There was an unbearable amount of liveliness at the fair. Even in the desert heat, people still managed to have fun. Haki only came because he hoped he might find something useful. One couldn’t write off even ridiculous things because you never knew what sort of gems you might find.
The puller male wore his usual regalia, dressed in the bones of a fallen foe, with a headdress of feathers, the sandstone vayron was a formidable creature. Some thought him a part of the fair, which was why he didn’t mind keeping it on. Although he sure was scaring children left and right.
It was a python male that pulled him aside.
“You can’t go out like that you idiot.”
Normally the tone would set Haki off, but he was feeling generous today as he practically purred in response.
“And prey tell what I should be wearing, hmm?”
With a roll of his eyes, and a flick of his glinted reptile tail, his new companion directed him to a gaudy tent with racks of clothes and boxes of accessories.
“Just fit in a bit better?”
Haki already saw a few vayrons within the tent, one was an eye bleeding sparkling rosette male whose opalescent coat just screamed pay attention to me.
“Oh come in! We have to find something more fun than death! Heck even some paint would totally make this better.” Haki didn’t seem to have a choice in the matter, as the jade colored male dragged him in.
To make matters worse, a droopy long eared tabby freak was coming into view, following behind the python male. If his ears were any longer, he would be tripping on them. The male seemed entranced by the boards displaying face paint options.
“Name’s Nephrite. That there is Astarot. We’re gonna do you up good, just you wait.”
What in the world did Haki get himself into?
***
The festival sparked with energy, there were so many lively reoseans, it had Ahote positively giddy with excitement. He hadn’t been to a festival this large since he was a pup, dancers and performers lined the streets, each one had a costume more elaborate than the last, they in themselves were works of art.
Ahote smiled as a few pups ran past him, nearly knocking into him but he managed to move from their path before they could successfully hit him. He remembered his first festival.
‘Oh how much fun it was,’ He thought to himself, reminiscing about the past.
The large tabby male continued forward when one of the tents caught his eye. It was by far one of the largest tents in the fair, and it was certainly the brightest of them all. It was filled to the brim with racks of costumes and accessories and outside of it stood an equally as eye-catching vayron. Said vayron had a python-like pattern down his back and a bright blue tail and he was pulling another sandstone colored male with bone armor into the tent; needless to say, Ahote’s curiosity was piqued.
Stepping into the tent, Ahote’s mouth dropped open at all the costumes and paint and colorful vayrons filling the tent. He spotted the mirror and jars of paint lining a table on the other side of the tent and immediately made a B-line for it. Before he could reach his destination though a smaller jade colored vayron stepped in front of him.
“Eyeballing the face paint eh? I’m sure we can fix you up with something real nice, but first we gotta get this big guy fixed up.” He gestured towards the larger sandstone male Ahote spotted as he walked into the tent.
‘This should be entertaining. That male definitely doesn't look happy.’ Ahote thought to himself as he eyed the puller who looked as though he could kill one of them.
***
Nephrite was aware that he caught attention. He spent more time trying to find accessories that accented his lovely sparkles, but nothing seemed to be as bright as he was. That’s when he found himself helping others more. He just had to help them out.
When chatting up the tabby male, Nephrite kept in mind colors that would look stunning with his lovely rosey coat. Some blues and purples to accent those eyes would be darling, but that was neither here nor there. The bone armored male was a fashion emergency. Who goes around in armor at a fair for Pete's sake?
The larger male muttered his name, and Astarot had to ask him to repeat it louder.
“It’s Haki!” He grumbled and let the bones be removed, placed into a bag for safekeeping.
“Oh but you are so plain. There’s so much potential!” Nephrite positively squealed as he saw the blank canvas before him. The larger male rolled his eyes but stood proudly. There was a scary glint to those orbs, but Nephrite chose not to dwell on it.
The python male tossed a flower crown over the puller’s ears. They hadn’t removed his bone earring, but that wasn’t too bad of a clash. Perhaps no one would even notice it?
“Come on, surely you have some ideas as well?” The opal male inquired of his new tabby companion, as he held up different broaches to see which would match the fur best.
***
Ahote’s eyes lit up at the prospect of getting to help decorate the larger male in front of him. He excitedly looked through the racks of costumes to find something that would match the flower crown placed upon the male whose name he came to find out was Haki. He sifted through dozens of capes, dresses and costume pieces before he found the perfect one; it was a large orange and red cape that looked like flames were flowing off of it. It would definitely fit his personality, that’s for sure.
“Try this one maybe.” he said, holding it up to the sandstone puller.
“Ohh what a wonderful choice! What’s your name by the way dearie?” The small jade colored vayron known as Nephrite asked Ahote excitedly.
“I’m Ahote.” The tabby male said somewhat shyly to the vayron in front of him.
“Well Ahote, While Astarot gets Haki over here finished, why don't I get you all painted up. I can tell you are absolutely itching to get some paint on you!” Nephrite exclaimed loudly with an excited grin on his face.
Ahote sat down on the stool next to the table with paints and closed his eyes as the jade vayron got to work painting his face. The paint was cold as it brushed over his skin, it made him giddy at the thought of what may be painted on him, it was like he was just a pup all over again.
“Okay open your eyes and see what you think!” Nephrite spoke in excitement.
Opening his eyes he grinned at the sight he saw. He had spirals of color all over his face, blues, purples and greens flowed over his face accentuating the curves and bone structure of his face. The thing that tied everything together was placed on his head by the jade vayron, a white flower crown. He was ready for this festival.
Haki found he couldn’t get away from these weirdos. The cape of flames was quite attractive on him, and he continued to wear it through the fair, although he put most of his bones back on him but kept them under it. It was a bit hot in the desert, but he didn’t mind.
The opal and that tabby continued to follow him, as did the python male. They were chattering aimlessly over each other as he led the way. Peons clearly. He was a male of importance and they merely were just infatuated with his dominating personality.
There was a crash nearby and he didn’t pay it any mind until the others diverted off to go check it out. He frowned, not caring what was going wrong, but realized he didn’t want his followers to leave, so with a sigh he decided to go find them, but stay at a distance.
One of the stalls had crashed down, the sign laying in the walkway, some bits of the vendor’s work tossed around. It was a young vay, clearly inexperienced, and probably rushed to get it done. Figures. There was a small crowd of reoseans, and he saw his new companions pushing forward. Ugh.
Seeing the bright flashy opal male lead the way, Haki hung back, swiping a cookie from the ground that had fallen with the vendor’s stall.
Nephrite on the other hand, led his new companions forward. He had a few jewels still in his mane from the costume tent, and he sparkled more than normal, definitely a beacon as they moved forward. Between that and Astarot’s reptile tail, the trio of males made it easily to the front of the crown to the falling apart stall.
***
Ahote walked through the fair with Nephrite by his side chatting his ear off, while he was shy at first, Ahote was slowly warming up to these vayrons. Well, Haki is a bit of a different story but he amused Ahote with his personality. Said vay was currently strutting in front of the group like he was a king, he clearly approved of Ahote’s cape choice seeing as he still had it on. Ahote chuckled to himself about the silly sandstone vayron when a loud crash drew him out of his thoughts.
Looking towards the source of the noise he saw a vayron surrounded by a broken down stall. The sign was in the road and the vendor looked to be on the verge of tears. Ahote nearly cried just seeing the poor vayron’s face. Completely forgetting about his companions he pushed through the crowd that started to gather and rushed over to the broken stall.
“Are you okay? Can I help you?” Ahote spoke softly to the younger vay as he bent down to be closer. He would help in any way he could.
Looking back towards his companions he saw they had joined him at the stall. Haki looked less than thrilled to be there but Nephrite looked concerned along with Astarot. Ahote told the three males behind him to start putting the stall back together while he made sure the vendor was alright.
“I’m okay, just a few scrapes. I have got to stop being so clumsy.” the vendor said with a big sigh. It was clear this wasn't the first time this has happened to him.
***
Nephrite couldn't care less that Haki hung back. He was a large puller and could clearly pull his weight, but the other male seemed more than content to watch. While Ahote worked to calm the vendor and address if he had any wounds, Nephrite rounded up Astarot and the two of them set to work seeing what they could do on the stall.
He looked over the crowd that had gathered, and whistled sharply to get Haki’s attention.
“Get your large ass and go find some tools. I’m sure someone else has a hammer or nails we can use.”
The sandstone puller looked shocked that someone would dare talk to him like that, but Nephrite just tilted his neck a bit, flashing his jewels into the other male’s eyes to get him to back down. Grumbling, Haki trotted off, and Nephrite grinned as he turned back to the stall.
Ahote seemed to have things under control with the vendor, sufficiently calming him and reassuring him that everything would be alright. He was a shy but sweet vay, and Nephrite saw himself being quite a good friend to have.
Astarot had started picking up pieces, lining things up and figuring out what went best together. Sand dusted the boards and things that had fallen, so they were taking care to dust them off. A few bystanders had gathered up the little bags of baked goods, sorting them out best they could, and offering to buy them because they still taste good even when crushed and melted from the desert heat.
Haki finally returned and slapped down some tools, striding off to stand a bit away. He glared at anyone who came too near. While not directly being involved, he did keep people from trying to get too close and taking advantage of the situation, which was useful to some extent.
***
In very little time with their combined team work they got the vendor’s stand up and back together as if it had never happened. Ahote grinned to himself at the group's hard work, it's amazing what a few vays can do when they work together.
“There! Your stand is all back up and ready for the fair! “ He said proudly to the younger vayron.
“Thank you so much! I wouldn't be able to sell here if it weren't for your kindness. Please take some of these as a payment for your help.” The vendor nearly cried happily to the boys in front of him.
He tried to give them bags of treats and sweets that he’s made but Ahote didn't want to accept them. He just wanted to help; he didn't expect any sort of payment in return. The vendor wouldn't give up that easily though, when Ahote was distracted, the vendor slipped his treats to Nephrite who promised to make Ahote take the treats before they moved on to see what else the fair had in store for them.
As stomachs rumbled, the group of male vays found their way to the aisles of stalls and vendors selling various food and treats. Nephrite chattered with his new companions, even though Haki tended to leave them alone. Astarot often was the only one keeping the conversation going, with the larger puller being anti-social and the tabby being more on the shy side.
Nephrite nabbed some lemonade for them to tide them over until they decided what to eat, when he noticed the sandstone puller was conveniently missing. Whatever, he could miss out on some lemonade, the rest of them would split his. He was sour enough already.
Astarot drank his as is, and Nephrite sweetened his with quite a lot of sugar. While the three found a shady spot to drink, they enjoyed the hot desert sun in relative coolness under the palms.
A commotion drew their attention away, Ahote noticing it first and pointing it out to the other two. As they stood to get a better look, they found their missing companion running towards them laughing. Haki bolted behind them, ducking down so that the runners were a bit taller. While the three of them questioned what he was doing, it soon became apparent as an ice cream cone splattered across Astarot’s face, dripping to the sand. The glinted male stood shocked for a minute, before Nephrite called it as he saw it.
“Food fight!”
***
Ahote wasn't quite sure how it got started but now food was being thrown around everywhere. He tried his hardest to avoid the flying desserts and other questionable things being tossed everywhere around them, but his large form made it difficult. He had gotten hit with a few things already, so far it looked to be jelly, ice cream, and what he assumed to be pie crust was already sticking in his coat.
‘I'm going to guess Haki is the source of this chaos. I’m going to have to get him back for this.’ Ahote grumbled to himself as he crawled along the ground to avoid the flying snacks.
In his attempt to get somewhere away from the pandemonium, he found a huge pie that was covered in whipped cream, so much so it looked like it was only made of the creamy dessert. Grinning to himself, he knew exactly what he was going to do with this.
He picked the pie up with his paw and looking around, he spotted other members of their small group going full force in this fight. Nephrite looked to be covered in sprinkles and cake icing, Astarot was trying so hard to duck under a picnic table but still got hit with flying food. Haki, the vayron he was looking for, was hiding behind a tree seemingly still untouched by the pastries. Ahote noticed the large vayron peeking his head to watch the anarchy he started, which gave Ahote the opening he needed to enact his revenge; reeling his paw back as far as he could, he launched the pie in the air at Haki. It landed with a loud satisfying smack right on his face, the sound was so loud the chaos seemed to stop for a moment as everyone held their breath. The biggest vayron of the group had been hit, no one had dared hit him yet even though he had started it all. This would be interesting.
***
Haki was enjoying the chaos when the largest whipped pie landed smack dab in the middle of his face. He went from staring in disbelief, to snarling - the expression not at all scary with whipped cream dripping from his face. The hoots and the howls of laughter only made him madder, and he was looking for the idiot that dared bring him into this. He only started the chaos, he didn’t participate.
The look on the freaky eared male’s face was enough to confirm that it was the tabby who tossed the pie. Oh it was on.
He slunk away, pretending to be annoyed and leaving the battlefield, despite protests from Nephrite and Astarot, among others. Astarot was using his reptile-like tail to toss extra pieces, so he was a bit further ahead in the game than others.
Bullying his way to a food stand, he ordered tons of fries and hot dogs, covered in vinegar and ketchup and mustard and relish. Perfect. Holding the loaded tray in his mouth, the puller tried to sneak back to the fray as sneakily as he could, and once in position, sat down behind a bench to take aim.
His paws flew furiously as he tossed fries like tiny missiles, hot dogs like grenades. He made sure to target each of his companions, punishment for dragging him into this, and then hitting others for good measure. Rainbow mess from his various condiments dotted everyone's sides. A plus to this was his opal companion no longer sparkled and blinded those who looked at him for too long.
***
The large pink tabby held a smug look on his face when he saw Haki’s reaction to the pie in the face. When he saw that the sandstone male slunk away he knew he was up to something. As the war continued, more and more of the vayrons became painted with the colors of the food. The amount of vayrons in the fight had grown too, what started at half a dozen has grown close to twenty or so reoseans. No one seemed to be truly angry though, everyone had smiles on their face and seemed to be genuinely having fun which warmed Ahote’s heart.
Narrowing his eyes he spotted Haki slinking over to a bench across the field, he saw the glint of a tray in the males mouth and knew he had something planned. Ahote looked to his left and saw a very large cake that looked to be made of jello and any kind of sticky syrup you could ever imagine, and it was covered in some dirt. It was perfect for what Ahote had planned.
He stalked over to the bench slowly carrying the sticky plate without being seen by the larger male, he waited quietly in the bush next to the bench while the male threw his hotdogs at all the competitors of the game. In just a few minutes Haki ran out of his ammunition and Ahote saw his opening. Leaping from behind the bush, Ahote launched his dessert at Haki and hit him square on the back. The dessert splattered his sand colored coat in a mix of greens and browns from the syrup and the jello. The force of the impact sent the male sputtering to the ground in defeat.
“Enjoy your dessert Haki.” Ahote said smugly standing behind the vayron as he slowly pulled himself off the ground to see who had attacked him.
***
Nephrite knew when Haki had been beaten. The large puller had for sure pelted the rest of them, but seeing Ahote get him back one last time, that was enough to leave everyone laughing.
As the food was running out on everyone, although the vendors for sure weren’t out of food, everyone else was running out of steam, especially in the desert heat. Sure more reos might duck in, but it was time for their little group to get going.
Nephrite rounded up his little gang, including the moping Haki, and decided to take them to go find some place to wash up. Surely there were hoses near some of the animals. Astarot helped cover their rear, his tail whipping around to block any more incoming missiles, as the group decided to find more entertainment elsewhere.
The fair was proving to be a source of entertainment for nearly everyone. Haki was the odd one out. He looked so satisfied after his little dress up time, but after that, it all went downhill as he grew more and more grumpy.
Nephrite attempted to cheer him up, reciting poems and songs he knew, and Astarot tried finding other foods or games he might like. They seemed to be hitting a dead end until Ahote pointed out some games that did seem right up his alley.
Games of strength, games of skill. That seemed to be the sort of thing just right for the grumpy male.
He hemmed and hawed, hesitating. Nephrite saw right through his theatrics, and decided to lead the way.
Haki was determined to show off to the other males, and Nephrite knew they had him right where they needed to get him back in a more pleasant state of mind. That bone wearing puller gave him the creeps when he was bad moody.
Astarot picked out what looked like an easy game. A line of coconuts sat on poles. A humanoid or reo just had to toss a tennis ball and knock down a coconut. It required some skill and hand or paw to eye coordination, and a little bit of strength. Perfect for the sandstone striped puller to show off.
When he lined up his first toss however, the ball fell short. That didn’t deter Haki, he seemed more than ready to shell out a few more tickets to prove how good he was.
The second shot hit a coconut, but barely even moved it.
Looking back at them, Haki handed tickets to the rest of them.
“Alright then, you guys try. I can’t be the only one.”
***
Ahote stepped up to the counter after seeing Nephrite and Astarot not stepping up immediately. Hopefully his throwing skills were still up to par with how they were in the food fight or else he was about to embarrass himself big time.
Grabbing a ball in his paw he reeled his leg back as far as he could and threw a ball to the coconut directly in the center. The ball hit the coconut directly but only made it sway slightly. Grunting to himself, Ahote grabbed another ball to try again. Whipping his arm back and throwing the ball with all his strength towards the coconuts, it hit right on target but again the coconut barely swayed. Ahote’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. ‘Something’s fishy here.’ Ahote thought to himself.
“There’s no way that coconut should still be up, I threw that ball as hard as I could.” He spoke aloud and looked to the group behind him.
“Here one of you two try to throw it.” He said, gesturing for Nephrite and Astarot to step up to the counter.
Maybe it's just him? Maybe all the throwing from the food fight wore him out more than he thought. Or……..maybe the games were rigged.
***
Nephrite could tell by Haki’s growing irritation that something wasn’t entirely right. He let Astarot take a turn first, and then the sparkle boy himself tried, but both of them tossed shots that were to no avail.
“Maybe we should just move on from this one.” Astarot tried to suggest, but their sandstone friend was not having any of it.
If Nephrite thought he was scary before, that was nothing to compare to the fury that was Haki.
“LET ME BACK THERE, I'LL PROVE THE DAMN THINGS ARE GLUED ON!!!”
The vendor of the stall was doing his best to keep Haki from pushing his way to the back of the game, and Nephrite was torn between wanting to help the vendor, and letting Haki have his way. If the large male could prove the game was made impossible, well the fair runners should know that people were being cheated out of their money and tickets.
Astarot moved to assist the vendor, but Nephrite held out a paw, deciding to let the puller push his way through.
It was just as suspected when Haki finally shoved the vendor out of the way. The coconuts were attached to the pole by a rod drilled into them, causing them to wobble but not fall. When the male shoved one off to show those assembled, he didn’t stop there, pulling all the coconuts down.
“You fucking cheat!”
When Haki started to wheel on the vendor, that’s when the opal and python males stepped in to stop him.
***
Ahote's eyes widened at Haki's actions. His methods were slightly extreme but it was good he did that or else more fair goers would be conned out of their hard earned money.
"Haki that's enough you don't need to destroy the entire stand. We can just go tell the organizers of the fair and the authorities about what this guy's doing. They will decide a fitting punishment for him." Ahote told the larger male calmly.
Stepping forward to the stand, Ahote grabbed two large plushies sitting on the shelf above the game, one a red dragon and one green fluffy dragon. He handed the red dragon to Haki calmly and turned back to the vendor.
"You can keep our money but we're taking these. We definitely would have won the game had it not been for your con." Ahote spoke to him. Turning around he motioned to the group to follow him towards the nearest help stand leaving the con artist to stare in shock at the events that just occurred.
Nephrite found that the fair worked up a heck of an appetite. They had stopped for food multiple times throughout the day, and even now he was thinking about more food. His companions must be thinking the same, as they hadn’t entirely been resting today.
It wasn’t the main thing he was going for, but he kept his eyes peeled for anything that might be a nice snack to toss on his stomach. He heard a large belly grumble, and he suspected that the sandstone puller might get a bit hangry,
It was Astarot who caught sight of perhaps a delightful vendor. The python marked puller spotted a sign.
“Hey, it says free food!”
Nephrite raised his brows. Free? What vendor could possibly be giving away free things without some sort of catch?
Still, it caught the attention of his companions, and he noticed his pink friend had perked up his ears, the other male slowly working his way forward at the python's prompting.
Well, if it was free, it wouldn’t be bad to try it right?
***
Ahote’s stomach growled loudly as they passed the different food booths, there were so many different ones it was going to be difficult to decide what to eat. While yes, the group had eaten several times during the day, he for some reason still wasn't full. Maybe it's because he's a big vayron and big vays had big appetites.
Ahote’s head perked up as one of his companions mentioned food. Looking around to where they were headed, he spotted the sign they were talking about. The vendor had a large booth with several plates that were topped with silver covers so he couldn't see what was on the plates. Astarot had led the way and was right up at the front, Haki close behind.
‘Oh boy, free food? I don't know if I trust that. Why on earth would it be free? What does the vendor get out of it?’ Ahote thought to himself. ‘Maybe it would be best to let Haki try the food first, he seems to have the toughest stomach of them all with all the things he's consumed throughout the day.’
“I really hope this doesn't bite us in the butt,” Ahote spoke to Nephrite quietly as they finally approached the stand.
“Can I interest you boys in some fine cuisine? I can personally guarantee you’ve never had food like this before!” A very flamboyant and bright vayron exclaimed to the group as he gestured towards the covered dishes.
“Possibly. But first tell me this, what’s the catch?” Nephrite said, stepping forward to be at the front of the group. The two larger males looked at them curiously, neither of them clearly had thought of a catch.
***
Haki was a bit miffed that the shiny brat mentioned there being a catch first. Still, he was right, there had to be one.
“Why, the only catch here is that you have to catch what’s on your plate. Eat the most and win a prize you see. Are you willing to try?”
The puller brute shoved his way past his companions, pushing Astarot aside to make sure he was there first, before lifting the lid off one of the platters to see for himself.
The vendor wasn’t joking about having to literally catch things. Not only was there live insects mixed in, but there was a pail of tentacles that legit looked like they were moving in the bucket.
Haki was going to walk away from this one until he saw the looks on his companions faces. Astarot had an almost morbid curiosity to him, while both Ahote and Nephrite looked downright disgusted. Oh perfect.
"Alright, I'll take you on."
The sandstone puller swiped a stick that had cobwebs and spiders on it like some disgusting cotton candy imitation, and took a bite, staring his comrades down. Astarot wasn't going to back down, and grabbed a caramel apple that looked rotten to the core and even had a worm wiggling in it, and bit down with his eyes closed.
***
Ahote shivered in disgust as he saw the tentacles and live bugs moving around in the buckets. He was hungry but not hungry enough for that, not to mention he wasn't a fan of seafood. He would definitely let the pullers take this challenge.
“Thank’s but no thanks. I’m uh not that hungry anymore. You got this though guys.” he said hesitantly to the group still grimacing at the buckets.
The pink tabby almost gagged when he saw Haki pick up the stick with spiders and cobwebs on it. Spider’s were a big no for Ahote, they always sent shivers down his spine and made his skin crawl at the sight of them. The worm that Astarot had just slurped down made Ahote gag, and he was convinced the other males had much stronger stomachs than he. Shaking his head he backed up a few steps, there was no way he was going to eat anything this vendor had here. He’d rather not die today.
“Have fun Haki…..” the male told the other puller sarcastically. He definitely was an odd vayron if he’d willingly try that so-called food. At least Astarot had what resembled food, although the grimace on his face told Ahote that he wasn't enjoying it any more.
Nephrite stepped forward slightly hesitantly to the stand and grabbed what looked like a jar of slugs and eyeballs? ‘Oh gosh there was no way. Was he actually going to eat the eyeballs?’ yep that was it for Ahote, there was no way he was going to be watching these lunatics eat this stuff.
“Yea have fun boys, I'm just gonna go wait over here away from this place just uh meet up with me when you’re done.” He said cringing as Haki took a particularly large bite of cobwebs into his mouth. Whatever appetite he had before he came to this booth was completely gone and now his stomach was churning.
***
Nephrite had enough of watching the boys eat that disgusting stuff. He had originally gotten closer to inspect some of the food, before getting the hell out himself after seeing the nasty expression on Astarot's face. He started to walk over to where Ahote was standing, when he noticed something really odd. The vendor was spending a lot of time concentrating on the food and the participants.
He wandered around the back of the stall, and picked up a small stone. Carefully, he lobbed it, hitting the vendor on the flank. He made sure not to hit too hard, just enough to distract him momentarily.
When the vendor jumped to see what stung him, Nephrite caught a glance of the food waver, and for a moment, the mud pie with wiggling worms was a tin of pudding with gummies in it. The vendor was a mentalist!
Confident he had the trick figured out, Nephrite sauntered up to the front. It still seemed real and disgusting bugs, but he knew it was safe for anyone who was braving and daring enough. He wondered if Astarot or Haki had figured it out or not as they continued to eat the food.
Wandering back to Ahote, he smiled, and whispered in his friend’s ear what he had seen. It didn’t make the sight much better, but his stomach turned a little less knowing his friends weren’t eating nasty bugs.
When Haki returned with his prize, having clearly eaten more than anyone else, including Astarot who had given up partway through, the opal decided he wasn’t going to tell Haki if he didn’t know. The brute could take care of himself.
Even though they had been there a while, the group of males were still struggling from time to time to get around. The entire place existed in multiple places at once, and was large enough to actually be called a world fair. Nephrite in particular kept finding himself turned around, and he didn’t doubt his other companions were the same, even if Haki refused to say otherwise.
The opal couldn’t even remember what they were looking for anymore, after a half dozen wrong turns and walking into a handful of wrong tents.
Astarot then had a brilliant idea. “Hey guys, I remember a sign when I first came in. If you summoned them, one of the creatures that created this fair can show you around.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this before we got lost.” The sandstone puller snapped at the python marked vay, who shrugged it off like it was nothing.
“You didn’t ask.”
Nephrite had to hide a smirk, and knew Ahote was doing the same.
“Alright then, you know what to do, why don’t you do the honors?” The open gestured to Astarot, letting him go ahead.
“Alright then. Here goes. Hey Gwen, can we get a tour?”
As if by magic, a small chaser appeared in a puff of glitter next to the larger puller. She had three tails, and literal stars in her eyes as her entire pelt sparkled like Neph's.
“You rang?”
***
Ahote snickered at Astarot’s response to Haki’s rudeness. The python marked male always had hilarious remarks prepared for Haki, and they always seemed to shut him up. Ahote jumped slightly when the bright colored chaser popped up next to the taller male. He hadn’t expected her to appear so suddenly. He chuckled at his own reaction along with Haki’s. The sandstone puller hadn't expected her so suddenly either and jumped more than Ahote had.
“Would you have some time to give us a tour?” The pink puller asked the small vayron in front of them.
“Why of course I can! You kids are going to love the fair! There are so many exciting sights to see.” Gwen spoke cheerily to the group.
The sparkly female bounced up and down in excitement. The group smiled at her enthusiasm, it was contagious. Soon enough the group of males were also bouncing in place. Everyone was excited to see what other sights this fair had to offer. Even the seemingly always grumpy Haki seemed to be excited.
“Well what are we waiting for? Let’s get goin’!” Ahote said with a grin.
***
Haki was a bit surprised at the sudden appearance of the chaser. He suspected the fair was magical, but being able to summon one of the caretakers was pretty interesting, and surprising. Were they as much a part of the fair as the events themselves?
Nevertheless, the little chaser bounced ahead as she started chattering.
“Mr. Plum and I had the idea for this fair and it’s so nice to see it come together! So anyway, we try to keep things grouped together, like all the food in one place, all the games in another, but we have spread out some food stands throughout the place so that everyone always has access to sustenance!”
When Gwen started to point out things here and there, it seemed to almost make a map in Haki’s mind, clearly more magic at play, not that he would complain. Floppy ears was trotting alongside the chaser, with sparkle pelt on the other side. The two of them clearly had made good friends of each other throughout the day.
Astarot found himself walking back more in pace with Haki himself. While he wasn’t entirely pleased with the other male’s presence, it also was a comfort in a way. At least someone of the group seemed to have some sense, even if the excitement of the tiny chaser was contagious.
The two ahead kept chattering with Gwen, asking questions that came to mind. Thankfully the fair was loud in general, so they mostly drowned out.
“You don’t seem the fun loving type, at least not this kind of fun. So why are you here Haki?”
The question from the python puller threw him off guard, and Haki squinted as he glanced at him.
Thankfully he didn’t have to answer as Nephrite bounded up to them, Ahote right behind him.
“Come check it out! Gwen was showing us this cool trick you could do to change what area you perceive! It’s like you can visit other lands!”
***
Ahote stood beaming alongside Gwen and Nephrite as the green vayron excitedly shared this new information about the chaser's trick. For Ahote the fair looked as if it was in Vitalus, one of his favorite lands besides his home continent of Thedale. He always had a soft spot for the floating lands and the crystals that were scattered through the lands. He had visited there several times and it was like a second home to him now, especially now that his love lived there.
“Wow.” Gwen's magic made Ahote speechless.
Only able to utter the one phrase he spun in place as he took in the fair that looked like it was taking place in Vitalus even though Ahote knew he was actually in Thedale. His companions seemed to be equally as stunned by the small vayrons magical capabilities. He wondered where they saw the fair taking place in their eyes.
“You and Mr. Plum made this all by yourselves? This is so amazing Gwen! You guys are so talented! I can't believe I get to see how the fair looks in Vitalus!” Ahote gushed smiling down at the colorful female.
All his companions had stars in their eyes as they wandered around the small area they were in when Gwen displayed her mind blowing magic to them. Even Haki, the seemingly always grumpy male has a small smile on his face as he explored the new sights. Nephrite seemed to be frozen in place as he looked around the fair and Astarot seemed to be testing the bounds of the illusion. The python male seemed to be trying to go as far as he could to see if it was an illusion in a certain area around the chaser and so far it seemed as if it was one that covered the entirety of the fair.
“Thank you for the tour Gwen! We really enjoyed it and the fair you guys have created!” Ahote spoke happily to her since it seemed as if his companions were not going to be doing any talking any time soon.
Haki was starting to grow bored of this little group, and kept thinking about branching off. Once he started hearing the sparkling lighthouse singing under his breath as they passed some attractions, he knew what little patience he had was running thin. Perhaps he should just go home. The desert sun was indeed a bit like home, but something about the magic of this place made it feel not quite right.
He wasn’t the only one who caught the singing though, as the snake patterned reptile tail noticed it too. That hairless weirdo was the one Haki could find himself associating with the most outside of this, but that was still a stretch.
“Hey! That’s pretty good! Neph you should sing!” Oh great, there goes brute for brains piling on the compliments. Just wait, weird ears would be saying something too at this rate.
“Thank you! But I don’t think I’m that good.” Good, at least someone here had common sense.
“No Neph, he might be right, and look, you’re sparkling!” When pinky pointed that out, Haki did take notice. Sure as shit, the green fool seemed to be sparkling with his singing. Hot damn.
“You’re coming with me! We need to get you up there! There’s plenty of stages for people to perform as they go through the fair!” Astarot dragged Neph to the closest area with stages, and Haki considered taking this point to ditch them.
But he couldn’t be outdone. He too was a decent singer, and he was going to prove it to these fools.
***
The shimmering of the jade colored vayron’s coat was the first thing he noticed, then he heard the singing coming from the smallest male. The louder the male sang, it seemed, the brighter his coat shimmered. ‘Amazing.’ Ahote thought. He had never seen something like that before.
“You definitely need to get on one of those stages, you're going to be glowing brighter than the sun soon!” He told the male excitedly.
Ahote trotted behind the group, to say he was excited would be an understatement. If Nephrite would sing on stage, then maybe he could dance. No one really knew this but he absolutely loved to dance. His mother was a performer and taught him everything she knew. He even knew how to breathe fire and dance with the fire.
Looking around behind the stage Astarot dragged the jade colored vayron to Ahote instantly spotted a pair of batons and fluid meant specifically for fire dancing. He grinned in excitement. The boys would freak out once they saw what he could do. Ahote chuckled to himself at the thought of Haki potentially getting scared at the sudden fire.
The pink tabby puller prepped all the materials he needed while Nephrite warmed up with Haki and Astarot. Shuffling through the other materials backstage he found some sashes and colorful paint to adorn his body along with a large feathered headdress that pulled the outfit together perfectly.
***
With his new friends dragging him along, Neph couldn’t say no. Astarot would play bodyguard at the end of the stage, and tried to convince Haki to join in.
“But I want to sing too!”
“Don’t upstage the kids, you can go later!”
With a grumble, Haki settled into a bodyguard role astride the other puller. He did have a trick of his own, and he pulled the bones he wore off. Soon they were standing on their own, and a third body was there to keep people away from the stage.
Necromancy.
The idea made Neph shudder, and even Astarot flinched when the bony creature sat too close for comfort.
“Geeze, you don’t half ass things do you?”
Haki only grinned at the python puller’s response, and Neph had to take some deep breaths to calm himself.
Ahote finally finished what he was doing, thankfully missing the necromantic show of magic, and dressed in a flamboyant fashion.
“Never thought I’d see you stand out like this.” Neph smiled at the pink male, and took a few deep breaths.
“I don’t know what you plan on doing, but let’s make this a show to remember.”
Astarot brought forward a microphone, and slapped him on the back. “You guys got this.”
With that, he launched into a few warm up melodies as a crowd slowly gathered.
***
As Nephrite sang the enchanting melodies to the crowd, Ahote flew across the stage elegantly twirling his flaming batons in his paws. He tuned all the noise around him out except for the jade vayrons voice. He let the sound guide his movements, not even thinking about what dance moves to make.
The crowd oohed and ahhed at the duo on stage. They were awestruck at the talent these two possessed, and together they put on a show that had them mesmerized. Haki and Astarot were shocked at their new friends' hidden talents, although the former tried not to let it show how impressed he was, it still leaked through in his expression.
Ahote could only imagine that the big sand colored puller was grumbling to himself about them showing off and how he would put on a better show than them. Ahote would definitely be interested in seeing what he could do.
Turning his attention back to the stage he was on, he saw Nephrite’s coat steadily getting brighter and brighter as he continued to sing. The opalescent patterning on his coat shone a gorgeous jade color. Ahote had no clue how it was happening but he wouldn't question it so he continued to dance with the fire.
***
Nephrite barely noticed Ahote out of the corner of his eye. The dances he did catch though were fantastic, his talent with fire as magical as Haki’s necromancy. At this point, only he and Astarot seemed to be magicless, unless the python marked male pulled some out of nowhere.
Still, the two pullers did a good job keeping others away from the stage. Nephrite didn’t mind singing with a crowd around him, but Ahote might not do well if anyone got too close. Fire and eccentric dance moves were not a good mix with strangers to the routine.
Haki’s skeletal guard probably scared away a few more people than it should have, but oh well.
As the party winds down to a close, And the skies glow bright with stars, It is here I find that inside my heart, No matter where we are, we’re home.
He knew his coat was sparkling. He knew that the opals returned with music, but he never realized how much he could make them shine. Being here with friends, singing and dancing and fire play, inspiring hearts and listening to the cheers, he truly was home.
On top of that, Astarot might have turned out to be one of their biggest fans. He spent more time facing them and cheering than he did keeping those away from the stage, which happened inadvertently when he stood so close, bouncing, and his tail whipping back and forth, keeping distance around him cleared.
Haki would surely show him up later, which Neph was more than ready to see, but for now, it was Ahote and the opal’s turns, and they were going to perform their hearts out.
Lissana had dragged Shaa along when she heard there would be a petting zoo. Of course she just had to go see the cute animals, and she was not taking no for an answer. Not that he would dare tell her no - today was all about having fun. He had made some friends along the way, and found time just to enjoy stuff with her as well, along with some shenanigans with his friends.
So they headed to the pens of animals, and he was worried about scaring the kids that might be there. They had mostly avoided activities that might have a bunch of those, as a dark elf and a red glowing eyed vay were likely to stand out mighty fine. Thankfully the fair atmosphere had soothed most people’s prejudices, and there were a fair few others that were odd around here that might get stared at otherwise. The fair was for the wacky and fun loving, so the winged vayrons and the horned creatures were nothing too terribly out of the ordinary. In fact, Shaa and Lissana almost blended right in.
The elf led the way in line, waiting quite impatiently, very abnormal for her. She kept rising to her tip toes and settling down to the heels, as if trying to see up further, or prepping for a run. Her antics amused Shaa, and it made him feel young again. She only grew more excited with each sound she heard, a donkey’s bray, a chicken’s cluck, a calf’s moo.
Behind him, he heard a small commotion.
“What the hell is your problem? Necromancer remember? I like dead things, not living ones!”
“Oh Haki, come on, you’re gonna love it!”
Glancing back, Shaa was easily able to identify the speakers. There was another vay that would turn heads normally - a large puller, dressed in bones and with a serious grump face. He was as sandy colored as Shaa had heard Thedale described, and he did not look pleased. The other reo on the other hand, was just as sparkling as his voice, with opalescent markings under rosettes in his hide.
***
Haki was not having it. He had lost the floppy eared idiot not lomg ago, and even ditched the python puller too. But getting rid of this sparkling nuisance was proving to be difficult. He was just so optimistic and cheery, and didn’t seem to give up. Haki had no clue how they ended up in front of the petting zoo - it was exactly where he didn’t want to be.
There was an excited squeal from a humanoid up ahead. He snorted as he watched her and her dark companion walk into the pen. With enough people having left, Haki and the flashlight were ushered through, where Neph went to work finding everything cute to cuddle with.
Haki though stood back and just glared at anything that got too near him. Most things seemed to get the idea, but there was a pair of goats that was not leaving him alone. He was far taller than them, but he saw them reaching for the feathers on his headdress to bite at them, and as it was, they tried to nibble on his tail.
“Hey! Cut it out already!”
He whipped said tail back and forth, and looked around. No one else seemed to be having any problem with the animals, just him. Not the dark human, Neph, the glowing eyed freak, or anyone else. What made him so special? He didn’t even like the things! He shooed them away, perhaps kicking one of the goats a bit too harshly.
It was then the turkey appeared. He could have probably eaten it minus the tail in a bite, but when it came charging at him for disturbing her flock (and the entire petting zoo of animals was her flock), suddenly she was the scariest thing in the world as she chased him around the pen to the amusement of those gathered.
***
Neph couldn’t help but laugh at Haki’s predicament. That was karma for ya, and it made him joyous as he gently stroked the back of a baby bunny.
It was then he was approached by the dark elf.
“Umm, excuse me, is that … real?”
He didn’t really understand her words, but the larger runner next to her kindly translated, and a slender finger of hers pointed towards his sparkling hide.
“Yes! Do you want to touch?”
Clearly that was the right thing to say, as she squealed and shyly approached, her fingers finally touching and running through his short and sparkling fur.
“Thank you-” She was clearly hesitant on what to call him, and he just smiled.
“Nephrite, but you can call me Neph. Or any variation of sparkling names. The grumpy one over there being chased is my friend Haki. Well I didn’t know him before the fair, but I’m determined to make sure he has fun.”
The elf nodded and supplied her name. “I’m Lissana, and this is Shaa. Maybe we can join you?” While Shaa’s translation was on point, she had clearly trailed off the last word as her eyes grew large and she dashed off to go check out a pony.
The red eyed male just chuckled as he watched her run.
“Hey, thanks for that. Not many of our kind are that comfortable allowing random humanoids to come up and touch them.” The dark purple male sounded grateful, and Neph couldn’t help but smile. It almost even seemed to make him sparkle even more.
“Not a problem. Perhaps she can help me temper out the big one!”
The males shared a chuckle as they continued to watch their companions have their completely opposite reactions to the animals.
Haki just could not shake the glowing freak. On top of it, they got a glowing eyed freak, and a furless humanoid. Disgusting. He knew elves could live to be older than most reos, and they all looked young, so there was no telling how old she was, but she acted like a child. Between her and sparklespots, it was like babysitting a bunch of two year olds.
It would have been easy to slip away, but he found himself just not wanting to. It was curious. All day he wanted to escape everyone else and be by himself, and now … now he was entertaining children as they begged and pleaded with him and the glowing eyed male to come fish with them. Fishing at least sounded better than some of the silly games they had done. There he could show off some skills at least.
As they headed towards the fish ponds, little pools and tanks set up for those to fish using their natural weapons or rods that were supplied, he couldn’t help but wonder if the rumors about the fish being cursed fair goers was true. The idea intrigued him, and he wondered if he could learn how to cast a curse like that! His own magic dealt with necromancy, so maybe he could stretch that to include curses? He wasn’t sure where to start trying to learn for that though.
“Last one to catch a fish is a shitface!” He called out as he raced for the tanks, determined to prove at least one game here wasn’t rigged. He already had lost due to some stupidity, but fishing was a natural talent plenty of reos had. There was no way he could mess this up. And he was hungry. He wasn’t sure if the fish would taste good, with them glowing and being supposedly magical, but he might be finding out shortly.
***
Nephrite always found Haki an amusing delight to be around, and judging by the look on his new companion’s faces, they did too. He and the elf raced to catch up to Haki, while the older male took his time padding behind them. He seemed to just be along for the ride, and if Lissana was happy, he was happy. Not a bad thing.
When they made it to the tanks, Haki already had his paws at work, trying to scoop up a fish. The elf was offered a pole, but she refused, instead diving into the tank, clothes and all to swim after the fish. Neph looked around to make sure that was okay, but no one was stopping her or seemed upset over it, so clearly no one really minded.
Neph himself had a different idea entirely. He positioned himself by the tanks and let his fur reflect light into the water, sparkling and almost glowing like the fish themselves. He wasn’t sure if it would work to attract them, but he sure would try! Anytime a fish came near, he pounced, trying to snap up one in his jaws.
The rumors that they were cursed didn’t escape him. He wondered if they were also magic, making them harder to catch. The tanks didn’t seem to be low on fish, no matter how many people fished from them. Maybe they weren’t even real and they were some sort of illusion? Or maybe they just couldn’t be hurt and were able to be put back? All were fascinating ideas, and he was all the more determined to catch one and try to find out for himself.
He saw Haki splashing around in the water, having evidently tipped his larger self too far over the pond, unbalancing himself and pitching him forward. After seeing Lissana dive for fish, the puller stayed content in the water, trying to catch them from this new vantage point.
That left Shaa. The other runner stayed quiet and often escaped notice somehow, even though his dark pelt clashed with the brights of the fair. Neph swore he saw him trying to fish, but the next moment, he seemed too far from the tanks. Weird.
***
Shaa was more content to watch his new companions fish than do anything himself. He tried to project himself having fun and enjoying the fair to his companions, but he was as exhausted mentally as he was physically, and he could barely summon a phantom of himself across the way.
Shaa was old. The only one of their group who was older was Lissana, but she was still young in elf years. He was old enough to easily be the father of his best friends, and they had kids, and those kids weren’t newborns either. Honestly, he would have preferred to stay home and sleep. Lissana though made it all worthwhile, and he was determined to spend what time he had left on this planet with her. If that meant going to a fair and mustering up energy for just one day, he could do it.
It was almost simultaneously that the three of his companions pulled him out of his own reverie. Neph had a shining green fish that matched his pelt perfectly, Haki carried a bright yellow one, and Lissana held a blue one. They all brought them over to him, talking over each other trying to decide who won. They had all seemingly got them at the same time, they were about the same size, and there was no real prize for catching certain colors of fish.
“How about you all win?”
Nephrite and Lissana seemed content with that answer, while Haki sulked and tossed his fish back in the pond. Oh well. You can’t please everyone.
Haki had finally ditched the sparkle brat. Good riddance. He had found his loopy eared friend again and they had gone for a race. Haki had taken it upon himself to slip away unnoticed, or so he thought.
It didn't take him long to notice the drow elf from before standing in front of him, arms crossed and pouting. What in the hell did she want? That meant her companion couldn't be far, and twisting his head around, he saw the glowing eyed freak in conversation with a striped pink male. What was up with stripes and tabby and pink lately? Anyway, the dark vay seemed to have found a new friend, so why waste elf bugging him?
He snarled at her and walked past, where she proceeded to grab his ear and yank, a painful thing. She had quickly ducked out of the way when he turned to bite her, which got the dark vay's attention, golden accessories bobbing as he approached with his new pink runner friend in tow.
Great. That's all she seemed to have wanted, was for him to not slip away. He wasn't good company so he had no clue why, but he suspected with the grin on her face, she was going to try to drag him into another pointless activity. And considering they were near the racetrack he had ditched the sparkling male at, and the fact they had found another runner to talk to ... Haki wasn't dumb, and he easily put two and two together.
Haki was a puller, and while the older male might be more of an even match for him since he seemed to be getting slower as the day wore on, the other male they had attracted was young and fit - he looked like he ran on a regular basis. Great. The elf just wanted to watch him lose.
***
Agnulus was more than happy to flirt from fair activity to game to competition to what have you. He had been having loads of fun, meeting new people, breaking them out of their shells or playing games with the most rambunctious of them all. Recently he ran across an older runner named Shaa, and his elven companion, proving that the fair was for those of all ages, not just the young.
As Lissana dragged over a rather grumpy sandstone colored puller, Agnulus had to laugh. It seemed he wasn't the only one trying to break people out of their shells.
"Come on guys, the starting line is over here!" He spoke, unable to keep the excitement from his voice. The elf dashed to catch up with him, leaving the other two males to fall behind.
The pink male led the way, excited to get going. Against this bunch, he was likely to win, but he just enjoyed the run either way. He reflected on a time when he was dashing to make sure things get delivered on time with a confetti chaser. It made him chuckle.
Haki was reluctant to join them but lined up anyway, Agnulus half suspected he might try to make a run for it as soon as they left him behind. But that didn't matter once the starting whistle blew, and they were off! Dirt was kicked up from their paws.
What Agnulus didn't expect was his biggest competition being the two legged companion. The elf was agile and graceful, and quite fast! Now here's some fun! He kicked up his paws even more, determined to pour on the speed and push himself to victory! He hadn't raced against any humanoids before, and this was going to be loads of fun!
***
Shaa was happy that Lissana was having fun. It made everything worthwhile. He could push himself to run a race - he was old but he wasn't helpless, and still did everything unaided, including chasing down prey.
The larger puller seemed determined to not come in last, so Shaa played around with his speed, making it seem like he was pulling ahead, only for the puller to overtake him. It kept that glint in his blue eyes that told Shaa he was still invested, exactly what Shaa wanted.
Up ahead, Agnulus and Lissana were neck and neck, and the elf was clearly giving the runner a hard time. People tended to underestimate her, and she kept pace with Shaa when they hunted. He never knew where her speed came from, she was so small and her legs so short. But she practically floated over the ground, her feet barely making any trace of their passing, unlike the vay's larger paws that left prints and dirt everywhere.
Through their bond he cheered her on, which only seemed to push her to go faster. When they reached the end, the pink runner had barely won by a few pawsteps, which was an impressive feat. Lissana didn't seem bothered in the slightest that she didn't win, and she shared laughter with Agnulus, as Haki and Shaa crossed the line not far behind, the puller having barely beat Shaa.
Haki finally managed to slip away while the other three congratulated each other, he was clearly done with them all and there was no real reason to make him stick around. That was fine with Shaa, who invited Agnulus to do something else with them next. The runner agreed, and Lissana was overjoyed to have made yet another friend. As long as she was happy, Shaa was happy. He shuffled their little group off the track so the next group could go, as they discussed what to do next.