Rawen's Musings

It’s been days since I’ve been studying these ruins. The place of a great civilisation, once thriving and prosperous, now empty and slowly being reclaimed by nature, holding ancient knowledge to learn from. Do they hold answers to our questions? Or is their present state a warning for us to heed and make sure we don’t repeat the mistakes of our ancestors? Well, only one way to find out. So I step in for another adventure …

And the adventure turned out to be a fuzzy one. And the place of the ancient civilisation was surprisingly recent, very fancy and very close to my home – a not-so-small city of Vienna hosting a not-so-small anymore convention of Awoostria: Echoes of the Ancients. As the short intro suggests, this time it was themed around ancient civilisations. And for me personally, the adventure was two-fold. First, it wasn’t just “my own” adventure but with a pack this time around. Sure, a pack of a wolf, a yeen and a cheesecake (a sergal for those less familiar with fuzzy lingo) may sound a little odd but who says my pack has to be a monoculture? Secondly, this con is yet another one where I “debut” (I’m at 3 our of 4 cons where I’ve got something new) my suit crafts; the first con on which I’d be suiting in full. So let’s not hold back any longer and listen to the echoes of the ancients.

Day 0 … Meeting the pack

As usual, first day is the travel day. This time around a really easy one since Vienna is quite close to my hometown; just a short train ride. But of course, national railway company being the national railway company, the train was delayed. Just a little bit but still can’t help but to poke fun at them :P. The trip being short also got me considering whether I could travel with both of my suits but I opted just for my woof because the full suit already takes a lot of space in the suitcase. The price of having a big tail and feet. The trip itself went smoothly and soon I was in the city of waltz and schnitzels meeting the fellow furs of our small pack: DannyYeen and Beals.

Once together, we went to the hotel to check in to our con room (Danny and Beals already stayed in the same hotel since they were arriving earlier) and so I can release the woof from the “travel prison” and we went into the city to be the “tourists” for a bit because once the con starts, there won’t really be time. I have to say, the downtown of Vienna is still gorgeous even if the last time I saw it was over 15 years ago. That said, the Vienna metro (underground, U-bahn) is … very old-timey :P As it was slowly getting dark, we went for dinner and eventually slowly back to the hotel to get ready for the adventures of the coming days.

Day 1 … Setting the beast free for the first time

First day of the con … which means the one mandatory “queue-con” aka registration. Luckily the queue was really short so the registration went through quickly. Danny and Beals also got the acrylic badges which are super neat. However, there was a hidden wait ahead since the suit lounge wasn’t ready yet. To pass time we found the place in the lobby for the time being with Beals already spotting cool places for pictures as they were “armed” with camera. Meanwhile I was resisting the itch to suit up, passing the time with occasionally putting my fuzzy head on. I also went for a small walk around the place to “scout” the area and maybe run into a familiar face. And I did as I spotted the silly bat Protox with at the time solidified goo dragon Sunio. I’ve reintroduced myself again since this time I wasn’t suited up and first time they met me I was a silly orange critter :3 and of course we began the furry version of “barter trade” also known as sticker trade :P

Eventually the fursuit lounge opened. It was time to let the wolf loose for the first time at the con and for the first time in full suit. It was a bit challenging since the lounge wasn’t operating at its full and I also didn’t have the cooling gear ready but that didn’t stop me. After few minutes I was all ready, in full fur and this time around even with a bandanna around my neck. Something I never wore on my woof despite making it an integral part of the initial design. “Dressed for the occasion” I ventured into the con space along with my friends to have the first bit of suiting fun (trust me, there was a lot :P). It didn’t take me long to get into character and just embrace my woof me. All I can say is that partialling is great but the full body gives it just that little bit extra. I already had a bit of a taste of that at NFC when I wore my foxxo with a kigu and this time around I could experience the real thing. Beals, armed with their camera, was of course looking for any photo opportunity where I could be a model or anything happening around the place that would catch their eye. Danny in the meantime was easing into the atmosphere of the con, watching his woof friend being a creature.

As the time of the opening ceremony was closing in, Danny split up to try and maybe find a spot to watch the event. Me and Beals continued in the suiting adventures as I ventured back into the lounge to grab my plushie stick to “monch” or “poke” furs around. Beals also sort of joined me for the fun as they got into their red sergal kigu to “blend in” :3 At the same time they could still engage in taking pictures of any situation since their hands are free and also less extra warmth. Note to self, make a kigu for my characters *looks at the suit-making board*.

The suiting adventures continued with me either monching on my plushie stick (which some fellow furs confused for a horn or an antler, trying to frame me for stealing some >:3). It also served as a funny pointing tool for posing along some rather amusing signs in the hotel lobby :P As the suiting went on I suddenly noticed a very colourful dragon and next to them another one, clad in white fur and a very bright pink mane. One could even say … Brightmane :P That’s right, it was the cosy dragon Brixxy accompanied by an adorably colourful Alto. Which means, I could fulfill my promise: begin the slow transformation of Brixxy Brightmane into Brixxy Darkfin but sharing some of my black furcoat :P Of course Alto wasn’t spared either so if you found some black tufts around … *grins devilishly*. I poked around the place a bit more but the day was slowly coming to end so the inevitable return to my “boring human” form came. Besides, adventurers need rest.

Day 2 … A bit of culture, a bit of looting (the good kind ;3) and a bit of photography

Second day of the con and this time around with a bit of a schedule. This means that I won’t be “confined” to my fluffy “prison” (not that I’d mind :P) all the time but I’ll have a chance to experience some of the events and even take some pictures. First things first, breakfast of course, fitting for a woof. Which means having some of the richest breakfast for months because normally I’m rather lightweight with those. But a) I’m on a vacation and b) it’s quite important during cons, especially when suiting. Trust me, it’s an exercise of its own.

And of course I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to be fluffy critter so soon after the suit was packed in its huge carrying bag (seriously, making that thing was an amazing idea) and we were on the way to the con space. This time around accompanied by my plushie “mini me” (not 100% accurate but still, plushie woof :3). And after few minutes there were two black woofs giving folks cuteness overload.

But you know what’s better than one plushie? More plushies, of course! Even better when accompanied by familiar friendly faces. Because just a few minutes on the outside terrace found me a company of fluffy fedi folks: Kianga, Keeya and Rengyr. And the moment they spotted my plushie woof, I suddenly became mildly overwhelmed with more plushies: Kianga’s small travel fox and Keeya’s fluffy fennec together with an arctic fox. My royal title, The Jester King of Plushies, has become a reality. Well, almost, since I was lacking in the “royal attire” (I haven’t got one designed for Rawi yet).

The fluffy adventures continued until around the noon as we had plans to attend the concert of the fluffy piano fox-dragon, CoVahr. Our small pack went for a lunch and I got back to the hotel shortly to return my plushie woof and also grab my small camera to be able to take some pictures myself. Something I’m really bad at because I get too immersed in the moment and well, it’s hard to take pictures with big paws (although this time I had a new pair of paws with finger holes). But I did succeed in capturing some moments. Stuff like dancing dragons, “firebending” cats, very handsome noodles, drawing red pandas or a fencing gryphon. Don’t believe me? See for yourself!

As the time of the concert came near, me and Danny joined the queue (the obligatory queue con but not a bad one) while Beals continued catching more and more pictures. The wait was short and I spotted a familiar-looking pair of ears in the queue. Because one thing I did due to an earlier post was to set a small challenge for myself: find a duo of friendly fedi-cats, Tuxel and newly fuzzy LynxOnRails. With Tuxel I succeeded only partially as we did indeed meet in person but I missed the fluffy version (seeing the suit in lounge doesn’t count). The pair of ears I mentioned belonged to the latter, Lynx. We haven’t got a chance to talk in the queue yet since they were ahead of us but we got together later during the con.

The wait in the queue wasn’t long but the place definitely got warm so having my speedy fan was an advantage. And once inside the main stage room, the familiar (at least for me since I had a chance to experience CoVahr at NFC) fluffy group of musicians was soon providing the amazing experience for everyone’s ears. Seriously, it’ll never seize to amaze me what people can do suited up. Be it dancing, considering just suiting is already quite an exercise, playing musical instruments (be it the piano where you can’t really see the keys or the flute since the suit head will make it harder to breathe) or drawing (I already mentioned the drawing wah :3).

As the concert finished, it was time for another mandatory event of any con: “Making artistic investments and supporting the craft which makes the fandom go” … as I like to call spending money in dealer’s den so I don’t feel bad about having maybe a little bit of self-control issues. And of course I didn’t leave empty-handed. Me being a shirt-goblin, of course I expanded my collection. Add to that some more pins, new lanyards so I can phase out my “neutral-looking” ones, some more tags and key-chains. Like I said, investments were made. And no queues since we went in later.

As the evening approached, I got back into the fur to possibly try and make some nighttime pictures. A bit difficult since I’m a black wolf but there are spots that can offer some interesting lighting. I also tried to revive one of the features of my suit, the magnetic eyelids. I very rarely use them since they limit my eyesight and also they’re difficult to move around with considering they don’t hold on as well. But this time around they worked out really well.

The night also served me a bit of an unexpected sight. In one of my roams around the outer area together with Danny we stumbled upon familiar dragons, Alto and Brixxy (who was in partial suit this time around). We stopped by their group for a bit to mingle and I noticed a familiar badge on one of the unsuited furs. And this is how I found Reiko’s “human disguise” (seriously, Reiko has their human form just to blend in :P).

I kept going on with the suiting, even lightly tempted to dance but since next day was the suit-walk day, I wanted to keep the suit in a reasonable shape and make sure it dries out over night. That said, I’ve grown a bit lazy to take the suit off so before we headed back to the hotel, I just grabbed my things from the lounge and took the walk back suited up. I always wonder how non-furs feel about someone in a full suit just casually walking around the town. That said, I don’t think I’d be willing to walk around like this without someone being my second pair of eyes and ears.

Day 3 … I think I’ve gained a superpower

Suit-walk day; the day you worry about the weather to not be too hot but also not rainy. Luckily, neither was the case. I woke up a bit earlier so I could prepare the suit for transport, trying to be as quiet as possible around my fuzzy roommates. We arrived at the con space nicely in time without being too early (a weird trait of mine). I got into the suit, caught up to the fellow rainbow jaguar Kianga and we went outside to take the con group picture. And all I can say is … Awoo Crew, you need someone with a megaphone or a booming voice to “herd” the critters around properly X3. Also, the attendees were not really fond of memey things :P (you can guess what I’m referencing).

Once the group pictures were taken, the crowd slowly moved into the suit-walk path going through the nearby park. Unlike NFC, the road wasn’t closed for the duration of the walk but the con crew made sure all the traffic rules were properly observed. The park was a bit quiet since it was Friday which meant people were at work but we had a chance to meet some folks outside the con. The walk was on a shorter side compared to for example NFC or EF. It also started drizzling a tiny bit, as in it was barely registered by those who weren’t wearing their fuzzy coats. We looped around the park and slowly returned to the con space only to form a spontaneous conga line in the plaza. Small tip for fellow suiters, if a fluffy critter in front of you is much taller or they have a long tail, it’s easier to gently grab the tail. Because a) you’ll have easier time to keep pace and b) you’ll prevent the risk of tripping over their tail. Just remember, no pulling. Only gently hold. Once the conga line dispersed, the fedi-floofs got together for a small group photoshoot at which we “volunteered” our fellow noodle Karb to be “conquered”. Disclaimer, no dragon was harmed during the event.

After all the pictures I went for a break in a lounge and started thinking about maybe a break from suiting but somehow I just kept going. It was weird because I wanted to spend some time at the evening dance which would usually get me to save energy but I just didn’t want to take suit off and my body wasn’t really resisting the idea of suiting. I guess I stole Reiko’s superpower last evening because I didn’t feel the usual weariness that eventually comes with longer suiting. It’s like the suit mentally “fused” with me so it didn’t even fell as if I was wearing it. Like, if you sewn me shut in the suit, I wouldn’t even mind. It was a really cool moment of immersion.

Eventually however I took the suit off (it was quite a late afternoon when I did) because the “human inside” needs sustenance and it’s definitely healthy to take breaks. Thus we went for a late lunch and I took a peek into dealer’s den afterwards since I wanted to ideally pick up an extra set of cooling packs for my vest and collar (part of the secret how I managed to stay in the suit for so long) but I wasn’t lucky this time around. But I still didn’t leave empty-handed, snatching some more badges for when my other characters “come to life”. As I was out of suit for the moment and had my camera with me, I took some more pictures of moments around the con.

As the evening was approaching, I went back to the hotel to reduce the amount of things I carry on me as much as possible because I don’t want to carry extra stuff with me to the dance and I sure as hell don’t want to leave anything valuable in the lounge. Before the dance though, me and Danny lost track of our fellow cheesecake, Beals. This got my inner wolf mildly unsettled (I tend to be “protective” about a group I spend time with and I grow anxious when folks aren’t “accounted for”). Turns out Beals got “snatched” by fellow fluffy dragons, Shano and Vudo for a small room party so everything was in order. Either way, I was soon back in fluff, this time without my signature Keeya-made bag (seriously, I love this thing to bits) and was happily dancing out the bits of energy I had left in me to the bassy music. The sets weren’t the usual ones I’d attend but I was delighted to just let go and move to the rhythm, the worries of “boring human” going away. Just me, fellow furs, pleasant sounds. And believe me, I could go for a really long time if my body wasn’t telling me that I should really take a break.

It was around midnight when I said myself that enough is enough because my legs were really starting to feel it (damn you, knees worn out from years of climbing). But I can absolutely confirm that dancing in the full suit is something I can easily handle and you’ll have a hard time to pry me away from the place. Nevertheless, the time has come to return to the hotel so the suit can dry for the inevitable trip home.

Day 4 … The Echoes of the Ancients

Final day … the day nobody likes to admit but it can’t be stopped. The day when the magic slowly fades and we begin to come back to our usual lives. Packing the suit for the trip home always feels a little sad because it’s the reminder of the con ending. Thus our pack took the last breakfast at the hotel and once we checked out of the room, we left our luggage there for safekeeping while heading back to the con space to hang out with the fellow furs for some more time. We settled down in the lobby and after a while a bright tiger Zak appeared, making our last hours at the con more enjoyable as well as giving me a motivation to make my Starlight/Brightwing woof a thing. I also caught up with fedi-floofs for one more time outside the in the plaza.

Eventually the afternoon came and I had to take my baggage and head for the train home. Well … home as in the place I spend my daily life in. But is it a home? As the train started moving, I felt the familiar feeling creep in; the misty eyes, lumpy throat … it felt like I was leaving my home rather than returning. Especially as I’m leaving people that make me feel myself rather than having me to “blend in”.

*a quiet sad howl echoes in the distance*

It may be an echo of the past, but it guides me towards my future.

R.R.A.