YazebaPbP/ThirdChapter

A Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast adventure.

The Third Chapter: Firefly Catching

It was a cool night, in that warm summer way. The sky was crowded with brilliant stars, perfectly mirroring the fireflies flickering among the trees. Sal was sitting in one of the chairs on the back porch, looking out at the woods that surround the Bed & Breakfast. His guitar was heavy in his hands, and he could feel a song burning underneath his fingertips.

(sal’s handwriting)

Someday, I’ll see the contrails for what they are …
… I’ve named every light but one…
… I just want to trace that line and know

He sighed. The song in his head was louder than any chords he could play, and none of the words fit. Sal probably could’ve stayed on that porch forever, until the screen door creaked open and Hey Kid wandered over.

“Hey Sal-Sal? Is everything okay?” Hey Kid held up a plate of spaghetti. “Parish wanted me to bring you some dinner, since you missed it and all.”

Sal shrugged. “Thanks, Kid. Lots of stuff on my mind sometimes. I must’ve been distracted.”

Hey Kid hopped up into another wicker chair, and looked up at Sal. In the light of the lonely bulb hanging over the porch, Sal looked … older than he is, and sadder too. Hey Kid glanced out at the dark woods, and the crisp air, and the stars. They took a deep breath, and tapped on Sal’s guitar. “Hey Sal-Sal, wanna go firefly catching?”

Chapter Rules

Firefly Catching is played in a Pensive Mood. We start play with three questions that we are struggling with, and work to create an answer. Whenever one of us does a Bingo or a Whoopsie, we will collect a token from one of these Questions, keeping it if we did a Bingo or giving it to someone who can learn from our mistake if we did a Whoopsie. Our questions are:

Sal's Question: The Tangled Road

Sal has been thinking about a question, regarding who he is and where life has taken him. This question is:

What is my purpose in life?

This Question begins with 7 tokens on it. Once all the tokens have been removed, we’ll each go around and try to answer the question for ourselves, as best we can. We can choose whether or not to end the Chapter and read “A Night Like Tonight,” below.

Hey Kid's Question: Growing Up

Hey Kid also has a question they've been thinking about, based on the realization that they aren't going to be a kid forever. This question is:

"What is it going to be like to grow up?"

This Question begins with 7 tokens on it. Once all the tokens have been removed, we’ll each go around and try to answer the question for ourselves, as best we can. We can choose whether or not to end the Chapter and read “A Night Like Tonight,” below.

The Group's Question: A Night Like Tonight

There is one further question, which begins with no tokens on it. This question is:

"What does it mean to change?"

Anyone may put one of their tokens on this Question whenever they want.

We are probably not going to fully answer this question during this Chapter. Instead, when the Chapter ends, everyone goes around and gives as much of an answer as they can, based on how many tokens the question has.

• Less Than 3 Tokens: Shrug, and maybe say something you think could be it, but is probably wrong.
• 3-6 Tokens: Give a 1 word answer, if you have one.
• 7-10 Tokens: Give a 1 sentence answer, if you have one. The Bed & Breakfast gets a ▢ Jar of Fireflies.
• 11 or more Tokens: Give a full answer if you have one, write both the question and your answer down on an Index Card and keep it with your character sheet. The Bed & Breakfast gets a ▢ Jar of Fireflies. Hold onto any unused tokens for Housekeeping.

The Act of Catching Fireflies

It is a warm night, the sort of night that reminds us what it’s like to be alive. Everyone has the following additional Bingos:

• Describe how you catch a firefly.
• Tell a short story about how you’ve changed.

...and the following additional Whoopsies:

• Tell someone who they should be.