Crosstown Court was alive tonight with sounds, colors and music. The Tall Tree Tribe had gone all out this year, sparing no expense - the party was more elaborate and noisy than even the Wick Festival. When wicks celebrate among themselves, they do it for cultural reasons; when wicks throw a party for humans, on the other hand, they really know how to throw a party.

The noise of musical bands clashed with the sound of revelers - hooting, hollering and singing under the influence of a lot of alcohol, which could be found in huge kegs all around the courtyard. Dancing wicks and witches dominated the center, hanging from the fountain and performing astonishing acrobatics. This was all under the warm light of paper lanterns and festive fireworks, orchestrated by a frazzled-looking witch on a platform.

The Tall Tree caravans, painted with bright paint of every conceivable hue and decorated with murals, were parked in a long circle throughout Crosstown Court. Fortunes were being told, palms were being read, trinkets were being hocked and piping hot food was being served.

The air was chilly, but the courtyard was so packed with bodies that it was quite warm. And not a Seventen in sight! The citizens of Vienda seemed to feel at peace and at ease at this arrangement. Familiar faces from local shops and stores could be seen, rosy-cheeked with drunkenness and mirth, all throughout the crowd.

Bear was deeply impressed, he'd been to a few Clock's Eve celebrations but nothing like this. A proper party they'd put on and Bear was happy to be in town for it. He was wearing his finest fur cloak and a crisp, blue shirt he'd purchased the day before. He felt very fine and was already a few tankards in. Quinn sat panting contently at his side, they had found a bit of space against a brick wall and were staying out of the crowd. Bear tended to upset folk when he was in a press of people, his size tended to rub people the wrong way and cause tempers to flare and that tended to upset the protective Bander. So they stayed near the back of the crowd and enjoyed the music.

Bear talked with people he knew from his previous trips to Vienda and laughed and sang. Not many would guess that this jolly giant had his favorite ladies hidden across his back. His crossbow and hunting knife, Maire and Abby, were never out of reach in this day and age, no matter the spirit of the celebration.

He hoped to have an enjoyable night and make a few new friends that night, it didn't always work out that way however.

Fion walked into the Crosstown court with Piran holding her hand. It looked as though everyone had been hitting the cups already but that was no reason to stop the two of them from seeing the fireworks and having a nice time. She looked around for a spot where they could sit down, out of the way of most of the revellers. She'd buy Piran overpriced treats later.
She walked right past Bear without seeing him.

Tito walked/skipped down the pavement whistling. It was something he couldn't quite explain, but he always loved a good party. Around his shoulders was a backpack of various belongings (tools). He had thought about bringing his guitar, but he didn't really feel like carrying it all the way. Jack trotted alongside the wick, and Cookie, his maroon osta, darted from shadow to shadow. This was the first time Cookie had been out of the room, as far as Tito knew.

Demkaih strolled down to Crosstown Court. He loved Clock's Eve, and back home they held a lavish party celebrating the night. It appeared that they did that here too, and then some. The court was alive with celebration, lights and music filled his senses and smells of wonderful foods he'd never had. He'd worn his rich red wrap and every piece of jewellry he owned. His anklets clunked dully as he walked and his wrists rattled.

Walking through the crowds, he thought he saw a familiar purple headscarf. Weaving his way through the festive crowd, he made his way to Fion. Walking close behind her, he spoke.

"So, we meet again Fion Smith."

Fion laughed happily at the sound of the familiar voice. She turned to face him, putting an arm around Piran as she did so.

"Alkrim! It's so good to see you!" She said, eyes crinkling as she smiled, "You haven't had a chance to meet my son, have you? This is Piran."

She gently guided Piran forward with her hand.

"P, this is Mr Demkaih, he might be moving into the Painted Ladies and starting a Spice shop, neat huh?" Fion tugged at her shawl absent-mindedly, checking that it was sitting right.

She looked back up at Demkaih.

"Have you made a decision yet?"

Nora couldn't have been happier. She wandered the court with the biggest smile she had worn in some time. She had exchanged her darker shades for a bright green blouse and a yellow skirt. Pat sat jauntily on her unhatted head, where she had pulled her many braids into an intricate updo. She wore multiple bits from her glass collection, including twisting hair sticks, glass bangles, necklaces, rings, and a pin she had made specially for the occasion- a single starfly that seemed to glitter on its own. She jingled and jangled every which way she turned, and she was like a bag of bells when she danced.

The music caught her up in a frenzy and she joined in the dancing throng, spinning and twisting, shaking her hips and having a good time up until she smacked into a very tall, broad someone's back.

Demkaih looked down at the young man. He was a nice looking boy, and it seemed he was very close to his mother. He inclined his head, extending his hand to shake the boys own.

"I am honored to meet you Piran." He looked back to Fion and smiled. She looked lovely in the evening.



The tall dark man nodded. He'd made his decision the moment he'd shook hands with Fion.

"Yes, I have. I've decided I want to set up in the red house you took me too. I just have to make all the necessary arrangements, and then I can get started."

Fion's insides fluttered when Demkaih shook hands with her son. There had been many times before when a man had been nice to her, only to run in the opposite direction the moment they actually saw her with Piran. It always left her feeling hurt and defensive of her son. She knew she could be stiff about responsibility, that was why things had gone so very poorly with Scarlet, but she was generally a fairly gentle person. Giving Piran a dirty look, as small as that might be, was enough to send her into a uncharacteristic, quietly murderous, rage.

Demkaih was clearly a keeper. She reminded herself that he wouldn't be interested in being more than friends with someone that was a little battered around the edges and had already had a child of her own. He was a good man though and she was looking forward to him moving into Painted Ladies. He intrigued her, even though experience had burnt her of that drive for quite some time. It was novel, feeling it again.

"I'm glad you're moving into the neighbourhood. I can't wait to see your shop open." She flicked some hair out of her eyes absent-mindedly, something she always did when she was distracted and happy, "How are you enjoying Clock's Eve thus far? Piran and I have been trying to find a good place to sit and watch the fireworks."

Fion looked down at Piran, so he'd know she wasn't ignoring him. She squeezed his shoulder, pleasantly soft under her hand. She was glad that he'd started to keep on weight recently, he'd been getting thin for a while.

Bear felt a bump against his back and turned to see what had been unfortunate enough to run into him. The wick girl looked dazed, Quinn seemed thoroughly interested in her, he was an excellent judge of character.

"You alright then lass? I'm afraid ol Bear doesn't give much if you run into im. Up you go then." Bear chuckled as he lent a massive hand to help Nora up.

Nora took it, shaking her head to clear it, "Goodness, can't go all tizzy like that and forget where I am..." She looked at the large fellow she had bumped into, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't stab you with anything did I?" She indicated all the glass things hanging over her, noticing that nothing had broken.

"I need to look where I'm going," she noticed the bander beside him, "Oh what a beautiful bander! Is he yours?" She reached down to give him a scratch, then shook herself again She straightened herself to look up into the big man's eyes, "Where are my manners?! I'm Nora. Nora Baranchi, glass worker and entertainer. And who might you be?"

Bear gave Nora his biggest smile before replying. "Very honored to meet you Miss Nora, name's Devin Berach but please call me "Bear", everyone does. I'm a hunter by trade, just finished selling my wares and thought I'd enjoy the Clock's Eve party before setting off to the wild once again. Me and Quinny here don't like to stay in town too long."

He gestured to the celebration with a sweep of his slab like hand. "How ya be enjoyin the party?"

Nora was rather dazzled by his smile for a moment. Not many men smiled at her like that. Oh, but he's just being friendly, she thought.



Nora shook his hand, and it was enveloped in his. She giggled nervously.



"Oh, I love it. It's just like the Wick Festival, only more humans," She smiled up at him, "I was kind of lost in the moment there for a while before I bumped into you. I love the music, and I love to dance. Do you dance?" She did a little shimmy to illustrate her question.

Bear's face turned nearly as red as his hair. "Oh my pretty lady, I do of course love to dance, sadly my size makes me a bit of a nuisance to other folk trying to have a good time. As you found out, even standing still folk seem to have trouble avoiding ol Bear."


((Bear's reminding me of Baloo the bear from Jungle Book, haha))

Placing his hands behind his back, Demkaih looked around.

"It's good. We celebrate in Mugrobi, but this has out done anything I have seen so far." He looked up at a loud boom and bright flash of color.

"The fireworks are fascinating. I can't admit to seeing them before." Smiling at Fion, he knelt down to Piran's height.

"I don't know about you young Piran, but I smell wonderful things that I would like to taste. Do you think you and your mother would like to find somewhere to sit and I will buy us something to eat?" He stood and looked at Fion with his bright blue eyes.

"Would that be ok Fion? Can I join you and Piran with dinner?"

Nora smiled at Bear, "Oh, you just have to be in the right places at the right times! Come on, dance with me!" She held out her hand, a little shocked at her audacity, but the atmosphere was so intoxicating she couldn't help it. The big man might have trouble maneuvering the dance floor at first, but once he caught the beat, she knew he'd manage.

"That would be more than ok. We'd greatly enjoy your company."



Out of the corner of her eye Fion saw a flash of red over on the dance floor. Standing a head above the rest of the revellers was Bear, dancing with a pretty wick that had beautifully ornate hair.

Fion turned to Demkaih.

"My apologies, just give me one moment, I have something I need to do." She said, smirking.

Fion turned back to the dancers and wolf whistled loudly enough to break glass.

"Go Bear! Good work!" She shouted above the crowd, waving and smiling.

Piran gazed in wonder at the strange foreign man. He looked quite strong, and as such, Piran was wary of him, constantly vigilant lest his mother be hurt. But Fion seemed to be fond of him - he'd better make a good impression.

"That would be fine," he said in what he assumed to be a deep manly voice, bowing stiffly to Demkaih. "I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, sir."

Bear smiled and waved at Fion, "Such a nice lass" he said to himself. It had been quite a long time since he'd danced among other folk. He was glad the pretty young wick had talked him into it. Though there were a few "Excuse me" and "Sorry bout yer foot lad!" comments when he inevitably bumped into fellow dancers, he was having a grand ole time.

"Yer a fine dancer, Miss Nora. Glad you were able to get this ole hunter's blood moving again." Bear boomed as he led Nora through a quick dance he wasn't sure the name of.

Demkaih watched Fion cheering the huge man on. The man was leading the pretty young wick in a fast paced dance, and looked to be having the time of his life. A small voice spoke up.



Demkaih looked down and gave Piran a low bow in return. The boy was obviously used to being the 'man-of-the-house' and he was doing a fine job of it.

"Thankyou Piran. I am going to go to the caravan's over there and buy our meals. Is there anything you can recommend?" He glanced at Fion to see if she was listening as well.

This was exactly what Nora needed- a good dance and celebration to shake off the last few days.



"Thanks! You're not bad yourself! I knew you just needed a little encouragement," she gave Bear a wink. The music from the last song started to die down, and she adopted a more conversational tone for a moment before the next song started up, "I hope you've had as much fun as I have! You'd better remember tonight while you're out in those woods later. You know things are going to start changing after tonight. Lotsa things been happening the last coupla days," she remembered back to her arrival and the morning of the 25th, and realized that even though they weren't the best days of her life, they were just portents of change, "can you feel it, Bear? It's coming. This year's gonna be a big one. Something's gonna happen ta change everything. This year. And so we're ringin' it in with a bang!"

Nora didn't now what inspired that speech of hers, but she knew it had to be true. For clock's sake, she didn't even know this guy, but she was talking to him like he was her best friend; that had to count for something. It seemed like times were changing, and so was she; or maybe it was just all the ale she drank to start off the night.

Fion turned back to Demkaih, watching with a pleased eye as he bowed to her son. She smiled when he offered to pay for their meals.

"I'm afraid I don't truly know, they might be different to last year's. There was a really good place that made noodles though, perhaps those?" Fion reached for Piran's hand again, "You'll have to let me chip in though."

Fion looked around for a place to sit. There was an empty table a few yards away, empty save for a few empty beer glasses.

"Do you want Piran and I to save that table, while you go and find some food?" Fion asked, before realising she was being quite presumptuous, "I hope I'm not inconveniencing you. If you ike you could go first and we could go find something when you get back."

Bear's smile vanished. He stared down at Nora with a face as serious as death. "You've felt it too then, something...I dunno, wrong lately." He looked off into the sky, his eyes growing distant. "I thought it was just me, that's why I came to town...thought maybe I was losing it out there."

"Have you ever seen the fog down in Anhai Valley Nora? I go and watch it sometimes, lost my brother to that fog I did. Things are changing and ol' Bear and his mate Quinny will make sure you, Fion, her little laddy, and all the other fine folk in Vienda don't meet their end the way my brave brother Gerry did." With that he smiled but it wasn't the jolly, carefree smile he normally had. It was a smile for old cherished memories. His eyes were large and wet.

"I thank ye again for the dance, me dear." He replied in his sweet, deep voice. "But its time Quinny and me are off. Too much town life with its drinking, and soft beds, and dancing with pretty ladies is bound to make an ol' hunter soft. Yer a treasure, love, and we'll be sure to call on ye next time we come to town. Merry Clock's Eve and goodbye." Bear patted the cheek of Nora's tiny face with his enormous hand and turned away.

As he turned, he saw Fiona had rejoined her little boy and the friendly looking gentleman. He smiled a big, warm, sad smile, waved to her back and then walked through the crowd, Quinn trotting behind his large friend.

Demkaih smiled at her, placing a hand on the small of her back and gesturing to the table.

"Save the table, my good woman. You are no inconvenience at all. I will not take your money Fion. You may pay your part by keeping a poor mugrobi man company in this field of strangers...and perhaps with a dance if Piran is happy with that." He didn't wait for a response. Instead he turned towards the caravans and began looking for noodles. There were a lot of strange looking dishes in the food stalls, some of them he wondered if they were meant to be eaten or if they were just for show. Finally he found what looked like noodles, long strings of wheat based dough, dried and strung up at the stall. He indicated to the stall owner he wanted three bowls with the most popular noodle dish they had.

Waiting for the food to be prepared and served, he looked over where he had left Fion, captured by her. She had a beauty and grace that he admired. She wasn't like the other girls he had come across. Reserved and mature, clothing that didn't reveal every hidden detail and a sweet smile. And a little boy that was going to be a good man, he liked a woman who didn't shy from responsibility. Without meaning to, Demkaih was smiling a little.

Fion watched Demkaih walk away without quite meaning to. She wondered if this was what it felt like, to have another person around to help and care and have fun with. She'd never felt as though she was missing much except time and maybe sleep. This was the first time in a long time that she'd wished she'd had a husband and that Piran'd had a father, one that was there. She wasn't about to grab hold of the next man that walked past and run away with him, she wouldn't do that to P and she wasn't sure she could handle it herself. It was fun to play pretend though.

She looked for Bear again among the crowds, Piran's seat drawn up close and his small body plastered to her side, but she didn't see him. She felt a small pang at that. She'd become very fond of the older man since he'd brought laughter to the Paper Tiger. She'd wanted to introduce him to P because she thought he'd have quite liked to hear some of the hunter's stories.

She looked back towards the food stands to see Demkaih smiling at her, faintly. It reminded her of other smiles and other heart aches, long since passed. Clock's Eve always brought those bitter-sweet memories up through the ether. She smiled back gamely anyway. She was willing to think of trying again, she had all the time in the world.

"So, what's for dinner?" She asked when he finally closed the distance between, ignoring her ghosts and listening only to fireworks and music on the breeze.