Streamers flapped in the trees from a light breeze, creating colorful streaks against the green leaves. The air surged with voices and energy; artificial thunder. Chris wandered aimlessly through the crowds on Surwood, looking at everything, taking as much of it all in as he could. He was here every year, and every year it was like an enormous relief... He still went to bed as exhausted as he always did, but during the festival it felt better somehow, like he wasn't working as hard as he normally did.

Laughter pealed to Chris's right, and he turned. Momentarily, he came to a stop, watching as several wicks and witches danced to loud, gleeful music. A smile quirked on his mouth, and he was tempted to join them, but as he was about to step forward, a pair of children rushed past him, knocking against his legs as they went. Caught off guard, Chris nearly fell forward, and just barely managed to catch himself before he tripped over his own feet. But not before his hat slipped from his head and on to the ground.

Feeling a knot of frustration in the pit of his stomach, Chris leaned forward, to grab the hat. And again, someone bumped into him. Except this time, already off balance, he fell forward, hitting the ground with a thud and a grunt. Grass padded the fall, but his hands still stung from catching himself, and bits of dirt still manged to stick to his skin. Frustrated, he groaned and pushed himself on to his knees, and positioned his hat back on his head before picking himself off the ground. Gritting his teeth, slightly, he brushed the dirt from his palms and rotated them around in their sockets, making sure the stinging hadn't been a sprain. Twist, twist, twist, ow. Ne... probably just the force of the fall. Nothing that'd need magic to heal in a few minutes.

Looking around, he stared at the faces of the people around him, trying to make out whether they'd seen him fall. Now, that he knew he wasn't hurt and had his hat back, the embarrassment of the situation set in. A slight flush rose in his cheeks, and he bit his lip, hoping that he hadn't looked too rediculous.

((I think this is my favourite intro yet!))

Calli loved few things more than dancing. It energised her and filled her up with joy and light and a few other emotions normally associated with contraband drugs. She spun around to the raucous music, twisting along with a group of people she didn't even know.

She'd been halfway through a leap when she saw a wick she didn't recognise hit the dirt. She ducked through the crowd to make her way over to him, he looked a bit startled in her mind.

"Oh my gods, are you alright?" She asked, all earnest concern, reaching down with one hand to help him up.

Her hair looked a little like yellow seaweed, damp from exertion but her eyes were bright.

((Why, thank you! =D ))

Chris looked up at the sharp-faced girl, leaning over him, offering her assistance. Strands of short, blonde hair clung with sweat to her neck, while the rest hung windswept and mop-like on her head. He recognized her as one of the witches that had been dancing. Excited energy danced off her. "Mujo ma," Chris said, taking her hand, and using her as a levy to pull himself right, again. "And, oes; I didn't sprain anything, at least." He gave her a grin.

Then, in demonstration, he flexed his arms and shook out his legs, to prove he hadn't been injured. Shoving his fists into the deep pockets of his coat, he spoke again. "I saw you and the others dancing." He gave a nod towards the wicks that were still twirling and jumping to the music. "It looked like fun..." he said, trailing off, before adding, "I'm Chris, by the way."

Calli smiled and it lit up her face like a thousand candles.

"It is fun!" She enthused. "You could come join in, I'm Calli!"

She extended her hand to shake his, prattling still.

"I'm a Crow, what tribe are you from?" She said, moving to the next possible topic of conversation. Her heels were already bouncing in her enthusiasm to get back to dancing.

Chris snorted, the laugh forcing it's way through his crooked nose. Calli's smile and mood were infectious. He could easily see himself being set in a bad mood from that fall, but he was still managing to keep happy. Maybe it was the ecstatic atmosphere of the Festival; maybe it was Calli's cheerfulness, or maybe a combination of the two. But whatever it was, he was still in a good mood, which was always a good thing.

"The Tall Tree tribe," he answered, shaking her hand.

He laughed again, watching Calli's feet bounce, ready to get back to dancing. She was definately energetic... Chris still wanted to join the dancers. At least for a couple minutes. He didn't think he'd be able to keep up with Calli for very long. It seemed like she had infinate stores of energy, whereas, the only times he was ever truly energetic was when he got angry. Then he was running off adrenaline until he just simply crashed. It was kind of pathetic, in a way.

"I'll dance with you a couple minutes?" he offered, still watching her feet twitch. "I don't think I'd be able to dance longer than that."

((Ergh, sorry Chris! I forgot I owed you a post ))



Calli's smiled brightened even more, if that was at all possible.

"Junta! Pleased to meet you." She chirped.



Calli clapped her hands together, pleased at this development.

"I'd love that! I'm sure you'll be able to keep up with me." While her assumption was slightly audacious, she had history on her side, she had tired out dance partners before. "Come on!"

She took Christoffe's hand and pulled him into the throng. She settled one hand on his shoulder and the other into his alternate hand. After that they were swinging through the crowd. The fiddler looked as though he was about to die, exhausted but still grinning like a Hatcher and playing at a speed that should have set his instrument on fire.

Calli threw her head back and laughed like a chime, delighted.

((It's okay, don't worry about it. ))



Chris barely had time to respond with an, "Alright," before Calli pulled him after her into the crowd of dancing wicks. And then they were spinning right along with the others. The music was playing at an impossible speed, and the dancers were moving at a speed that rivaled that of the instruments.

Sweat was drenching Chris' brow, and he was forced to pull his coat off, tossing it on the ground just outside the crowd of dancers. He lifted and spun Calli, desperately trying to keep up with her quick, delicate movements, breathing heavily as he did so. His muscles strained, sore from moving so quickly and so much. It was a wonder he didn't collapse right then and there.

But he didn't want to stop. Dancing in the crowd was just as much fun as it looked, and Chris wanted to keep moving until he couldn't any longer. Panting and sweating, he continued to dance, but gradually at a slower speed, physically incapable of moving that fast for so long.

Calli was just slightly below her peak condition, having only left the circus a short time before, but even she got tired after a while. She held off for a while, throwing herself into the music. She waited until she and Christoffe had danced their way to the edge of the crowd before trying to yell over the dancers and the music.

"Hey! Do you wanna get some water?" She cried out, cupping her hands about her mouth. "I'm kinda thirsty."

She was slightly red in the face now and the tightly fitting shirt she was wearing was dark from sweat. Calli didn't really care just yet but she was sorely tempted to find the nearest body of water and jump in.

"Oes, that sounds benny," he shouted back.

He couldn't describe how good water would be at that moment. Like seeing an oasis in the middle of a dessert, if you were to be cliche about it, probably. He smacked the top of his mouth with his tongue, feeling how dry his throat and tongue were. Yes, water would definately be good right then. And maybe some hingle or cheesecake too, because now that he thought about it, he was also hungry.

Chris slowly manuvered himself out of the throng of dancers, and picked his coat off the grass. And overheated, he removed his hat as well, and used it to fan his sweat-slickened face. Exhausted he grinned at Calli.

"You wanna get some food too..? My treat."

Though she hadn't thought so a moment before, voicing the invitation had made Calli realise she was very, very hungry. Her stomach grumbled a little and she began to feel slightly weak at the knees.

"Oes, that sounds great! I'll buy you food next time." Calli reached for Christoffe's hand.

Calli usually did this when she was going somewhere with someone, particularly other wicks. She'd dragged Hal around by the arm more times than she could even remember. She was physically affectionate by nature and saw hand holding as something quite practical, though it had surprised a few people in the past. It was a wick thing, though certainly not all wicks felt the same way. She hadn't checked if Christoffe did.

For a moment Chris just stared at Calli's hand, as if he were deducing what to do with it. He didn't really hold hands with people. He found the fact that she was offering her hand to him strange. But he tried to shrug it off as quickly as he could. He knew a lot of wicks held each other's hands, but he rarely did so outside his immediate family. He took hold of Calli's hand trying to act as though he hadn't paused to wonder why she'd offered him her hand.

"I'll keep you to that promise," he said, still fanning his sweaty head with the hat.

"So what do you want to eat, Calli?" he asked several moments later. "I sort of want hingle or something..." He tossed his suggestion out there, hoping to influence Calli's choice a little.

Calli's hand tightened painfully around Christoffe's. She stopped walking and turned her head to look at him. The bubbly, slightly addled girl was no longer in presence. A rather serious looking young woman had taken her place. Her lips thinned and her eyes narrowed.

"I do not eat hingle." She said, firmly, almost angrily.

Her expression seemed rather set, as though she was waiting for some sort of response. This stoniness also implied that the response would influence subsequent action.

((Waiting on Eri, she will come and save the day ))

Eriyenna had noticed Calli in the throng, dancing with someone, but it had been no simple task to navigate her way rhythmically towards them. When she finally succeeded, however, she caught the word "hingle" and watched Calli's face fall.

The purple-haired witch had been there, done that, and knew time was short for a rescue.

Putting on a big grin and fixing her near-black eyes on the kov with the younger witch, Eri melted out of the crowd and came up behind Calli, placing her hands on her narrow shoulders, "Junta!" Her tone of voice was both friendly and cautious, "Wo chet, that music is fantastic! I am so glad I caught up to you two ... I'm starving."

The purple-haired musician giggled like a wind chime in the breeze, "By the look on your new friend's face, I'd say you're hungry too. Remember that wiley ol' wick with those amazing stuffed breads we found the other day?" She knew the place had variety, and hoped that simply providing a choice would help diffuse the situation, "I have not tried them all ..."

Calli's severe expression melted back into an amiable one, as though that was how it had always been.

"Oh, hesta Eri. This is Christoffe." She indicated at him with her free hand in a showman-like sweep. "Bread sounds great!"

She was smiling again and her hand was no longer a vice. It was disconcerting, though unintentional. She wore her emotions on the outside, always.

Eriyenna grinned, feeling better that she had succeeded in saving the poor kov with Calli any impending emotional disaster. Reaching up to move some sweaty, stray purple hair from her face, she chuckled, "Who's your benny dance partner, beata? I'm Eriyenna, but you can just call me Eri."

She considered offering her hand in greeting, but it was sweaty, too. She smiled warmly instead, dark eyes shining.

Chris, felt a lump form in his throat. "Epaemo," he apologized. Swallowing hard, he tried to force the lump down. How was he supposed to know she didn't eat hingle? Most people he knew ate it. It wasn't his fault for not knowing. Right? He looked at Calli guiltily, not sure what else to say.



As the purple-haired witch greeted them, Chris sighed, thankful and relieved to be saved from the awkwardness that had been sure to ensue. "Junta!" he responded, near ready to hug the rosh, for jumping into the conversation, and offering as safe alternative to hingle. He still wasn't quite sure why the mention of it had upset Calli that way.

"Oes, that sounds real benny." He looked to Calli, glad that she was ready to forget the whole thing too, or at least he thought she did. He couldn't really be sure. Her hand wasn't strangling his anymore, so he felt fairly certain.

"Thanks for telling me about it," he addressed the purple-haired witch. "I probably would never found out about it, if you hadn't." He gave her a grateful smile.



"Junta," he said again. "You can call me Chris."

"Bomeo!" Eriyenna laughed again, voice not unlike music carrying on a soft spring breeze, "Calli has an interestin' knack for meetin' benny folks. Let's go grab a bite to eat and see if we can't catch our breath from all the benny fun we've been havin'."

With a nod of personal affirmation, the purple-haired witch led the way toward a familiar crowd of wagons mostly occupied by vendors. There were several areas that were almost strictly full of kints and tents with wicks of various tribes and homelands selling their wares. This particular neighborhood of sorts was full of delightful smells and flavors; it was all devoted to food.

Eri carefully picked her way through the throngs of wicks variously satiating their hunger until she led her two companions to a small, almost run-down sort of kint. Built into the soft earth next to the small wagon was a temporary hearth of sorts, covered and with a thin blue cloud of smoke drifting from the make-shift sort of chimney.

An old, bent-over witch hovered in front of a hastily-made counter, fresh lumps of golden brown loaves, round and apparently filled with all sorts of varied goodness steaming in clearly labeled rows across the counter top. She smiled crookedly as she saw the three approach, beady little eyes all but disappearing into the folds of her old skin.

"Hesta, bochi." The vendor said hoarsely, "Y'here tae taste my wares, oes?"

The woman waved a shaky, arthritic hand over her fresh stuffed buns, mostly pointing out the signs that labeled their fillings: cheese'n'garmon sausage; tomato, spinach'n' cheese; hingle'n'eggplant'n'cheese, egg'n'tomato'n'cheese, mixed vegetable'n'garmon sausage, and finally fruit'n'creamed cheese.

"See anythin' y'like? It's two hats a stuffed bun for smiling, young faces like yours."

Eriyenna looked indecisive and waved her hand at Calli and Chris, "Go on, I'm not sure which I want to try next yet."

Calli looked at the rolls with one finger pointed at her lip. She ignored the ones that contained hingle automatically.

"I think I'd like to try the one with fruit, please. I'm in the mood for something sweet." Calli smiled at the vendor. "Mujo ma."

((Sorry, I've been really busy with school this past week.))



"Oes," Chris agreed, as he and Calli followed after her. His stomach growled hungrily, as if it were agreeing too.

As he went down the paths between the kints and tents, he was surrounded by more wicks than he could count, of all ages, and all from different nations. And each and everyone of them was buying or selling some form of food. The air was thick with the mixed scents of all the different foods. Chris' mouth watered hungrily as Eri led them further down the makeshift street.

By the time they approached the sod hearth next to the nearly-broken down caravan, Chris could barely keep himself from drooling at all the wonderful smells that wound around them.

"Umm... I'll take that one, and that one, aaaand that one," he said almost immediately, pointing out three buns, barely even stopping to read what they contained. And as he finished talking, he began yanking the coins from the small pouch at his waist. He didn't care what he was eating, so long as he was eating, now.

Eriyenna chuckled at the contrast between the two younger wicks, bringing a hand up to her lips as she thought of her own meal, "I'd like one each of those two," she pointed to a fruit-filled one and a garmon sausage bun before digging out some coins of her own from her coin purse somewhere in the folds of the scarf at her waist.

The old witch vendor smiled and gladly served each of the wicks in turn, accepting their coins with a less-than-toothful grin, "Mujo ma fer yer enjoyin' my breads, bochi. Come back'gain, y'hear?"

Eri smiled, accepting her purchases, "Mujo ma. I'm sure we'll be back. I know I will." She giggled, turning toward Calli and Chris, fruit-filled bun on a calculated trajectory towards her mouth, "Wanna find somewhere to have a seat or what?"

"Mujo ma," Chris said through a bite of one of the buns. It was hot but he eagerly shoved more into his mouth. It tasted so good. Hot but very, very good. The first bun was gone sooner than a minute. The second was half way to his mouth when Eri asked if either of them wanted to find someplace to sit. Chris paused, the bun still poised to enter his mouth.

"Oes, that sounds pretty benny," he answered, and took a bite of the bun. "We could find a tree maybe, and sit in the shade," he added in a suggestion.

Calli chewed away happily at her roll, willing to savour it this time. She had a tendency towards eating quickly and it always gave her a funny tummy. Not this time, oh no.

"Why don't we sit over there?" She asked, pointing towards a particularly nice looking tree. "No one else has bagsed it yet."

She started walking towards it, turning backwards so she could talk to Eriyenna.

"Hey, Eri, have you seen anyone else from the circus here yet? I miss Tristaan." She said, a little sadly. "I know Sarinah does too."

Eriyenna made a noise of approval and agreement, fruit-filled bun between her teeth with a sheepish smile. She thought that was a great idea, and her eyebrows seemed to move as if to say that out loud.


"Oeth." The purple-haired witch agreed with a mouthful, heading in the direction with a renewed eagerness to enjoy a bit of shade and conversation.


"Well, really, I ent seen anyone else 'cept the circus folk. It ent like I know anyone else, save for all the benny folk I've met here. And, ne, I ent seen Tristaan. It's too bad. I'd bet even Balder wouldn't mind seein' his face by now." She laughed in her musical way, plopping down unceremoniously in a soft spot of sun-warmed grass under the tree and leaning back on one hand. She fussed with her skirts a bit before getting comfortable.

"An' how's the Festival treated you, Chris? Where are you from, anyway?" She spoke between a few more bites, genuinely curious.

Cooling down, Chris put his burgundy hat back on his head and glanced over at Eri. He didn't particularly what to talk about his home life. He would've been perfectly content to listen to Eri and Calli chatter more about the circus. It would be more comfortable...

While the purple-haired witch made herself comfortable on the grass at the bass of the tree, Chris leaned against the rough bark of the trunk. Taking another bite from a bun, he tossed his coat up on to a branch. Scratching the crook in his nose, he remained silent a moment longer, not particularly wanting to tell them about himself.

"I'm from the Tall Tree tribe," he offered, pausing a second to chew his food. "I sell vodundun to natts and nattles... I help my daoa out since my da drifted... But that was a while back." He stopped speaking and continued eating.