03.2023 | WELCOME BACK! Hello friends old and new! I'm so excited to welcome you all back to SITW! I've made some changes to the plot and added the ability to play supernatural charcaters! So come and check it out! I can't wait to jump back into this little town with all of you!
A strange history surrounds the town, it is a place where mysterious and supernatural things have been known to happen. The reputation of the town reguarly draws in visitors and newcomers alike. While some residents avidly believe in the supernatural, others are far more skeptical. What do you believe?
The start of third period at Ball Arena in Denver, the Avalanche were down 2 to 3 and Ferris was having a much better time than he thought he would with Elijah. Sure, some of that was the alcohol talking, but it had been a long time since he saw a hockey game in person and he forgot how much he missed the atmosphere.
Of course, some of the Denver fans in front of them tried to pick a fight over his accent, clearly wanting him to say something that would allow them to call him out as “un-American” (except that he was so their argument was amusing) and trying to argue with him over some of the rules of the sport that were just rules. But thankfully it was all pre-drunken good-natured sorts of arguing and he was only a little worried about Elijah throwing a punch. Ferris enjoyed the banter and didn’t break a sweat. Between that and the chanting and the songs and cheesy but nice production value games and giveaways and the somehow decent quality beer, it was shaping up to be a fine evening.
It didn’t even matter who was playing and he actually really enjoyed being able to share what he knew with the other man. Even explaining the basics was more than he had talked hockey in a while. “Should get a bit more tense here,” he said, leaning forward. “What do you think so far for your first game?”
Post by Elijah Vanderson on Dec 15, 2023 15:11:49 GMT
It had been a minute since Elijah had attended any form of sporting event, but specifically anything other than whatever event Alexis had going on for cheerleading. And it was made even more enjoyable due to being out of town. He didn’t have to worry about who was watching what he was doing, or how much he was drinking. Oddly enough, he wasn’t plastered, enjoying a nice pace with the game as it was actually something he was really enjoying. Sure he might have had to ask a few questions to clarify he knew what was going on, but honestly; Hockey was turning out to be right up his alley of interest.
There was also a certain atmosphere of general rowdiness that excited him. Not just from the players, but even amongst the crowd. Fights breaking out was considered a ‘normal’ thing. That alone would be enough to get Elijah on board for more hockey games. Regardless of if he was actively involved or not, it was enjoyable to watch and made him a lot less on edge or feeling the need to punch someone. He was in good enough spirits and thankfully not so drunk to get involved in a fight when the fans ahead of them seemed to take issue with Ferris’ accent, but seeing how Ferris didn’t seem bothered he just let it go and was enjoying himself.
Everything was so lively, he didn’t have time to even be slightly bothered by personal woes. No, those had been left at home. Tonight he felt like a completely different person, and he was thankful to have Ferris there to answer any questions. He couldn’t even be bothered to tear his eyes from the game when Ferris spoke. “I think you’ve got a hockey fan in the makings.” He chuckled lightly.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Dec 16, 2023 0:45:34 GMT
In Ferris's opinion, hockey was a sport of brotherly rivalry. While things certainly got heated (ironic for a sport played on ice), the bond between those who enjoyed the sport was a close one. Even between fans who might hate each other's favorite teams and therefore each other's guts still had a strangely close connection of the spirit. Whether they would admit that or not depended on the person. He wasn't thrilled about the jab at his home country, but he wasn't about to get them thrown out of the arena either.
"Only took you fifty years," he teased. He had no idea how old Elijah was but probably not fifty. Once he saw their seats and all the 'free' food included, he had been a lot less rough around the edges with answering questions. He'd never sat this close or with such nice seating or where they had a few attendants that would go get drinks and food so they didn't have to get up. It was only a little awkward and a lot humbling. At first, he had thought Elijah was doing this for himself, just bringing Ferris along for the ride as his way of saying "thanks" for humoring him at the bar. But the more they talked and drank and bonded over a sport so important to the fire chief, he really hoped he was wrong about the Vanderson.
One of the Denver players slapshot the puck and it flew wide, smacking into the boards. A collective "Oh shit!" could be heard throughout the arena. "He's not a point shooter, he should pass that," Ferris noted with a chuckle.
Post by Elijah Vanderson on Dec 16, 2023 1:40:01 GMT
While it was considered ‘easy’ for Elijah to just throw money around and show off, that wasn’t what today was about. He was genuinely looking forward to seeing a game live, even ensuring not to wear colors in support of the opposing team. Plus, he got the feeling Ferris might be a little uncomfortable with how Elijah just threw money around. But he wanted to enjoy the game and opted for purchasing seats that were a touch nicer than the average seats, with attendants to help so they didn’t have to get up for anything. That might have been a bit much, but he couldn’t completely refrain from his money spending habit.
“Hey, only nearly fifty years.” He chuckled, taking a drink from his beer and eyes following the puck on the ice. He raised a brow at Ferris’ comment and nodded. He might not fully understand all the dynamics, but he was definitely willing to learn so he could better enjoy the game.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Dec 16, 2023 2:05:52 GMT
As long as the guy wasn't throwing money at him things weren't going to be weird. Well, not that weird. While it had been a while, when it came to friends, Ferris liked things to stay even. To pay them back, asked for or not, unless they said otherwise or if they said otherwise all the time. He didn't like relationships to feel like they hinged on money, nor did he want to feel like he was receiving charity. Nice seats at a hockey game weren't something he would ever say no to, however. But even then, buy the guy a couple drinks back at the bar would set things right for it.
Ferris grinned, sparing a glance at Elijah, amused at how focused he was. He wasn't sure how close to fifty nearly was, but he was glad to know Elijah was younger than his dad. Otherwise, this would have suddenly gotten a lot weirder.
"Thanks for the ticket," he said. Though he'd been rather rude initially, he had thanked the man when they met at the diner. Still, that was before he knew how nice the seats were. "And the ride. And for dinner and drinks," he added, just as sincere if a bit less serious. He'd been having a rough week and really appreciated the time away.
Post by Elijah Vanderson on Dec 16, 2023 3:26:30 GMT
So far as he could tell, he’d done a decent job tonight at not offending Ferris, at least he didn’t think he had. Sometimes Elijah felt like he didn’t know how to engaged with people outside of using his money to make things easier. But Ferris seemed to find the money off putting. So he was just doing his best to not be a snobbish ass.
“Hey, don’t mention it.” Elijah said with a nod, looking at Ferris now. “You introduced me to the game, and I appreciate good company.” He admitted with a slight shrug, taking another drink from his beer. He hadn’t told the man all the details of what he was dealing with, and he was thankful for the distraction.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Dec 16, 2023 5:35:16 GMT
He snorted. "That what you call crashing my party at the bar?" 'Introduced' was a fancy way to say he had been watching a game at the bar when Elijah interrupted and rather than tell him off he talked him through it and his problems. He didn't think he was qualified to be giving anyone life advice, especially not at the moment. But at the same time, he felt a lot of sympathy for the guy and didn't like leaving people in mindsets like that.
It had seemed the least he could do for someone who was hurting that he couldn't exactly help.
"I don't know about 'good' but I'll take it. You're not so bad yourself," he noted, attention largely on the game in front of them.
Post by Elijah Vanderson on Dec 17, 2023 14:45:01 GMT
Now that made him laugh. “If you call that a ‘party’, you definitely need to get out more Ferris.” Elijah said with a shake of his head, eyes momentarily glancing to the other man. Granted he wasn’t big on the type of parties his wife hosted or the ones he was most often expected to attend as a Vanderson. He didn’t classify those events as ‘parties’ either, they were more so just events tactically planned to hide the town and social politics at play.
Despite being raised to ‘take over’ for his father and to be the family representative, Elijah didn’t quite fit the ‘expectations’ certain community members had for ‘someone of his social standings’. In fact, most people just thought he was a bit too quiet. But he didn’t like to waste time engaging with fake people, so he typically kept to himself. Aside from his public expectations within the community. But here, enjoying this hockey game; this was the most he’d enjoyed himself in a long time.
“Thanks, I’ll happily take that.” He grinned with a slight nod. The fact that Ferris even showed up was greatly appreciated by Elijah. He knew he probably didn’t make the best of impressions at the bar, and he was a bit embarrassed to have been seen like that. So, it was nice to be on less awkward standings.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Dec 17, 2023 16:48:43 GMT
Ferris smiled as the man laughed at the joke. Self-depreciation aside, it was a joke. He did understand that solo drinking at a bar was not a party. But nor did he really want to go to anything close to a real party. Honestly, even being here, surrounding by people, was difficult for him to relax during. It helped he was familiar with how hockey arenas and the fans behaved, but he had no desire to hang out or go to something like this with a large group.
"I probably should," he admitted a bit awkwardly. "I haven't left town in a while...hard to get time off." Meanwhile he knew Elijah had only just gotten back a month or so ago. Seeing him here, Ferris would admit he was surprised the man hadn't gotten plastered by the second period. Clearly the drama at home was stressful. Elijah didn't seem like such a sad or angry guy when those stressors were removed. No wonder he had travelled so much.
Seemed they were both on a low self esteem kick at the moment. Ferris felt only a little weird about it, but decided to laugh it off rather than say anything else. Now wasn't really the place for that. He leaned forward, directing his attention back to the ice as the tension there picked up. The home teamed scored again, bring them to a tied game with ten minutes left to go and a lot of rougher hits. The ref gave out a penalty to try and remind them who had the game under control, but it didn't help for long, one of the opposing players coming after Denver for the crosscheck and then a 1 on 1 fist fight ensued from there, the rest of the players not quite wanting to be the first to step in. Ferris winced as they both went down to the ice at the same time and the refs broke them up. "Not sure anyone won that one."
Post by Elijah Vanderson on Dec 17, 2023 17:25:02 GMT
As much as Elijah enjoyed the town his family helped establish, he often found himself wishing he had never stayed. Or at least didn’t get so heavily suckered into the town politics. And yet, here he was doing the same thing with his children. Though he did try to let them know they were encouraged to leave town and travel. Not that any of them seemed too keen on it.
He looked back to Ferris as the man spoke and he gave a slow nod. He could imagine with the number of fires and little town emergencies taking place that it wasn’t likely the man had much down time. He also was very aware of just how little he knew of Ferris. He didn’t want to make assumptions and potentially offend him. “Well, it’s a good idea to make a habit of it at least once a month, twice if you can swing it…. It’s good for the mind to escape the familiar every once in a while.” Clearly he spoke from a place of experience in the matter.
Elijah’s attention snapped back to the game as it appeared to be getting a bit heated amongst the players. There was both a bit of admiration and envy inside the man as he watched the players tussle, though not at all envious of the fall to the ice. He winced a little with a shake of his head. “No, I don’t think so either.” He finished the beer in his cup and set it down.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Dec 17, 2023 18:02:08 GMT
"Yeah," he mumbled in vague agreement, reaching over to his own drink. He'd had three beers, which was two more than he planned on having, but they were a lot better than he expected without having to worry about the insane upcharge in cost. Plus, he'd had a lot more food the first two periods. He smiled slightly, but there wasn't any pleasure in his expression. More...understanding. "That's why I moved here in the first place. Escaping the familiar and all that," he said, snorting and shaking his head, dismissing the conversation. The direction that was going was decidedly not enjoyable. Nor was he the sort to like airing his problems in public, let alone with someone he only sort of knew.
He made a few more comments based on the game in front of them, sharing some of what he knew about a few of the players, but admittedly he hadn't followed too many of them, being so removed from the sport for years. Goals were traded back and forth, leaving things still tied up and with a few more fights and delay of games and penalties called until in the last couple minutes, Denver took the lead again. The arena erupted around them and Ferris had to pull his beer in close to avoid having it incidentally knocked over. "That was a pretty goal," he said, mostly to himself under the noise of screaming fans and music and goal horns blaring around them. It looked like they were going to hold on to that lead too.
Post by Elijah Vanderson on Dec 22, 2023 8:59:44 GMT
The way Ferris spoke, it definitely sounded like he had his own fair share of experiences with needing a change in scenery. Though he wasn’t even remotely surprised. One didn’t just end up in Sweetwater because it was so lucrative with it’s tourism. Typically people stayed there to escape one thing or another. And that was just the transplants. Locals just never seemed to be able to shake off the grip from the small town.
Elijah didn’t try to pry more in conversation, mostly because the game had picked back up in intensity. He gave a nod for another beer, though he probably shouldn’t. But then again, if he could better control his preference for alcohol; he wouldn’t be an alcoholic. He leaned forward a little in his seat, eyes following the game more closely than before.
The atmosphere in the arena was definitely just what Elijah needed. Something he could actually enjoy and get into that wasn’t self destructive and not contingent upon his family staying exactly as it was. Changes would be coming and he needed to get his children caught up before they were blindsided by everything. His beer arrived and he took a hearty drink before setting it down, and just in time, because the crowd got rather excited and Elijah might have accidentally spilled his drink in all the excitement. He couldn’t help but grin, even if he didn’t completely follow everything yet; it was exciting.
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Dec 23, 2023 0:27:03 GMT
The crowd's edge of the seat energy was indeed contagious. Even Ferris couldn't help but be enthralled. He enjoyed the last few minutes of the game and the rest of his beer. The timer ticked down the last few minutes, the in-arena announcer calling out the last minute of play to a returned shout of "thank you!" The players dashed back and forth, sticks flashing and numerous missed shots and blocked goals. But the Avalanche pulled out the win, much to the excitement of the entire arena. the goal horn and music roared through the arena.
Meanwhile, Ferris leaned back in his seat and looked over at Elijah, moving his legs a bit so that people could file past them. "So?"
Post by Elijah Vanderson on Dec 23, 2023 1:29:31 GMT
Elijah would be lying if he said he wasn’t both a mixture of a little drunk and full of adrenaline, which in the wrong situation could be a very negative thing. But thankfully, he was in a good environment and an even better mood. Plus, it helped that he was with decent company and not around the prying eyes of their small town. He’d definitely have to make a habit of catching a game every so often.
He looked to Ferris with a chuckle, shaking his head a little bit with a grin. “I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed something this much that wasn’t connected to my work.” He admitted, feeling rather embarrassed over that admission. When had he turned into such a workaholic? “I think I’ll have to start making time to catch a game every so often.”
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Dec 23, 2023 3:44:43 GMT
For at least a few hours, he hadn't thought about normal life. About the supernatural undercurrents he really wanted to avoid, about his frustrating work environment, if he really should be dating again, exams wrapping up, and the strange wildfires. He'd had few really good moments to just let things go and this had been one of the longest escapes he had managed.
He nodded. Much as he didn't want to admit it, he had needed this. Getting away from the normal to enjoy something. This was what normal people did. "Good. I'll probably stick to watching it at the bar," he said, getting up and stretching before making his way down the row, following the crowd to the lot. "I had to move my shift to be here. Can't do that every time."
"Sold enough to get yourself a jersey?" Ferris joked until he realized the Vanderson didn't have to 'love' something to invest money into it. He could afford things he 'liked' too. He supposed it was a serious question.