Harvest Time

[Yukaida]

Yukaida was caught off guard by the human to her side. The green hooded one she'd seen talking to the map maker earlier, and he complimented her hair? It seemed innocent enough, but something about the way he said it just felt off...

Well, human hair was mostly used for aesthetics to impress or attract a mate. Seemed similar to a bird's plumage in that way. Was he making that kind of a suggestion to her? Come to think of it, how long did human courtship rituals take? For dragons it could take decades, if you were moving quickly, but humans lived a fraction of a dragon's life. Ah! Now it made sense! She turned to look at the people moving about oddly, they were all pairs of males and females! This was some grand courtship gathering! But now his innocent comment carried some much larger connotations with it.

"Oh! Um...no, thank you. I'm flattered." She answered, offering the boy a small smile as a thud brought her attention back to the table. Ack! She hadn't been paying attention, and he'd lost! Her face fell instantly, but quickly hardened as the large man began his taunting anew. When the map maker stood up, she looked at his hand quickly. It seemed all right, more that his pride was injured then anything else. Another man had gone to move towards the vacant seat, but she slipped in quickly, to a series of murmurs from the crowd as this tiny woman did so.

The man arched an eyebrow as she sat down, chuckling audibly as she set her elbow on the table. "So lass, ya wanna avenge yer boyfriend? Mighty brave of ya, but I think you'd best get up." He taunted, drawing a few laughs from the crowd. Her eyes leveled on him, glaring daggers into the egotistical grin of his.

"You want me up? Then put up your hand and try to bully me." She challenged, still waiting for him to raise his hand up. "Or do you only like exerting your superiority over men to make them look poorly, you blighted sow." She spat at him. The words of her voice might have been lost on him, but the tone wasn't.

"All right then, lass. If you really think yer righteous fury's gonna win tha day, let me give ya a lesson in life." He said, bringing his hand up, and grasping hers. His hand was huge, easily covering her own dainty human hand. And as much as she'd love to transform and finish it that way, she knew that would cause more trouble then it was worth. There was a moments pause with the two of them grasping each others hands, her eyes filled with fire (of the metaphorical sense, of course!), while his glowed with the arrogance that humans could be well known for.

The match started and ended in less then a second. She'd been channeling her inner power, calling out to it to empower her, and it had not disappointed for such a simple task. She was not the strongest dragon, fairly weak by dragon standards, but the power she could bring to bare was more then enough for what she needed. The other man's hand slammed the table in a flash, so hard it cracked the wood. The force of the push actually sent his body sprawling off the chair, and into the dirt, as she then released his hand and let him finish slumping to the ground. She could see his mind still trying to catch up with what just happened as she rose with a satisfied smirk.

"Beware your pride, child. There is always someone stronger, most who find such arrogance obnoxious." She said, turning around to find that the crowd around them had just gone totally silent.

Hmm...maybe that had been too much?

[Djute]

It would not take long for the arm wrestler to get his comeuppance. Almost as immediately as Djute had left the table, the purple haired lady who had wished him luck had sat down, just ahead of another man. The bad feeling in the pit of Djute's stomach only worsened. If he had been beaten after a struggle, then this woman didn't stand a chance. She certainly seemed dainty, though, as he learned a lot these days, looks could be deceiving. And she had this fire in her eyes that almost seemed ready to leap onto the man and burn him alive. It was frightening and was made only more unnerving by the comments she made. She was throwing some pretty heavy language at him, though most of it was going over his head. In fact, the arm wrestler barely seemed phased at all. That was, until the match started, then abruptly ended almost in the same moment. It was awe-inspiring how quickly she crushed him, even splintering the table with how hard she slammed his hand into the table. Djute was honestly pretty embarrassed at this point. An opponent he had struggled against and lost to, this strange woman had defeated in an instant. Sure, it was intensely satisfying to see that smug look wiped clean off his face, but he had really wanted to be the one doing it. Nevertheless, he would need to thank his "champion," regardless of her gender.

As he approached her, Djute realized just how stunning she was. The purple hair was quite unusual, though stood out far more than the pale shade of Djute's hair. The robe she wore seemed out of place on her figure, baggy and worn. It took the words out of his mouth and it took him a moment to realize that he had been just standing there, not saying anything. Finally, he remembered what he had wanted to say. "Thanks for, um.... doing that. You really didn't have to. I'm, uh... Djute, by the way."

[Zacharia]

Well, at least they stopped laughing at him. A dejected looking Djute walked away from the table to join the pair on the edge of the crowd, the man grinning every step of the way. "Tough luck man. Eh, someone will give him his just dess-- comeuppance soon." No sooner than when he spoke the girl strode up to the table. He meant strode, not walked. Her posture was incredibly straight and her steps true, maybe she was a noble in disguise. No use disguising that hair, though. Unless it was already disguised...nah, he really shouldn't dwell on it too much. She was tall, but the man still dwarfed her by a tiny bit. He caught a little of the exchange between the opponents over the "roar" of the crowd, and he almost started chuckling. If her strength was as keen as her tongue, this would get interesting fast.

And get interesting it did. No sooner than the match started, the big man was sprawled on the ground clutching his hand. It went by so fast if you blinked you would've missed it. The table broke in two pieces and splinters went flying everywhere. So cool!! The crowd was completely stunned, and even the two teenagers were paralyzed for a minute. Djute walked over to the girl, and Zacharia quickly followed after, uneager to be left behind. One person started yelling, and caused a chain reaction that would go down in the festival's history as a cheer that could be heard in the next town over. But how'd she do it, that was the question.."I got it!" he shouted aloud, which thankfully was muffled by the crowd. "She's a mage! She must be!!" he yelled over to Djute, only half-drowned out. He wasn't sure if the girl heard it, but she must have since the three were all so close together.

Meanwhile, the arm wrestler was sore all over the right side of his torso, but that didn't stop him from picking up the pieces of his shattered dignity and fleeing the scene. He'd later be found sitting in the inn in a sling nursing a mug of brew in his left hand.

[Yukaida]

Yukaida had been concerned by the ominous silence after her victory, now quite sure that she'd used too much power. Perhaps these humans were not used to seeing such displays of strength. Hmm, so much for blending in.

Thankfully, the two humans came over, the map maker thanking her, though he seemed embarrassed. She was confused for a bit, then recalled, to humans, the females were considered the 'weaker' of the species. That meant that he felt humbled that he was upstaged by her. He seemed a bit stunned, probably still recovering from the display of power that just broke the table. There was also the fact that humans who were strong tended to look the part, and she certainly did not.

When his friend came up, shouting his suggestion, she was more then happy to go along with it. For some reason, saying she was a dragon here did not seem wise, though she felt no shame from it. "Ah! Yes, you are right. I am a...er...'mage'." She spoke awkwardly. That was the word humans used for someone who controlled magic, right? I guess that was technically true. She also recalled that the map maker, Djute, had introduced himself. What funny names these humans could have!

"I am called Yukaida. It is a pleasure to meet you." She said with a small bow, knowing it appropriate among humans. At least with some humans. The volume around them was getting to her a bit, and she looked around for a moment as if searching for someplace that would be quieter.

"It is hard to hear with all this noise, do you know a better place?" She asked, raising her voice slightly.

[Milenth]

"Hmph, the festival won't be all that much fun without my partner, ya know," she puffed out like a child. One of these days she needed to learn to act her age but that is a long way off it seems. Just because one reached adulthood, that didn't mean they had to actually be an adult. This sort of policy worked for awhile now and in many ways it had caused many troubles and at the same time saved her life.

"Besides I just wanted to try it out, can't go into a festival without dancing a little bit," she smiled, indicating with her index finger and thumb. Sure she was disappointed but she took it in strides like most of her life. Most people's lives seem so fleeting compared to hers. It was a wonder how some of them seem to mull and grumble all the time. She liked this Garrett person quite a bit for his attitude. Even though he was sick, he still entertained her well enough. Maybe she should let him in on her secret.

"It doesn't really matter, I pass through plenty of festivals, but let me tell you secret," she began, looking around to make sure no one else was listening on their little conversation. It wasn't that much of a secret if someone traveled with her long enough. However she rarely showed anyone that she had just met but there really wasn't much for her to do.

"The reason I've been traveling is for research!" she said excitedly as she dug through her bags. In time she took out one of her journals and flipping through the pages, she showed the man a page full of runes.

"Being an explorer gets you to some pretty cool places, making maps is great and all, but I like finding answers more. You know all that talk about monsters right? I'm trying to find out what exactly is going on. Maybe the people from the past will have some answers." she revealed. For quite some time she had mulled over the thought. The actual evidence was cryptic in nature so she made little progress, only clues pointing to more clues and more places to explore. It was exciting to say the least, her personal treasure hunt.

[Djute]

Djute cocked an eyebrow at his companion's realization. A mage, he thought, That makes a lot of sense. It certainly would explain how she beat that man so easily. Still, he couldn't help but chuckle at Zach's excitement. It was clear that he didn't see many of his kind and would revel in the chance to swap ideas and theories. Djute on the other hand, just hoped she wasn't a practitioner of Elder magic. While he could being around one, if there were several dark spells flying around, he wasn't sure his mind would hold up so well. She responded to his greeting with her own, revealing her name to be Yukaida. A strange name to be sure, but, on the other hand, so was Djute. He often wished that he had asked his mother what the inspiration for his name had been before she had passed, but he supposed he would never learn now. Regardless, the formality of Yukaida's greeting struck him as odd. Nobody in the explorer's guild was ever that formal, nor any of the merchant guilds he had sometimes run errands to. Perhaps it had been part of her mage training or her upbringing. He supposed that it didn't really matter either way.

"It is hard to hear with all this noise, do you know a better place?" Djute had to agree it was getting rather noisy, most of it murmuring about the match that had just taken place. Gossip spread fast in small towns, it seemed, and that caused a bit of an uproar. "Members of our guild are staying at an inn nearby. It's not the best of places, but it's out of the way and it's quiet. Follow me," he said, starting down the street that lead to the inn. It took them longer than expected, especially with the crowds and street vendors who had the bad habit of jumping in front of people to peddle their wares. When they arrived at the inn, a run down place that had seen better days, Djute led them inside and picked out a table near the door. He pulled out a chair for Yukaida before taking a seat for himself. An awkward pause followed. Eventually, Djute attempted to start a conversation. "So.... um.... what brings you this town?"

[Yukaida]

Yukaida allowed Djute to lead the way through the maddening crowd of people. There had to be hundreds of them, how did they even think with so little space? They moved into a simple looking building, and once inside Yukaida recognized the type. She wasn't good enough to know from the outside, but this was a gathering place. What did they call them? 'Ins?' She shook her heads out, no matter really. He'd mentioned a word she didn't understand, and she fully intended to ask him of it when he pulled out a chair for her. How odd, was that a show of subservience? Well, she may have been a dragon, but she didn't want humans treating her as something a hundred times greater then them, even though she may have been. To understand people you had to be as equals. That was the only way you saw the truth of them.

"Oh, you didn't need to do that." She said cheerfully as she sat down, thinking it would be rude to refuse his generosity. She was about to ask him her question when he shot one of his own, what brought her to this place? She paused for a second, knowing it would be quite silly to say she'd been following him. She turned as the other man, who had yet to give his name, sat down with them as well.

"Ah...I was just...in the area. All the noise attracted me." She said, gesturing outside, where the odd sounds of the wooden and metal contraptions could still be heard. "Oh, but before I forget, I had a pair of questions myself. One, what was your name again?" She asked to the green robed man who had proposed to her earlier. She wasn't sure what to think of him, but at least she could be polite. "And second, you mentioned this...um...'gild'? What is that?" She asked, clearly confused by the wording he had used.

[Zacharia]

Yukaida? Was that foreign? Zacharia was a mix of two names, although why he wasn't sure. More ancestory junk he'd never understand. He was separated from the others on the way into the inn, but it didn't take very long to catch up. The crowd was near the center of the town, and dwindled down to nearly nonexistent around the building. He pulled his hood down as they entered, grateful that the innkeeper let him wash his hair at three hours past midnight. As the woman put it, he desperately needed it. His hair didn't exactly "flow like a lion's mane" but it was better than walking around smelling like a corpse or three. He slid a chair from one of the adjacent tables over to join his companion and the mage. "Oh, but before I forget, I had a pair of questions myself. One, what was your name again?" Her way of speaking reminded him a little of a royal. None from here had actually spoken to him yet so he wouldn't know. "My name's Zach; don't think I've told you that yet. You have to tell me how you did that arm trick, Yukaida-" he mimicked her motions when she took the arm wrestler down, right down to slamming his fist on the table. If that stung, he showed no sign of pain.

"But really, you're a mage right? Your arm looks a little frail to be slamming someone over the side of a table." He meant that literally. Zacharia was positive that wasn't doable without some method of magic. Even the magic of cheating. He never was a good arm-wrestler.

[Garrett]

"I know what you mean, what's a festival without a little fun? I just wish I could have danced more, but for the little I did I enjoyed it. Thank you." He leaned back on the bench and looked out at the people having fun, feeling a bit envious but still content. He didn't want to admit it, but he was happy to have someone to talk to even if it meant that person isn't having as much fun as they could. He wasn't going to lie and say he was a riveting conversationalist, still it was nice to not be alone. "This is my first festival actually." He said with a grin, he looked at the pear down in his hand. He hadn't eaten it yet, but he would, eventually. "My home town had some, but I never really got a chance to attend." He could remember how it felt to stay inside every day while his brothers and sisters and father and even mother went off to join in the festivities, they got his grandmother to make sure he didn't leave. She wasn't an observant woman, and he could easily have snuck past, but he didn't want to do that to her. His family came back with souvenirs, he had countless souvenirs, but he didn't want those. He wanted to go his self. It was nice to finally have the chance.

Milly then told him a secret, which really didn't sound like much of a secret. He wondered why she wanted to keep the reason of her travels quiet, but really that was none of his business. If she said it was a secret, that was all there was to it, secrets deserve to be secret and everyone has their own. "That's incredible." He said, sounding awed at it, he's always been interested in the monsters, but never really even ever saw one. He only had the stories his father told him, about giant bat like gargoyles, and massive brutish cyclopes. "I don't know how you could do it, monsters are so dangerous." He looked up at the sky, falling to a flight of fancy where he could fight one of those things. Of course it was difficult to even imagine with all the weight of reality directly denying it. He turned his head to her, she didn't seem particularly intimidating, but he knew better then to judge someone based on appearances. "You must be really smart Milly. And really tough. I'm sure if anyone can figure it out, it's you." He's never heard of someone researching the monsters, and he's never actually met one either. The thought of it kind of scared him, she must be very brave and very tough.

"Me, I like travelling to see things." She didn't ask, but he felt like it was only fair to reveal some reason of his own. "There's so many people, so many things, places, towns, festivals like this, I want to see them. This world is so big, and it's always changing, and I want to see as much of it as I can." He looked up at the sky again, this time in wonder. Even if he lived as long as a dragon, he could never truly see everything. Things change, people change, what he sees one day may not be there the next. Still, it's better to try then to sit in bed wondering what is out there. He was still smiling when he looked back at his new friend. "I have no idea what the people of the past were like, but I hope you find what you want. There's nothing worse then having a question no one can answer."

[Djute]

Djute had to admit, he was rather surprised by her question. Even he, somebody who had only just found out that magic was real, knew what a guild was and had known since he was very young. Were there no guilds where she had come from? Or perhaps she had been so involved in her mage training that she had very little knowledge of the outside world. Either way, Djute had little room to judge. There was plenty left in this world that he had yet to discover. He would simply have to try his hardest to explain what a guild was. "A guild is..." he started, quickly realizing that he wasn't quite sure how to describe a guild. It was one of those things you learn early on and know for so long that it just becomes an inherent fact. And inherent facts were surprisingly hard to explain. "A guild is.... a group of people who.... who gather together to.... to, uh, achieve a specific goal. There's loads of different guilds. There's merchant guilds. They do a lot of trading, usually with one type of good. Then there's mercenary guilds, fighters for hire, essentially. There's also explorer's guilds. That's what we belong to. We generally map out new trade routes and try to figure out what's out here in the world. Right now, we're also supposed to be monitoring the Tarvos, but we've yet to see any."


Djute realized that he had probably said a little too much. He didn't suspect that Yukaida wished them any ill will, but the bandit attack that they had experienced the other night had left Djute a bit suspicious, especially after he had found the note. Plus, her reason for being in at the festival seemed a bit suspect. There was nothing else in the area of interest, and he highly doubted that she had just been wandering the wilderness. Still, he wasn't about to start throwing accusations around with so little evidence. Perhaps she would reveal more on her own time.

[Yukaida]

Zach...a simple name.  Humans were odd like that.  Some of their names were long and complicated, but others were short and to the point.  He seemed obsessed with her display earlier, but Yukaida put that thought on hold for a moment as Djute explained this 'gild' thing.  As he began to fumble through the explanation, realization dawned on her face.

"Ah!  You mean like the Hunters, right?  I met one of them a bit ago, I think I understand now.  A group of allies with a common goal, that is...very admirable."  She had been about to make a comment on how such coordination was one of humanities strengths, but decided that revealing her true nature now might not be wise.  She did not wish to scare these people.

So, they were explorers...well that explained what he was doing earlier, but that name he mentioned...she did not know what it was.  "The Tavros?"  She echoed, confused as her attention was pulled back to Zach who seemed to be a one track mind on the prospect of her power.  She sighed a little bit, but still smiled at his energy.  Well...if he really wanted to see that badly...

"The word you use is...unfamiliar to me, but I think we are speaking of the same thing."  She said, shifting the cloak back and holding out her two gloved hands.  She focused for a moment, and a small orb of purple light began to form between her hands, as if cradled there by some invisible strings.  However, this did not have the darkness inside it like Elder Magic did.  This energy gave off light, it felt almost warm as the power cascaded from her hands.  Small, restrained, but still almost invigorating as it stay there like a candle lit in a dark room.  She looked to Zach for a moment, as if letting him examine the power held in check before them.  "What you call a mage, that is one who can harness this force, yes?"  She asked, unsure that she was right with her terminology.  Nobody else in her family was able to do so the way she could, so she'd had very little exposure to others who really knew a lot about it.

[Zacharia]

"To be honest, we don't really know what they are either. They're some kind of horsepeople-monsters but that's all we know for sure. I bet if we asked around someone would know what one is. Maybe one of the merchants because I doubt there'd be any books on them around here." Zacharia explained. "Don't feel bad about not knowing what guilds are either, I didn't know till about a week or so ago." Djute neglected to mention one of the guilds, but it was better off not being said. Zach himself didn't know if they existed at all, but he tended to believe myths and legends until proven otherwise- the elusive Assassin Guilds. They were like über-mercenaries to sum it up. Penalty for associating with one of their factions was a gallows' sentence, or so he'd heard.

"Ooh.." It was a trick the dark mage had used the other night when he retired to his tent, but it was always stunning to see someone else do it. He took a page from the girl's book and conjured up his own rendition of the ball of light. The hues were radically different as were the energies they gave off, but both were mesmerizing in their own ways. He squashed the ball and let the "pieces" fall to the floor like blue confetti as they faded into the void. "Any type of magic you specialize in? Or are you a jack of all trades?" The only mages that could do that were either super powerful like Athos or Mage Dragons which were pretty rare; not like he'd ever seen one before.

[Yukaida]

Yukaida was having a hard time fielding Zach's questions.  They were so rapid fire, like a curious little child.  Which, she reminded herself, is exactly what humans were.  He asked about her magic, again.  Why would he keep asking these detailed questions when it was obvious she didn't use the same terms as he did for it?  Maybe she should just transform and answer that way, that would probably end the questions.

Oh who was she kidding?  He'd just be asking a hundred new ones, and she'd have made a huge scene.  "I'm not sure what you are asking me.  I've had no formal training in what I can do."  She explained to him, before deciding she would skillfully change the topic.  "There seems a lot going on here today, may I ask what is happening?"  She questioned, glancing out the door again at the commotion from outside.  "It's so loud, and the people seem so relaxed and happy.  Don't they have work to do?  It cannot possibly be like this every day?"  She questioned, observing the few people that were working.  They were almost all merchants, selling their wares to the people prancing about.  How absurd was this?

"I'm sorry, I've just never seen anything quite like this."  She said, not returning her gaze to the two.

[Djute]

Despite having seen Zach use magic before, Djute nearly leaped out of his chair when Yukaida summoned the purple orb between her hands. He silently hoped that he would stop having this reaction sooner rather than later. He did notice a subtle difference with the newcomers magic however. Where Zach's magic had felt completely wrong, this magic felt like the most comforting fire he had ever sat next to. If the magic's warmth was all he felt for the rest of his life, he would be content. Of course, the magic was snuffed out as quickly as it came, and Djute was left wanting. He was left in an almost trance-like state, until Yukaida asked her next question. Djute was getting really confused now. He could understand not knowing about guilds or mages, but what kind of person didn't know about festivals? There were festivals everywhere. People jumped at any opportunity to put their work aside for a day and just have fun. He loathed to think about a place where people only thought about their work and never took the time to be happy. Red flags were starting to go up in Djute's head and the confusion was starting to show in his expression. Who was this woman exactly? 

"This is a festival," Djute replied clearly. "People hold them to honor a certain event or time of the year. It's a time when everyone gets to take a break from working and enjoy life for a day. For most, it's all the have to look forward to from month to month. Of course, it's also a good time for merchants and farmers to peddle their wares. I can't believe you haven't heard of them. Festivals are celebrated all over the place. Do they not have them where you're from?" Djute asked, trying to keep from sounding accusatory. That brought another great question to his mind. "Actually, I don't believe you've told us where you're from. Would you care to tell us?"

[Yukaida]

So much of humanity was strange to Yukaida, but she recognized the expression on Djute's face.  Confusion and suspicion.  Clearly her lack of human knowledge was coming around to bite her, and her disguise was rapidly falling apart.  She pondered why she was even bothering to hide her nature.  I mean, would they get up and run away if they knew what she was?  They seemed like a decent sort...

Then again, those people in the other town probably would have seemed a 'decent sort' if she'd entered the town looking like this.  Humans were difficult to judge, and if the people here were happy in their 'festival', then she did not wish to disturb them.

"Er...no, I've never seen one.  I come from the mountains to the north, we don't get many visitors up that way."  She spoke, clearly a bit guarded about what she was saying now.  "I apologize if my ignorance in your customs has concerned you.  You are wise to have doubt, but I do not mean you or anyone else here any harm.  I am, as I said, merely exploring new things."  She glanced out the door again, eager for an escape from this kind of conversation, lest they think on it too much.

"So...what kind of things do people do at these...festivals?"  She asked, hoping the two would still indulge her to spite the oddity of her presence here.