As dawn broke, Surwood Isle was a beautiful sight to behold. Lights glimmered off the dewy treetops, and colorful flags representing every wick tribe from Plugit to the Shier Mountains and beyond hung from the tall pines; the forest floor was a lush carpet of soft needles, stamped flat by thousands of feet as wicks flooded into the island from the small harbor.

The ferry that took wicks from the riverbank to the island was working doubletime this year as wicks exited en masse from Anaxas. All enmity seemed to be momentarily forgotten in light of the festival; wicks and witches were hugging and shrieking as they embraced each other, dressed in eye-catching bright colors, hung with jewelry and talismans and headdresses. The sound of joyous music filled the air, and the sultry smell of burning incense wafted on the spring breeze.

At the harbor on the edge of the forest, Durg Auros paced back and forth, watching his Red Crow brethren come into the island. The leader of the Yellow Eye, Durg Lordes, was doing a similar action on the beach. Each seemed determined to stave off any possible conflict.

But the cheery air of the festival seemed to have relaxed the Yellow Eye and Red Crow, and although they were markedly less friendly this year, no scuffles broke out. Brotherhood and family seemed to be on everyone's minds, helping to wash away the pain and suffering caused by the forced evictions of wicks from the streets of Vienda.

Keiyra grunted as she moved a heavy basket from her garish blue caravan to the ground, preparing to set up the tattoo and piercing stall she ran every year since her 16th birthday. Standing up straight and stretching her back, she looked around, pink dredlocks dancing around her head. It was going to be an interesting festival this year. Standing, looking distant, she didn't hear her mother come up behind her.

"Keiyra, what are you looking at dear?" Delphis asked softly. The pink haired witch made a grunt and turned to get another basket out of the kint.

"Nothing daoa. Just thinking. Lilliah would have liked this." She dumped the basket roughly on the ground and narrowed her eyes.

"Gonna be a sunny one today. Better start your fire for your stall." Delphis blinked back tears, the death of her grandaughter still fresh and prominent in her mind. But Keiyra seemed to not even realize it had happened. She kept chugging on like always, and Delphis had yet to see her daughter grieve for the sweet blond three year old. Sighing, the older woman went to start the fire for the food stall she set up each year.

"She was born in the wagon of a traveling show,
Her mama had to dance for the money they'd throw,
Papa'd do whatever he could~
Tell a couple stories,
Sell a couple bottles of wicked good~"

The guitar sang beautifully as Tito teased its strings. He sat on the railings of the ferry playing his tune and singing as they others did much of the same.

"Gypsies, tramps, and thieves!
We'd hear it from the people of the town,
They'd call us gypsies, tramps, and thieves!
But every night all the men would come around~
And lay their money down..."

Following the expulsion of wicks from Anaxi, Tito had mulled around town before heading out toward Surwood. He had planned on attending the month-long festival anyways, so it was just perfect timing.

Jack stood with his paws up on the railing next to him, looking down in the water, while Cookie slept lazily curled around his neck. He wondered if he'd see his family. There were a lot of people here, and you could totally miss someone you knew welll!