start. I'll just enjoy the show." Then, she looks a little sheepish. "Oh! Um. Kurt. This is Caitlin. Caitlin, this is Kurt." Then she returns Rahne's smile, and looks at Barbara then nods. "I thought you looked kind of familiar."

Caitlin perks up, focusing upon Kurt as she's introduced - offering him an elegant curtsey, then a much less formal smile and cheery little finger-wave.

It's about this time that Kurt seems to realize his rudeness. "Ach, I'm sorry! Rahne, this is Miriam; Miriam, Rahne." He gestures between the two, one hand for each, and gives a sheepish grin. "And... Well, it seems you've already met," he says with a glance to Barbara. Turning his attention to Caitlin, he tips his head a little to one side. "Have we met? You look familiar?" The formality of the curtsey inspires a little bow from him, a couple seconds late; informal though the meeting may be, he just eats up that sort of thing.

"It's nice to meet yeh, Miriam, Caitlin," Rahne states politely, even ducking just slightly in what might be an aborted curtsey. She looks over at Barbara and offers her a smile of solidarity. "We can jus' stay over here an' watch then," she assures the girl, grateful to have a solid reason not to be talked into the dancing.

Barbara gives a small nod. "It is nice to meet you both." she says before she nods to Rahne. "Indeed.... much better to watch then have to get in there." she says before she nods to Miriam. "I think...I you know Felix as well right? I think I saw you with him in a radio shack...that was you right?"

Miriam replies "It's nice to meet you both, too." she chuckles then, as Kurt bows to Caitlin. Nodding to Rahne as well, she says "I have no interest in being surrounded and jostled and whatever. Way too many people." She looks surprised at Barbara, then ohs. "Right. Radio Shack. Yes. That was me. He's nice."

Having returned Rahne's hint of a curtsey and Barbara's greeting with polite nods and a smile, Caitlin blinks in surprise at Barbara's later words. She darts a curious glance towards Miriam, but remains silent.

Kurt listens, tipping his head curiously as he notices Caitlin's reaction. "It's a small world, it seems," is all he ventures to say on the matter for now. He doesn't seem to be pressing the idea of dancing anymore, though he's keeping an eye on the dancers to see if anyone's beginning to mill about.

"The dance!!!" One of the gypsies screams out and the dancers emerge from the tents. They each take a place and move slowly around the fire. Each motion is controlled, their hair tossed around as they move their arms over their heads and lift their legs high. They stomp in boots and soft leather shoes; the women dressed in long skirts that flow wildly as they whirl along. The music matches their pace but it's obvious that things will pick up considerably.

Someone in the crowd begins to clap with the beat and that clapping is joined by others as others come from the food stalls and other curiosities to watch with wide eyes. Shrill calls from the dancers match the rhythm and there's a tangible excitement that fills the air. It's almost electric.

Barbara gives a small nod before she hears the call and instinctivly takes a few steps back, placing her hands over her cheast, defensive and quite clearly nervous as she watches the dance begin, the energy is so...unruely and it is starting to bother her eyes, she turns to look at Rahne. "I um... if you went out I would clap for you."

"Aye, much better," Rahne agrees adamantly. "All those people watching yeh." She makes a bit of a face, but is much less worried about it now that she's got support. Such that, as the dance kicks up, she just turns to watch with wide, interested eyes. After a slight hesitation, she joins in with the clapping, though hers is kept quiet, carefully so that it is not heard standing out over the rest of the crowd. "Ach, they look so pretty," she breaths. "One of them coul' be tha' fairy princess." She looks over as Barbara speaks to her, her cheeks going a little pink again and she ducks her head over her clapping hands. "Thank yeh, bu' ... I think I will stay righ' here. I dunnae like standing ou' like tha'. It ... makes me panic," she admits, her voice quiet under the thrum of the music.

Ralph has arrived.

Miriam's eyes move over to the dancers again as there's a yell heralding its start. She watches as things start, moving herself a bit to make it more unlikely she'll be in physical contact with any of them as they congregate. She doesn't clap, instead keeping her hands together. "I'm not big on getting much attention, either." she says, to Rahne's comment. "I don't know if I'd panic, but why try it?"

In contrast, Kurt seems rather enamored by it all. He turns toward the emerging dancers and picks up the clapping emphatically. "Ach, unglaublich," he murmurs, watching with wide eyes as the dancers twirl and gambol about before the crowd. "Who knows," he says to Rahne. "They could all be fairy princesses. They're very graceful." Finally he looks away from the performance long enough to look glance at his companions. "Come on, you lot. You aren't going to make me go out there by myself, are you?"

Caitlin is another who turned her head to watch the start of the dancing. Then she cocks her head, quirks a distinctly mischievous little smile, and focuses a questioning look at Kurt, one gloved hand gesturing towards the open ground.

Barbara gives a small nod as she claps as well before she gives a small nod. "Actualy yes.. there is no way I am going out to that." she says before she looks over to Rahne. "They aren't that pretty you know... one of them.." she starts before she frowns and looks down, bitting her lip.

Miriam chuckles. "You and Caitlin, it's looking like." she replies to Kurt. "But just the two of you."

"Aye, I cannae imagine it woul' be worth the risk," Rahne agrees sagely, nodding to Miriam. Kurt's plea gets a sympathetic smile, but no, she's not budging in her stance. She glances back to Barbara with a curious sort of look. "One of them wha'? I dunnae see any tha' arenae a' leas' pretty because they are so happy wi' wha' they are doing..."

Ralph emerges from a nearby food stall, having obviously just partaken of a delightfully tasty treat. He is, in fact, in the process of cleaning himself up with a handful of napkins, half of which are already stained with some sort of exotic sauce that, until recently, was probably on Ralph's face. Hey, where else do you expect the chubby kid to go during a gypsy festival? Still, when the dancing starts, he starts watching, although his hands are a bit too full to clap at the moment.

The dance picks up it's speed and though no one seems willing to break the circle and join the gypsies themselves, people do start to dance near them. This seems to whip te musicians up a notch and they pick up the pace. In turn, the gypsy dancers begin to move more swiftly and the women thrash their heads about, hair flailing. "We light the fire to show we are alive!" One of the gypsies shout, it's not clear which but shortly after -every- gypsy in the whole camp echoes it. The resulting chorus must easily be heard a block away.

Kurt looks over at Caitlin, arching an eyebrow questioningly as she gestures to the group and then to the dancers themselves as they start up the chant. "Shall we, then?" He dips his head a little as he takes a step toward the dancers, an over-formal invitation of his own, but he's not going to far as to offer his hand. He's a ham, but he's not stupid. And then, assuming Caitlin joins him, he moves a bit closer to join the others dancing nearby.

Barbara gives a small wince. "She has horrible teath." she whispers before..that shout makes her take nother step back and she shivers, but well, Kurt is going out there so she is sure it is alright. She looks away for a moment before her eyes widden. "Hey...Ralph is here."

Caitlin responds to Kurt's invitation with another curtsey and a warm smile. She finger-waves to Miriam, nods to the others, and then accompanies the German in the direction of the dancing....

Miriam does look fascinated at all the thrashing, and stares at the dancers. She still doesn't look at all tempted to join in, though. As Kurt and Caitlin do though, she looks at them a little like they're nuts. She can't help smiling a bit though, almost as though she's envious of their nerve.

"Ralph? Ach, where?" Rahne asks, turning away on tiptoes to try to crane over the crowd. But her miniature size doesn't make that an easy task. She juts a freckled arm into the air, waving in the general direction that Barbara seemed to be indicating, and even risks calling out a quick, "Ralph! Over here!" Though she goes a bit pink in so doing.

Barbara waves as well before she looks back onto the floor and she turns to look at Miriam...saying as softly as she can and still be heard. "You don't like touching people either." she says rubbing her own gloved hands together.

Ralph is, of course, not nearly as perceptive as Barbara, and doesn't spy the other X-kids yet, especially with the dancers making such a commotion. He is, however, heading roughly in their direction - mostly because a throng of dancing burst out near him, and he's scrambling to avoid getting caught up in the middle. He is especially careful to avoid bumping into anyone. When Rahne shouts, Ralph looks blankly in their general direction for a few moments before spotting the rest. "...Oh! Hey! Wow, I didn't know anyone else was -- um, excuse me... pardon me... um..." His shouted greeting subsides into a series of apologies to everyone he tries to maneuver past to get closer to the group (even the ones that he doesn't come close to... and at one point you're pretty sure he apologizes to a park bench).

Meanwhile, Kurt's doing his best to keep up with the dancers, whirling and stomping to match the ever-quickening flow of the music. Though he doesn't match the grace or skill of the dancers but even so he's holding his own, seeming almost to have done this at some point in the past for all that he's elaborating on the basic dance moves with the occasionally dip or kick. All the while, he's trying to maintain eye contact with Caitlin but it's a little difficult to focus on a single dance partner when there're so many mingling about in the area.

Perhaps thanks to the nature of her footwear, Caitlin takes things a little more cautiously than the gypsies, though she appears quite happy to show a good bit of energy, her braided hair bouncing and whipping around as she dances. She appears to have some skill, and no small measure of grace - and doesn't seem bothered by how much her side-slit skirt shows off during the process. She does, however, put some effort into keeping an eye on Kurt, apparently not wanting to lose track of him, either.

Miriam glances over towards Barbara as she comments on the touching. "I'm not a big fan of it, no. I'm just not used to being around so many people. It's really uncomfortable." Her attention shifts to Ralph then, looking curious, then returns to Kurt and Caitlin as they dance.

Rahne offers Ralph a grin as he approaches, now turning back to the dancing so that she can split her attention between the boy and the people out cutting a rug. "Ach, they're really good," she comments, presumably speaking of Kurt rather than complimenting Ralph's fierce apology skills. "Sometimes I wish tha' I coul' just be tha' free an' fearless." But not enough to try and conquer her fear by diving right in, so she leaves it at that.

Ralph finally stumbles into place beside Rahne, Barbara, and Miriam (Kurt and Caitlin being away dancing, right?). He waves awkwardly to them now that he's nearby. "Ah... h-hi. Sorry, I didn't know the rest of you would be here... hi Rahne, hi Barbara, hi... um..?" He gives Miriam an awkward, apologetic look. "I, um, don't think I've met you..."

Barbara gives a small nod. "He moves well." she says before she nods to Miriam. "Agreed, it is not something I enjoy either." she comments before she smiles to Ralph. "Hello there." she says with a nod before she glance back to the floor. "I wish I could be out there too... it would be nice to be able to dance like that." though she says it with a much colder inflection.

"The Light will guide us, the Light protects," This phrase comes out as a chant from the gypsies, all of them speaking in perfect unison. They do so in such a way as to make the word 'light' seem appropriately capitalized and they carry it on, saying it over and over as a precession of men march toward the group carrying a burning effigy; a human figure with great horns on his head. There are no other details but he's made of wicker and basically an inferno.

The police didn't really expect this as is evident by the attention they suddenly pay but the people with the effigy are carrying it directly for the fire and while they chant and bounce it around a bit, the thing seems to be destined to get tossed on the cement. The chanting continues to get louder and louder.

Kurt cracks a smile to Caitlin -- being, of course, oblivious to the conversation going on just a short ways away. No, he's in the moment now, taken with the music that pulses through his veins like lifeblood. He may not be a dancer by trade, but he's certainly having fun. He barely seems to register the wicker effigy as he sways elaborately; he's on the verge of another more complicated move when he happens to look up and he falters slightly as he comes to his senses a bit. "Was ist...?"

Caitlin failed to notice the effigy much before Kurt - but had already been quite sharply distracted by the chanting. The portion of her attention given to the dancing dramatically reduced, as she frowned and looked quickly around to see who was repeating the words. When the burning figure nears the firepit, her frown deepens a bit more.

Miriam pauses, then. She's staring, but clearly something's niggling at her mind. "The light?" she looks like she's heard that before. "Wait. At the masquerade. That guy who attacked the host. He wanted to talk to a woman about some kind of light." Of course, then there's the distraction of the burning effigy, and her eyes widen some. "Uh."

Barbara gives a small frown. "What do.. oh goodness." her eyes catching the figure first and they widden. "Ash.. smoke and ash.. got to get away.. get away." she begins to mutter, stepping backwards, almost an inch away from Ralph as she moves to cover her mouth with the scarf.

"Ralph, 'lo. I dinnae know tha' yeh were here," Rahne greets him with a grin as he finally makes it over. "Are yeh gang to take those dancing lessons a' the school then?" she inquires to Barbara, but is held back from further inquiry when the dancing certainly takes a turn for the more bizarre. "Wha' is tha'?" she asks, squinting through the fire to try and make out what they're burning in effigy. "The ... ligh'? Do yeh think tha' has something to do wi' their religion?" She glances back at her little group, looking a little surprised at Barbara's freaking out. "It's all righ'. The fire woul' - woul' kill any germs an' all, righ'?"

Ralph also can't help but turn and look at the burning effigy. "...wh...what's that?" His brow knots with concern. He then glances at Barbara, hearing her utterances of worry, and he understands at once. He quickly nods to agree with Rahne. "Y-yeah, from a biochemical point of view fire's really, really safe! I mean, you know, except for, uh, things burning." ...He smacks his forehead.

"Suddenly I'm not in a dancing mood," Kurt leans over to confide to Caitlin. "I think we should get back to the others." All the while, he keeps watch on the fire and the chanting masses. He's not panicking as of yet, but he's certainly getting a little uneasy.

Caitlin nods quickly, frowning a touch - before her hands start to flicker into motion in the patterns of signing, only to be hastily stilled. She darts a glance around, then starts back towards Miriam and the others.

Miriam doesn't at all look comfortable as she watches the flaming figure being carried. I... guess this could be called more weird than usual, for New York?" She looks to the others for confirmation, though. "I don't spend enough time here to know."

The dance stops. The effigy meets the fire. It flares up nearly ten feet. The gypsies stop chanting and turn to shouting to the heavens, waving their arms. It lasts for almost a full minute before the music stops and somehow, the fire extinguishes completely. Three large drum beats resound over the park as the dancers drop to their knees. Silent.

The crowd reacts in shocked awe. No one quite knows what to do at this point.

Barbara gives a small whimper as the item goes up in blaze. "Ash is dirty...carbon material." she says covering her mouth with the scarf which seems to calm her before she fishes into her purse. "I have a very bad bad fealing about this...be carefull guys." she says worriedly.

Rahne mutters something under her breath that has the unmistakable cadence of prayer as the effigy flames up into the sky. Craning her neck, she watches it with wide eyes, the firelight dancing within, feeling the rush of heat on her face which causes those wide eyes to water a bit. "Aye, I'd say tha's weird," she murmurs quietly as she drops her head back down to look around at the others, waiting for some cue as to what to do.

Kurt is on Caitlin's heels splitting his attention between the effigy at his back and his friends just ahead. He reaches them soon enough but before he can say anything the chanting cuts short and the fire winks out of existence. "Perhaps this would be a good time to make our exit," he finally suggests, muttering a few quick words of German under his breath as he glances over his shoulder again.

Miriam is among those reacting in shocked awe, and clearly doesn't quite know what to do about all of this. So, she just stares as the thing goes up. The heat from it hits her and she looks unwell until the fire goes out and the night carries some of that heat away.

Ralph shrinks away from the shouting gypsies. "....Wh-what are they doing?!" He stares at them, bewildered, right with the zeitgeist of the crowd in having no idea of how to react. "I-I mean, they just... am I missing something?" He looks around at his friends, who seem just as bewildered. "...what should we do...?"

"Let's not panic," Kurt says, determined to keep his head. "I'm going to have a word with one of the policemen -- just to make sure that... this is supposed to happen." Because it's definitely seeming strange now. With a nod and what he hopes is a calming expression to the others, he slips away in the general direction of the nearest cop.

Caitlin comes to a halt close by Miriam, lower lip sucked between her teeth and pensively chewed. Her stance is quite relaxed, though her head is up and her eyes alert, gaze roaming over the crowd and the gypsies - and paying no small amount of attention to the responses of the cops.

"Ach, I dunna," Rahne replies quietly to Ralph, though she's beginning to recover slightly from being struck dumb. Kurt gets an understanding nod as he announces his intentions to find a police officer, and she watches him go for a moment before turning back to the others. "I suppose we shoul' just sit tigh' for now," she suggests, mainly towards her fellow students but not excluding the two women either.

"Thank you!" A gypsy voice shouts out and a burly man steps out and bows to the crowd. "We are sorry if that was shocking. It is our way. Enjoy the rest of your evening and enjoy the food. There is much left to buy." And then the fire is started up again. This finally draws applauds from the crowd and people seem to take ease.

Barbara takes a deep breath as the man seems to stop and she gives a small nod. "Well.. it seems to be alright..." she says before she looks over to the Cops.. pulling off her glasses...if the cops were surpised by this or panicking, she would see it.

Ralph blinks at the gypsy finale, then starts awkwardly clapping, clearly not enthusiastic so much as just trying to keep from "sticking out" by NOT clapping. "...Um... yeah... that was... definitely weird." He adds, in a very low voice, meant only for Rahne and Barbara, "....I saw the effigy with horns, a-and I thought that might be a... y-you know."

Despite this being passed off as part of the show, Miriam looks nervous about it all. "O... kay?" she says then, obviously uncertain. She doesn't applaud, just looking around at all the people for the moment. "Not really my kind of party... That whole 'Light' thing... I'm sure that's what the guy at the masquerade party was saying."

Caitlin gives Miriam a distinctly quizzical look, starts signing once more - and stops almost immediately, expression frustrated. She sighs quietly, and glances around the crowd once more, before refocusing upon the gypsies, trying to see if they do anything else out of the ordinary in the wake of their brief rite.

"Aye, I dunna if I cared for tha' last part," Rahne murmurs, giving a few half-hearted claps and looking thoughtful and perturbed. "Bu' a' leas' it ended quietly enou'. I was beginning to worry there," she admits, glancing around at the crowd to make sure the panic really had passed.

Barbara gives a small frown. "They didn't do anything like this yesterday...and yes I agree Ralph that is what it looked like and.. ugh." she says as she quickly puts her glasses back on, closing her eyes and rubbing at her forehead. "I do hope MR. Wagner gets back soon though, if that was nothing I would very much like to buy one of those bows."

Ralph nods, in definite agreement with both of them. "Y-yeah... hmmm... I think I'm going to look this up when we get back. I wonder if this is just... something they normally do?" He scratches the back of his head. "I don't really know anything about gypsies..." He glances at Rahne and Barbara. "...D'you?"

Rahne gives her head a little shake at Ralph's question. "Nae, no' really. Bu' I'm sure tha' yeh coul' find the basics in the library," she suggests with a bit of a shrug. She glances over towards where Barbara had found the archery booth and then towards where Kurt had gone. "Ach, well, since it seems to be quieter now, yeh coul' probably duck over there. I'll wait here an' let him knows when he gets back, if yeh'd like."

Miriam finally shakes her head a bit. "Anyway..." She seems to have given the whole thing as much attention as she feels it needs for the moment. "So...how do you guys know Kurt?" she asks the others.

Barbara frowns suddenly as she looks up and she moves to whisper to Rahne. "I am pretty sure the police had no idea this was happening, just get that fealing." she says before she continues to look over and then when talk of archey is brough up she sighs. "Oh um.. well I just wanted to make sure I was allowed to own one."

Caitlin folds her arms across her stomach, the severity of her expression easing somewhat... though she continues to watch her surroundings, while keeping an ear open for any responses that might be offered to Miriam's query.

Ralph nods to Rahne, smiling slightly. "Yeah, I think I oughta... um... that or Wikipedia it. That works too sometimes." Oh, who are we kidding? He'll do both. And cross-reference. He blinks at Miriam. "Um, I don't really know him, I've met him once before though..." He studiously avoids saying where like a good Xavierite. He raises an eyebrow at Barbara's statement. "They... didn't? ...that's not good... I guess..."

It's dark now. People start to filter out but there's still a good sized crowd indulging the food and stuff. Some of the gypsies are hanging out to talk with people and are answering questions, offering tokens and the like.

Rahne frowns a little at Barbara's whisper, glancing around at the police, and then looking over to where the gypsies are standing. Her attention returns to the others for a moment, looking puzzled but just nodding to the reference of Wikipedia. She shrugs a bit about the bow. "Ach, I wouldnae be the one to answer tha'. Yeh migh' have to take it up wi' the headmaster, I dunna." At Miriam's question, she blanches a bit, having to think a moment before replying, "Ach, I actually ran into him in this verra park awhile back." It's not even a lie, though she somehow looks a little guilty in saying it. "Yeh know," she continues quickly as if to cover this, "If we wanted answers, we migh' do well to see if they'd tell us themselves." She nods towards the remaining gypsies.

Miriam doesn't look in a rush to leave, though she also isn't looking all that comfortable with the surroundings. She nods to Rahne's answering, apparently simple accepting the reply. "He's a very interesting guy." she says then, before tilting her head a bit. "Just ask them? Could do that."

Caitlin looks swiftly back at Rahne as she mentions the headmaster, then taps Miriam lightly on one shoulder. With her other hand, she taps herself on the sternum, then finger-mimes walking, and lastly points back in the direction from which they came, towards the stall selling cloaks and capes.

Barbara gives a small nod. "I am all for it.. better to know then not know." she says before she nods. "Headmaster it is then.. I can just order it online, better that way anyways." she says with a nod before she glances over to the gypsies. "Wanna come ask them what 'the light the light' means?"

"Aye, he is," Rahne agrees with a little grin, before turning to Barbara and giving a nod. "All righ', I'm up for it." She'd better be, after being the one suggesting it after all. "It migh' no' be so satisfying as books, bu' it migh' get us more information." With a shrug, she hesitates slightly and then takes a deep breath as though heading into battle, and starts in that direction.

Miriam looks to Caitlin when she's tapped, and nods to the gestures. "Meet you over by those gypsies when you're done?" she asks her, then looks to the others, curious. "Headmaster. You all go to school together?" she asks as she starts to follow Rahne over.

The people who are speaking with the gypsy have mostly cleared out and he turns his attention to any newcomer with a broad smile of yellowish teeth and genuine kindness. "Velcome!" He says loudly. "Vhat might I answer? Or how may I help?"

Caitlin nods and offers a thumbs-up to Miriam, then smiles and finger-waves at the rest of the small group, before turning on one heel and slipping away through the crowd....

Barbara follows with them and she looks to Miriam with a small nod. "We attend classes together yes." she says before she gets to the gypsy and in typical Barbara fashion looks him right in the eye and asks. "Why were you burning what looked like a demon and calling out to the light? Didn't offend us but just a matter of curiosity." she asks as she cocks her head.

Rahne looks a little surprised at Barbara's bluntness, quickly offering the gypsies a shy and what she hopes is an inoffensive smile. "Ach, if yeh'll indulge us our curiosity," she adds quickly, trying to bring a little diplomacy to this. "We jus' havenae seen anything like tha' before..." She looks over at Barbara, trying to give her a meaningful look, lapsing into silence now to give the others their own say or allow the man to answer as he will.

"We burn the effigy of a demon and cry out to the form of the Light to protect us from wickedness and evil," The gypsy replies jovially. "The Light has been the patron of this clan. We understand it's sought here... that it could be manifest in real body. Most don't believe... some of us do. So we are here. Offering it the chance to grace us with it's protection and wisdom."

Miriam looks from the others to the gypsy, waiting quietly. Evidently, she's okay with them taking the lead in the questions for the time being as she listens.

Ralph hangs around at the fringes a bit longer, but is too spooked to really contribute much to the conversation anymore. Eventually he politely excuses himself and heads back to the school.

Barbara gives a small nod. "Ah.. I see, so that demon. Was it any particular form of evil or just..evil in general? I find I have no skill or tolerance for demonology even if I have heard there are different kinds with different faces." her face staying as emotionless and blank as a machines even as she glances over to Rahne with some curiosity.

Rahne frowns a little at this talk of evil and light, quietly giving it some thought as Barbara goes on with the questions. "Aye, so this is a sort of ... religion tha' yeh follow?" she half-states, half-asks. "Light and evil, it isnae so unusual, jus' the way tha' yeh go abou' it surprised us a bit."

"Just general evil... the very essence of wickedness incarnate," The gypsy turns and spits. "They plague the old country... terrify the people. Humanity itself is in danger of sorts and the Light is the only thing that can cast out the shadows. And yes, this is our religion. I understand... we do surprise people with these ceremonies."

Barbara raises her brow before she gives a small nod. "Ah... and these...devils they look like the figure you burned or different." she says, still keeping her voice unemotional. Babs was never quite fond of religion but she had a sneaking suspicion.

Rahne gives a little nod to this, a little uncomfortable with all this talk of foreign religions, yet still finding it somewhat interesting. "Ach, will yeh keep me posted?" she asks, turning to Barbara and dropping her voice a little. "I think I'd better go an' make sure tha' Kurt can find us. If yeh cannae stay here until I get back, I'll meet yeh a' those gates there, all righ'?" She points at the nearest gates to the park.

Rahne slips off into the crowd to look for Kurt.

"They are... metaphysical mostly," Says the gypsy. "Not true 'creatures'. They symbolize man's desires. That's not to say they don't manifest from time to time... but that's very rare. And I haven't seen that in a very very long time. Not since the Man Wolf of Munich ravaged three of our kin nearly twenty years ago."

Barbara gives a small nod before she nods her head graciously. "Thank you for your information, it was most, informitive." before she quickly turns and begins to head for the bow.