Clare-Dragonfly (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
clare_dragonfly) wrote2010-12-05 01:03 pm
clare_dragonfly) wrote2010-12-05 01:03 pm
Entry tags:
3WW: demise, effort, revival
I was skating home from school when I saw the revival tent. I never could resist revivals. I usually didn't end up going for more than an hour, but there was something about the frenzied, endemically friendly activity of a revival that drew me in. So of course, I turned on the heel of my skate and zipped down the hill toward the tent, even though it was clearly a weird revival. I couldn't hear any music or smell any food; from time to time I could hear a deep, amplified voice that had to be the preacher, but other than that, the only thing emerging from the tent was the sound of laughter and talk.
Just outside the tent, I pulled off the skates, hung them over my neck by their laces, and then stepped inside carefully. The tent was full of people, but instead of chairs facing a podium, they were sitting at tables scattered around the tent or walking around. Almost everyone had a drink. There was a podium, but no one was standing there right now.
A woman with two long gray braids laughed and grabbed my arm. I recognized what religion this was now; Darianism, not the world's biggest, but certainly a force to be reckoned with. But their revival meetings were usually really fun ones, with lots of music and formal dances afterward. I still didn't know what was going on.
I followed the woman, who led me to a nearby table that had a big bowl of pink punch in the middle. "Welcome," she told me, still laughing, while she poured punch into a plastic cup and handed it to me.
I took it and sniffed it carefully. Yeah, it was alcoholic. Either she didn't know I was underage or she didn't care. "What's going on here?" I asked, looking around. "This isn't like any of the other revivals I've been to..."
A man with short-cropped military-style gray hair appeared, slinging an arm around the woman's shoulders. She laughed and some of her punch sloshed out of her cup. I wondered how drunk she was. "It's more of the party than a revival meeting," the man said, grinning. "We're celebrating the demise of Osheisa."
I had decided to take a sip of the drink, but I practically spit it out in shock. "That's not very nice!"
The man peered at me, frowning. "How old are you?"
"Sixteen."
"You shouldn't have that." He snatched the cup out of my hand and gulped it down himself. I was mostly relieved to have gotten rid of that.
"What makes you think Osheisa is dead?"
"We've been keeping tabs on it," giggled the woman. "Over the last month, the practitioners have all either died or formally converted to another religion. One of them even converted to Darianism!" She and the man laughed and pushed their cups together.
"But why are you celebrating that?" I thought I knew the answer, but it was pretty horrifying to contemplate. I liked having a diversity of religions in the world, and I would hate it if they all died out.
"One less competitor!" she cried. My stomach sank. It was what I'd expected.
I looked around, trying to come up with an excuse to get out of here quickly. This might be a revival meeting, but it wasn't one I wanted to be a part of. Thankfully, at that moment two sides of the tent were pulled away with a fwump of air.
"All right," a cop said through a bullhorn, "this is an illegal meeting and we're breaking it up. If you don't resist, we won't arrest you. Go home, everyone." The Darianites had frozen and were all looking around at each other. I tried to take the opportunity to run out, but there were so many people between me and the open side of the tent that running failed.
Someone found the podium. "Darianites!" he boomed, his voice echoing through the speakers. "Do not allow these Karunian pigs to take you easily! They only want to oppress us! Let us show them that Darianites are too strong to oppress!"
The Darianites cheered. I didn't like the sound of that. I started pushing to get through. I made it past the cops just in time; the Darianites started throwing their drinks at them, shouting and fighting. I heard "Down with Karunianism!" and "we put a lot of effort into this, you jerks!"
"One of them tried to give me alcohol," I commented to the nearest cop as I pulled my skates on. "You should arrest them for that too." Then I skated away as fast as I could.
Feedback, questions, and criticism welcome! I might continue this; any thoughts on what should happen next?
Just outside the tent, I pulled off the skates, hung them over my neck by their laces, and then stepped inside carefully. The tent was full of people, but instead of chairs facing a podium, they were sitting at tables scattered around the tent or walking around. Almost everyone had a drink. There was a podium, but no one was standing there right now.
A woman with two long gray braids laughed and grabbed my arm. I recognized what religion this was now; Darianism, not the world's biggest, but certainly a force to be reckoned with. But their revival meetings were usually really fun ones, with lots of music and formal dances afterward. I still didn't know what was going on.
I followed the woman, who led me to a nearby table that had a big bowl of pink punch in the middle. "Welcome," she told me, still laughing, while she poured punch into a plastic cup and handed it to me.
I took it and sniffed it carefully. Yeah, it was alcoholic. Either she didn't know I was underage or she didn't care. "What's going on here?" I asked, looking around. "This isn't like any of the other revivals I've been to..."
A man with short-cropped military-style gray hair appeared, slinging an arm around the woman's shoulders. She laughed and some of her punch sloshed out of her cup. I wondered how drunk she was. "It's more of the party than a revival meeting," the man said, grinning. "We're celebrating the demise of Osheisa."
I had decided to take a sip of the drink, but I practically spit it out in shock. "That's not very nice!"
The man peered at me, frowning. "How old are you?"
"Sixteen."
"You shouldn't have that." He snatched the cup out of my hand and gulped it down himself. I was mostly relieved to have gotten rid of that.
"What makes you think Osheisa is dead?"
"We've been keeping tabs on it," giggled the woman. "Over the last month, the practitioners have all either died or formally converted to another religion. One of them even converted to Darianism!" She and the man laughed and pushed their cups together.
"But why are you celebrating that?" I thought I knew the answer, but it was pretty horrifying to contemplate. I liked having a diversity of religions in the world, and I would hate it if they all died out.
"One less competitor!" she cried. My stomach sank. It was what I'd expected.
I looked around, trying to come up with an excuse to get out of here quickly. This might be a revival meeting, but it wasn't one I wanted to be a part of. Thankfully, at that moment two sides of the tent were pulled away with a fwump of air.
"All right," a cop said through a bullhorn, "this is an illegal meeting and we're breaking it up. If you don't resist, we won't arrest you. Go home, everyone." The Darianites had frozen and were all looking around at each other. I tried to take the opportunity to run out, but there were so many people between me and the open side of the tent that running failed.
Someone found the podium. "Darianites!" he boomed, his voice echoing through the speakers. "Do not allow these Karunian pigs to take you easily! They only want to oppress us! Let us show them that Darianites are too strong to oppress!"
The Darianites cheered. I didn't like the sound of that. I started pushing to get through. I made it past the cops just in time; the Darianites started throwing their drinks at them, shouting and fighting. I heard "Down with Karunianism!" and "we put a lot of effort into this, you jerks!"
"One of them tried to give me alcohol," I commented to the nearest cop as I pulled my skates on. "You should arrest them for that too." Then I skated away as fast as I could.
Feedback, questions, and criticism welcome! I might continue this; any thoughts on what should happen next?