Harvest Time

[Garrett]

Music filled the room, stirring Garrett from his bed. Turning and twisting inside a cocoon of blankets, moaning and groaning. Putting the pillow over his head in a huff to try and shut it out. It was bad enough so much incredible stuff was going outside his door, it didn't have to rub in the fact he couldn't enjoy it because he was once again sick. If anyone would feel his head, they'd find a horrible fever and wonder how he was still conscious with it. Running about in the rain the other day wasn't really a good idea, but he just had to do it, and now he was missing something incredible. Cruuuuuuuud. He groaned, he moaned, the music wouldn't leave him be, enchanting him like some kind of siren's song.

He got to his feet, bare and trodding across the wooden floor of the inn as he walked over to the window. He was wearing a long robe of sorts, looking perfectly in style for some little kid about ready to go to bed, pajamas of a sort. The warm breeze blew against him tauntingly, as he stuck his head out from the second floor of the inn. It was torture of a sort, it was so... lively. Happy. People danced in the streets, music filled the air, there were balloons and confetti littering the streets, banners and streamers from here to there, the fountain in the middle of town had countless dancers and performers. Men who breathed fire, and men who swallowed blades. A caravan in which you could get your fortune told, and a man who juggled swords. There were booths everywhere, filling the streets with a cheer, and in each one something different. Many sold delicious foods, from the fresh harvest that this festival celebrated, but it wasn't just food. There were games you could play, things you could buy, plays you could watch. Children ran through the packed streets laughing, men and women held hands as they partook in the more romantic things. It was all so... so... cruel.

He felt his own forehead, maybe he wasn't as sick as he thought, y'know? It couldn't... kill him to go out for a while right? He just took some medicine after all, it should make him feel better. Maybe getting out will do him some good? Sure it was a bad idea, but, well... That's how he found his way outside. He was still barefooted and wearing a long night robe, but no one seemed to pay him any mind. He had a great smile on his face as he spun in the streets, his arms out like a child spinning around. Eyes closed as he hummed the tune that filled the air, skipping down the streets. This wasn't a good idea, it was a great idea! He couldn't sleep anyways, so just staying inside wasn't going to help. He'll get tuckered out and then he could actually sleep, yes that makes sense. He just had to make sure none of the others caught him, or they'll push him right back into his prison and force him to experience the entire festival second hand. Blech, no fun.

[Milenth]

Milleth watched as the area came to life with dancing. The music was the strongest yet in the festival, only countered by the enthusiasm of the dancers. She watched and clapped along with the rhythm while tapping her foot. Oh how joyous the festival was! Humans really knew how to have fun and she was always willing to partake in as many activities as she can. Sadly she did not have a dance partner. Sure she can start dancing by herself but she didn’t want to stand out. There would be rumors of her being single (although true, nobody needed to know that), even false accusations of her character.

Yet she honestly wanted to get involved. As the music rolled out, the pace seemed to increase, people left and others came, all the while she just watched. Her eagerness began to build up from her envy but she held it back. She even left for a few minutes to get a snack. It was a shame no one asked to dance with her but she wasn’t exactly a resident here. Everyone else seemed to arrive with a date of some sort or family member. She knew nobody from this particular town and was honestly surprised by the news of a festival here.

Letting out a sigh, she jumped off from the fence. They had emptied the animals from the pin and used it to contain the dancers from stomped and twirled about. It was for good reasons as well, most of them weren’t exactly trained. She wasn’t either but they honestly seemed to have so much fun. She knew her ways around festivals after all. She had been in many through her travels, though each one was unique to their town.

Gathering herself up, she decided that she will dance. Nobody was going to stop her and she will find a partner. Sure she might be charged with kidnapping later on but who cared as long as they had fun? It was a festival! It was a chance to meet new people! At that thought she looked about for the closest lone individual in the crowd. It just happened to be a young man clad in a long robe.

She skipped towards the young man, her feet lightly brushing the grass and road as she passed. She kicked up dirt from the hastily built clearing as well as roots and rocks. It didn’t bother her because she found her partner. Without saying so much as a hello or introduction, she grabbed the young man by the arm and dragged him into the pin.

“Let’s dance,” she practically ordered, holding his hands. She had plans to move her body like never before! Her rather revealing outfit didn’t help her matter much. Even as she began, there was a number of men that took a glance or two for a period of time. No worries though, they were all there to have some fun!

[Garrett]

He felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb, but somehow he didn't really care. He usually did anyways, so no reason to really notice it now. Everyone's too busy having fun anyways to notice him so it didn't matter. People were running through the streets, happy and cheering. Children were hooting and hollering but were drowned out by the instruments and singing. Garrett was so active a moment ago, but lost his breath and was taking a moment to catch it. Someone asked if he was alright, and he smiled and said yeah and they moved on probably to never see him again. He was using a stand to balance his self as he breathed in heavy and deep, there was a smell of apple pie in the air. He was just about ready to buy it before something else caught his attention. Namely his arm being yanked off of his body.

"Agh!" He yelped as his body was being physically dragged away by some strange force. He tried to get a good look but dust and rubble and junk got into his eyes and mouth and he sputtered to coughed spitting it out. "Blegh ach" He grunted as he felt like his arm was gonna pop right off and he'd run around the rest of his life as one arm man, raising his other to wipe the dust off his face and out of his eyes. Whoever this person was, they were strong and had a grip like iron and they weren't willing to let go ever from the feels of it.

“Let’s dance!” She grabbed both of his hands as he realized where they were, the dancing pin. Instead of blushing furiously or getting super embarrassed or any of those things someone else would get, he instead had a wide grin and nodded.

"Yeah!" He cheered. The woman who swooped him up to force him to partake in this merriment was some lady with greenish hair and a somewhat revealing outfit, but Garrett was simply happy to be doing something. He was afraid it might of been his guildmates, but now that he knew better he was rather cheerful. "Uh.. um.." He suddenly had a realization. "I don't, ah, know. How to dance, you know. I can try though." He's tried before dancing by himself, but he's never actually danced with someone else. He never really had anyone to dance with until just recently really, never leaving his house.

[Zacharia]

Last night was a real doozy. He still had a little bit of sniffles from the rain, but nowhere near as bad as Garrett. He was pretty sure that the boy could catch a cold if you breathed on him by this point. And what a day to get it! The week of the Harvest Festival was here, and there were only three days left of it. It was still going strong, and didn't look like it would stop anytime soon. At the crack of dawn soft music started playing as the many bards and minstrels set up shop alongside the vacant merchant stands. Zach wanted nothing more than to sleep; his legs felt like lead from all that running. He watched the feverbound Garrett squirm in his blankets yet again, and from the corner of the room he could hear Djute softly snoring the night away. He'd get up later, now it was time for more sleep. He pulled his blanket further up and despite the commotion outside of a watermelon stand collapsing, joined the two in the realm of sleep again.

He awoke to the smell of well...everything wafting through the window. And the door to their room slamming shut. Zacharia threw the covers up off of him and immediately fell out of bed. Uncaring in the slightest, he jumped up, grabbed his cloak and headed out the door. Garrett was still asleep by the time, and Djute had already beaten him outside. His legs were starting to feel better with a little blood pumping through them, and he rubbed away the crust that forms at the edge of your eyes while running down the stairs and through the bar on the bottom level of the inn. Unsurprisingly, no one was there. He managed to fling the cloak on and click the clip and- make an immediate u-turn as he ran back upstairs to grab his shoes.
--

The door flung open and Zacharia walked out into the street. It was amazing that a small town could hold so many people. And smells! The most wonderful things imaginable, where to even begin? Dancing was definitely out; running was one thing but when it came to dancing he had two left feet. He settled for looking through the selection of magical tomes that belonged to some mysterious old hag. You've seen one, you've seen them all. Unfortunately, all of them except for actual books were absurd numbers-- higher than free! To heck with that, then. He grumbled as he walked out the shop to go catch something he could afford. Probably a slice of that delicious-smelling pumpkin pastry stuff, it was in-season after all.

[Djute]

Djute had awoken early that morning, as he often did, feeling incredibly sore. He had taken quite the beating and despite the incredible work of their healer, his arm still felt terrible. The bruise had turned several unsightly colors and the wound on his forearm was forming an ugly scar. But at least he was alive, which was more than those bandits could say. He was still puzzling over the letter he had found on one of them, but it had been so badly damaged that he was starting to give up. He would have to look into it more when they returned to Arcadia. Stretching his aching muscles, he rose from his bed and got to changing the bandages on his arm. When he finished that, he put on some clothes and pulled on his boots. Strapping on his sword belt, he decided to forgo donning his armor. There was some sort of festival in town today and he'd rather not have to navigate crowds in clunky armor. He grabbed his satchel that contained his cartography supplies and headed for the door. As he left the inn, Djute noticed that the festival was still being set up and wouldn't be starting for another couple of hours. Well that's good, Djute thought with a smile, I've plenty of time to work on my map. Humming a pleasant tune, he strolled off towards a hill that overlooked the town.

Djute flopped down onto the grass and began unpacking his bag. He removed the roll of parchment first, unrolling it and pinning it down with rocks on each of the corners to flatten it out. Then he removed his quill and inkwell and wet the tip of the quill. He tested the ink in one of the corners, then began scribbling away at the top of the page. Half an hour had passed when he had finally finished the title of the map. Djute put his quill down to admire his work. Scrawled across the top of the page in his flowing script read "Central And Eastern Wilderness." The easy part was done. Now he would have to draw the map itself, relying on his memory and several scribblings that he had drawn during the journey. This was his favorite part. He always found it incredible that he could take his mental picture of a place he had been and turn it into something useful. Retrieving his quill, he set put some of the drawings he had made and selected one that he had drawn at the beginning of the expedition. He dipped the quill once more and started drawing on the far left of the parchment.

Several hours had passed and the map was coming along nicely. However, just as he had gotten to the middle, his stomach had growled at him in protest and he had decided that this was a far as he was gonna get. He allowed the ink to dry, then packed away his supplies and headed back to the town. He could see from the hill that the town had become much more active since he had left and he guessed that the festival was in full swing now. Guided by his stomach, Djute found his way to a stand where a baker had just brought out a fresh round of hot rolls that made his mouth water. He purchased two and ate them as he explored. Passing a store with several books on display, he noticed his magic wielding friend exiting the store, grumbling about something. Djute made his way over to him and elbowed him lightly in the shoulder. "Quite a festival, eh?"

[Yukaida]

There were a few interesting traits Dragons had. Today, a few of them were being put to good use by Yukaida as she sat in a grove of trees. One being her excellent senses in her true form, her eyes easily making out the man as he sat among the grass, scribing furiously on a piece of parchment. She'd come upon him after he started, and it had taken some maneuvering to get to a position where she could see what it was he was working on. Whatever it was, he seemed totally engrossed in it. So much so that he barely stirred from the rustling of her massive form trying to be stealthy among the brush. When she realized what it was he was doing, she was enamored. He was making a map, how interesting! She'd never met a map maker before, and to watch this craftsman work was oddly engrossing. The care he took with the smallest strokes of his quill, the practiced hand gliding over the canvas as if his mind were being transcribed directly onto it.

The second trait that was being used was patience. Dragons had time, loads and loads of it. It was not uncommon for them to get lost in flights of fancy for years, so spending a few hours observing this human and his map making was not any concern to her. She had countless more days in her life, but this was something she might never see again.

And then he stopped. Yukaida's face fell as he began packing up his supplies. But it was just getting good! He was about to pen in that river that she'd passed earlier today. The level of detail and skill he put into it, even from this distance, was remarkable. Of course, some parts of it were still obstructed, and she was very curious as to what else the skilled hand had immortalized on the flimsy parchment.

So when the human stood up and started into town, she followed. Well, she started to. She began to move, before realizing she was still in her true form. Right...Belade had told her that made people uneasy. There was a town nearby, that was why she had landed in the first place. But seeing the map maker had just transfixed her, and she'd lost all track of time. In a moment, she'd assumed a human form, stretching her body out as she waited for the man to get some distance before following him. It wouldn't due to come running out of the forest at him, she knew that much.

She took a moment to adjust to the lost of her superior senses, and her vantage point, before she decided to head into the town. It was at this point she realized there was something...off about this place. It was loud, colorful, and lots of people. What was going on here? She'd never seen anything like this before.

She passed into the town, looking around thoroughly confused by what she was seeing. Strange, but pleasant, sounds being created by items of metal and wood, people spinning and moving strangely in large groups, usually in pairs. What was this?

Even without being a dragon, a human standing in the middle of all of this merriment positively bewildered probably stood out just as much.

[Zacharia]

Without warning his sword-bearing friend snuck up behind him and elbowed him. He would've reacted more had the place not been roaring with life already. It was kinda odd seeing him outside of his armour, but Djute needed to let his arm heal. Unless he was signing up for a tournament he wouldn't need the stuff for the day anyways. "Quite a festival, eh?" Zacharia stepped aside as a peddler selling trinkets and baubles pushed through the edges of the crowd, looking for an empty spot. His fault that he didn't arrive sooner. "Yeah, I'll say. Haven't been many of these lately, where I come from. Not like I've ever been able to go to one, anyhow. See anything you like so far? We got all day to goof off." He wandered over to the bakery he'd had his eye on with Djute in tow.

He dug into his pouch and produced two gold, exchanging it for two of the pumpkin pastries. He devoured the first one within a minute, while he stood watching the festival with Djute. Guess he was hungrier than he thought. He was about to offer Djute the second one, when something peculiar caught his notice. A young girl, maybe a little older than the two of them was walking through the place bewildered; her eyes were bigger than platters! He couldn't tell if she was from here or not, but he'd definitely never seen hair such a striking shade of purple before. The color certainly clashed with her gown. His gaze drifted off her and around the festival, looking at all the people without a care in the world. There was even some guy still in his nightclothes dancing with one of the performers. "So, what do you want to go do first? Everything looks like so much fun!" he said as he offered Djute the pastry.

[Milenth]

Milenth was glad the young man was a reasonable person. It was sad that most people were so troublesome nowadays. Some of them didn't know how to have fun. Besides what is life without a little fun? That is why her secondary mission was to bring the fun to the sad slouches if they liked it or not.

"Don't worry about it, I'm not that great either, some guy told me dancing is from the heart," she glowed, as she began to a series of steps and a simple twirl. At that moment, she realized her mistake. It was rude to kidnap someone to a dance without introducing yourself.

"My name is Milenth by the way, I'm passing by in my travels," she introduced inbetween her steps. Her eyes seemed to light up as the music got faster. She became bolder with her moves as well, showing off her figure and childishness.

[Garrett]

"I'm Garrett, I'm uh, passing through too." He said, but didn't look at her. He was far too consumed with looking at his own feet as he awkwardly moved them in ways he thought might be not completely awful? He tried to mimic the steps the others around him were doing, but they were going too quickly for him to keep up. If dancing was from the heart, he might be in trouble since his was weak. Still he was having so much fun, even if he looked like a complete idiot dancing badly in a nightrobe, he didn't really care. This was so much better then being locked inside, the music was so cheerful and happy and it made him happy to hear it from outside that room. How on earth could he stay cooped inside on a day like this? He eventually stopped watching his own feet and just let them move with almost no care, though he made sure not to crash into his partner because that would be rude, he might have stepped on her feet though. If he did, she didn't say anything.

The music's tempo began to speed up, and so did Milly, though Garrett had a hard time keeping up. He was moving out of time to the beat and it was beginning to get frustrating as he sped his movements up trying to catch up with it. He began to feel a little lightheaded and he should have realized his mistake right there, he's made it a million times before, but it didn't become obvious until he was on his knees coughing violently after trying to do a twirl. One hand on the ground trying to keep his body from falling completely, while the other tried to cover his mouth as if to keep it all in. His stomach ached and his body felt so weak and frigid, he was afraid he going to vomit. The music continued, but a few of the dancers around him stopped to look at him. Some looked worried, others annoyed, and he felt embarrassed.

"I... I'm sorry. I'm fine." His breathing was ragged, but he managed to get back onto his feet, though he felt absolutely powerless. "I'm sorry... Milly, I can't... You should find another partner, I need... I need to sit down." He staggered over to the fencing that kept them in and leaned on it to give him a boost. Usually this wouldn't have happened, well at least not this quickly, he was just sick right now. Well sicker then usual, he really shouldn't have come out, maybe he should just go back to bed? Using the fence to keep his self steady, he began to stagger to the gate to get out of the other's way, and maybe find a bench somewhere to sit and rest.

[Djute]

[Yukaida]

Yukaida looked around the madness, still totally confused. It would seem she was not the only one enjoying themselves, as she became aware of a young boy falling over. He seemed shaken, and though she wanted to ask what, he was already surrounded by many humans. For some reason, moving in there felt a bit silly, so she moved in another direction.

And that was when she saw a 'familiar' face. It was the map maker! He was talking with a hooded man in green, a friend perhaps? She didn't get too much time to dwell on it, as the attention was drawn off to some kind of game on the side. From what she could tell, it was a test of strength, trying to exert the strength of one's arm over the opponent's. She watched curiously, it seemed like the smaller of two men had the advantage, but then the larger man won with incredible ease. He was taunting his opponent, not treating him as a real competitor, how insulting! You should always treat every opponent with the respect that came from giving it your all, at least if the contest was intended like that. Clearly you didn't if you were training someone else, as such would be defeating the entire point.

But this human, he was just arrogant. He had no respect for the people challenging him, he sought to mock them and make himself appear greater. Yuka headed towards the table herself, knowing full well she could put this pig in his place, when someone else stepped up to take the seat. Ah, the map maker again! Her lip curved into an almost worried expression. If his hand were damaged, he might not be able to produce such glorious works of art as he had earlier!

"Please be careful sir, and good luck." She spoke to him, as she stood behind him watching the contest and eying the larger man across the table with furrowed eyebrows. She hoped he knew what he was doing, the other man was certainly quite large.

[Milenth]

Milenth was a bit sad that the dancing had to end so quickly but she had a taste. It was enough to satisfy her needs, so she quickly followed the young man. He was her partner after all, even though they just met. When her eyes are set on something, she wasn’t bound to leave it anytime soon. She had once followed one man for many years on end. Plus she didn’t mind offering help when she can, especially when there is no harm done.

“Hey, wait up,” she said, following after the sick man in robes. She was careful to walk around the other dances. She was the energetic type, enough so that she hopped over the fence to go after her friend. When he seemed to be looking for somewhere to rest, she looked around for something that could be of some help. She was no doctor but she knows well enough to at least offer something. Spotting some fresh fruit, she quickly bought a pear and offered it to the young man.

“Here, maybe some food in the stomach will help,” she offered, trying to be as considerate as possible.

“Sorry if I was too pushy,” she apologized rather childishly, looking down at her feet and fidgeting.

[Zacharia]

He wanted another pastry, but he'd save some room for lunch. The real meals of the day weren't available yet- they were still cooking, and would be hot and ready around noon. His stomach growled in protest. "Shut up," he mumbled to himself, as he chased after Djute into the crowd. The girl disappeared from sight when he turned around; you'd think that would be hard considering the candy-colored hair. Zach stood to the side of Djute, sizing the burly man up. He looked a little red in the face. Probably drunk. His clothes also resembled something like a lumberjack would wear, in his down-time. Little bit of a beard going on too. The smell of tree sap wasn't coming from him though, maybe from one of the others in the crowd.

The shaman turned around to check anOH SWEET CHRIST WHERE'D SHE COME FROM?? He stepped back as a reflex, and tripped over the man's foot. He scrambled back to his feet as the man laughed. Good thing his hood was already drawn up so no one could see how red his face was. "Lay him flat, Djute." He whispered as he got back behind the table to stand beside the girl. "I like your...hair." Zach remarked.

[Djute]

Djute readied himself for the game, feeling the other man's grip and getting an idea of how strong he was. From what he could tell, his opponent wasn't much stronger than he was, and with the right amount of determination and fortitude, he would easily pin his opponents hand. The real strategy would be to endure and and wear out his opponent, then take him down when he was weak. However, his focus was quickly thrown off as a feminine voice wished him luck over his shoulder. Glancing behind him, Djute realized that it was the woman he had seen earlier, the one with the purple hair. His opponent, clearly amused, snorted, and said, "Who's she? Your girlfriend? Are sure you wanna embarrass yourself in front of her?" Djute's grip tightened and his glare became more intense. He was too angry at this man to use words. The moment the match started, he was going to send his hand straight through the table. The man shrugged again and asked "Your loss. Are you ready? Begin!" Immediately, Djute flexed his arm and began pushing his hand against his opponents, hoping to smash it against the table. The man, caught off guard, lost ground rapidly, but recovered quicker than Djute had expected. Slowly, but steadily his opponent was pushing back against him and soon they were even again. Djute was getting worried. He needed to outright crush this man and shatter all of his arrogance in one swift blow. He tightened his grip and pushed back even harder. To his delight, it was working and he was regaining all the ground he had just given up. However, he had completely forgotten his original strategy and it was about to bite him in the butt. Suddenly, the muscles in Djute's arm tightened and began to cramp. Surprised by the sudden pain in his arm, he panicked and relinquished his attack. Noticing the surprise in his eyes, the man smiled and slammed his hand into the table. The game was over, and Djute had lost.

"Oh, that's so sad, boy. Maybe you should try again when you've got a bit of hair on your chin, eh? Who's next?" Djute, humiliated, rose quickly from the table. He was trying desperately to keep himself from drawing his sword and stabbing the man until his smug grin was gone. It wouldn't make him feel any better, he decided. He stepped away from the table and joined the crowd, eager to see if anyone else could beat this smug jerk.

[Garrett]

"Oh you don't have to come with me Milly, you should find someone else who can dance." He smiled at her wearily, the dark circles under his eyes were particularly pronounced and he was especially pale this day. The fever wasn't life threatening, but it was definitely not something you should be marching around with. "I'm sorry about that, I'm not a good dancer." He chuckled quietly to his self. She seemed so full of life, so energetic and happy, he was envious but happy. Seeing people like her is one of the reasons he began traveling in the first place. He wanted to see people be happy, be full of life, be energetic. She was all three, so it put him at ease. His small coughing fit had finished, but his chest still ached and felt raw, still it was probably good that it stopped him. How embarrassing would it be if he simply collapsed, right? He finally found his self a bench to sit on near the dancing pen, probably for the dancers to rest on when they grew tired. Technically he was a dancer, and he was definitely tired, so he probably could sit here right?

Slowly he lowered his self almost like how an old man did, as if his bones ached, which they kind of did honestly. It was actually a bit painful to dance, but he didn't mind and probably had more fun in that few minutes then he did in the last five years. "I'm fine." She offered him a pear and he took it without question, he wasn't exactly keen on putting food inside of him right now, especially since the reason he didn't vomit earlier was because there wasn't anything to come out, but he didn't want to be rude. "It's nothing to do with you, you weren't pushy. I'm just not feeling well today. Got a bit of a cold, still who could stay in on a day like this, right?" He laughed as he gestured at the loud and lively crowd that seemed to have moved past his almost passing out and began to dance again, the spot him and Milly were in filled in mere seconds by a new pair of feet. Over there a loud group of people were whooping and hollering, something about arm wrestling, but he wasn't paying too much attention. "Don't worry about me. I'm gonna just sit here for a while and rest, you should go have fun. The festival only happens once a year right?" Milly looked embarrassed, but she really had no reason to be. If anyone here should be embarrassed, it was him.