Turns out that the festival was this evening. Cleo wasn't shocked at all. But she was weary. Festivals like these; which Jezio mentioned to her was an easy way to get caught, which meant she had to be more cautious. This also meant that Jezio would be here. Which is another person she had to look out for.

Colourful banners, powders and various party paraphernalia dotted the central Village. But not the Crystal Waters, this area was completely cut off. Cleo particularly likes the lanterns and luminaries floating around in random trees, some were even floating about on water fountains which were ringed with strands of glittering rainbow lights. The  festival as a whole was infested in colour. The floors, the dress codes, even the walls were lathered in those colourful powders which brought the normal monotonous days to a complete stand still to that of a bright energizing and colourful evening.

Cleo has never seen the Village so lively. It is a real pandemonium here—songs are being wailed, bands are playing, almost everyone is running around covered in numerous powders splashing one another with more, their grins and laughs makes the whole festival more exciting, many couples; awfully young couples; are smooching on nearly every building close to the festival area against a wall. The center had a huge fire stretching across the whole area; of even more villagers prancing around the fire. Some lounged back against the tables filled with snacks and alcohol and many workers took this as an opportunity to sell their goods to gain more profit for their businesses. It's a win win for everyone in the Village. A night of freedom. And money making.

She was jealous she couldn't have this much fun. With Jezio it would of been even better. He would made it better for her. She wished he allowed her to come and roam about here in this festival. She would of liked it. Everyone looked fulfilled and happy. Something she lacked.

After a few turns from sloundering in the shadows and passing villagers, does she realize that her destination is almost reached. The night air in this part has quieted down, and is a lot cooler than the stuffy atmosphere back at the festival. For once in her life, she didn't like it. She suddenly wants to go back to the festival where she could watch how people enjoyed themselves.

Many buildings have quieted here and also darkened —suggesting that  no activity took place. But she finally reaches the familiar corridor. The foul scent hitting her immediately. It was so dark she couldn't see a single shape of the bone man lining the corridor —but she knows he is here. She could hear the scuttling movements of the man moving perhaps away from after hearing  footsteps. Her footsteps.

She flares up a dim flame on her one hand holding it out towards him and sees him fully.

He is sitting with his back against the wall, hugging his knees to his chest. Still in the same filthy outfit he had on before and that heavily unkempt hair. He was shivering wildly. Cold? Scared? She didn't know. But she pities him. The poor man had nothing.

"Here you are. I came to check up on you. I brought you coin." She forms a ball of glowing fire from that flame instead and sets it afloat above them, but not too bright as to draw attention of other villagers who might be lurking around.

The man looks at her with wide eyes. His mouth is full of dried blood, many dried up  rivulets has run down his chin and throat, and the poor man didn't even bother clean it up from even  a nearby fountain. Cleo should of done some healing in his mouth after she burned off his tongue. She wasn't thinking straight that time. But she had to do it. The man not being literate was a bonus for her, she couldn't risk him being out there telling everyone he saw her. And now he couldn't write to anyone either. But the least she could do was to spare him his life. Which she did. Even if it was for a few more years.

He tries to speak but all that leaves his mouth is a bunch of jibberish. It looks uncomfortable, the movements of his mouth is awkward and definitely not normal. This makes her feel worse, she feels a sharp tugging at her heart. He might need some medicines. Cleo will resort to finding him a healer to heal his bleeding tongue.

The man stops his moaning noise as if realizing he actually couldn't speak and went to his bone figures and starts moving them into some sort of figurine.

Cleo places the pouch of coin under his messy bed and decides to leave this man to his bone things.

She hears a grunt again as if in warning, so she turns around and rapidly faces him, and gazes at him as he  points down to his bones. She trots over to where he was sitting on the floor and squats down beside him with her forerams on her thighs and looks down at his work.

She tries to not flinch. The figures was of a demon. A really skilled drawn demon made from the bones.

Before she could kick the bone figure away for his threat; a creature as black as night comes hurling out from above and growls viciously as it comes down to  attack her.

                                                           °°°

"Will Cary be here?" Mira asks Jezio from where they both holding powders in their hands ready to throw them to the rest of the team whilst hiding  behind a  market wall awaiting them to come and to at last attack them with the red and blue powders.

Mira so far thought that the festival was adequate. She's had better. She desperately wants to dance however, around the fire in means of attracting a man she could take home tonight, which she has been waiting for since the start of this week. But she had other concerns as well.

The other thing on her mind was Jezio and his mysterious girl.

"Cary?" His face scrunches up in confusion.

"Never mind. I must be thinking of someone else."

The girl wasn't Cary after all like she claimed to be. Which means the girl was lying to her about her name, and that  Jezio was hiding something from her. She didn't show it in her features but she felt hurt. Very hurt.

"Hush they're coming." squeals Jezio.

Mira and Jezio both hide away deeper against the wall, their hands half up ready to flounce.

Mira hears a set of running feet and as soon as it gets louder, Jezio and herself both speed out of the shadows and roughly pitches the powders onto poor Adelaide's dress. Oh no. It's Adelaide.

Adelaide stalls for a long moment, gazing at the dreadful occurrence that has happened to her, before gasping out loud— her hands rubbing off the powders angrily which didn't seem to come off of her, "This dress cost me a fortune! And these bloody powders don't come out! I told you I wasn't playing this game." She cusses over and over, still attempting to remove the tough stains.

Mira sighs, "Adelaide I told you not to buy a new dress. And Jezio and I thought you were Zalaena and the others."

"You thought. You didn't know for sure. So who cares! Mira my dress! My dress!" She swats widly at the dress now.

"I'm so sorry Adelaide I really didn't know." Mira tries her best to be consoling to the girl, but Adelaide was groaning too loud about the stains to even hear Mira's apologies.

Mira looks down to her own dress. Well Adelaide's dress. The awfully tight scarlet dress was very simple and sensual. It was cut off mid-thigh, showing off her average length tan legs and her dark leather boots, both dress and boots now painted in various powders. The long-sleeved dress had an open back which chilled Mira's body in the beginning but after she started running around hurling powders at others, has she heated up to a point where she had to  lift her thick hair into a messy bun. Her hair also full of powders. She's going to be spending a long time trying to rid of the powders especially her hair and the dress. But Mira, for starters couldn't picture Adelaide in this dress. It was too revealing for someone like Adelaide. So she's not sure if Adelaide would actually want this dress back or if Mira could keep it. She doubts Adelaide would want this stained dress back again. But it definitely made Mira feel alluring, which definitely fit her mood.

Jezio has quieted beside her and has instead resulted to searching the area, not in the least bit fretful that Adelaide's gorgeous dress got ruined.

Adelaide gives up ridding of the resilient debris  and snaps her finger in front of Jezio's line of vision,"Excuse me. Uhm, my dress is ruined. I would appreciate a I am so sorry Adelaide, I'll get you new one, kind of apology."

Jezio snaps out his search and shakes his said saying, "Look you both decided to wear dresses to this thing. So what did you expect? To look clean by the end of the night? This is a powder festival, not the dress festival."

Adelaide crosses both arms and gives him a look that suggested death, "People dress up for any festival Jezio. I dress up."

Jezio's focus has zeroed back to searching the area. Mira wonders if he was looking for Cary. She wouldn't be surprised at all if he was, although he told her that the girl wouldn't be here. But Mira thinks that he only said that for her to get her nose out of his business, as he mentioned before.

Jezio meets Adelaides eyes again, "I am sorry I ruined your dress. I will not get you a new one."

Adelaide flips him off which makes Mira giggle.

They trio heads back to the main square where the fire and the main event was taking place. The whole area looks double the amount of villagers than there were just a few minutes ago.

All the surrounding beautifully decorated market walls and trees enhanced the comfort of the festival. Mira loved it. Logs were placed around the center fire as seating which were fully occupied mostly by couples. Many benches full of snacks and drinks, and stalls were all over the place.

There were many women dancing and prancing around naked coated in powders which the men didn't miss for a single moment. Which definitely suggests why there was a big amount of men lounging about, and for Mira to finally meet.

All the colour hurts Mira's eyes so much that she blinks several times to lessen all the lights. But it didn't help in the slightest.

Jezio offers to get some ale for them and leaves before Mira and Adelaide could  even answer him.

Adelaide gasps again before fluttering down on a log before the huge fire, stretching out her slender legs before her, "What is your brother's problem? He's a total asshole tonight."

Mira couldn't agree more, but before she could answer Adelaide someone else joins the seat next to her.

"Ah Zalaena. Where were you? Jezio and I were waiting and messed on Adelaide instead." She squeezes in between the two girls before facing Zalaena who was lighting up her cigar from the edges of the fire.

Zalaena inhales deeply before blowing out the remnants from her nose in circles. Her ebony hair was so dark that Mira could see the reflection of the fire in it. Pin straight reaching her collarbone. The middle path of her hair was lined with small jewels in a perfect line. Always a perfectionist. One could give her a quick glance and wouldn't know that she worked for a Blacksmith. Her black pants suit matches her hair very well and she topped it off with neat pumps. And to Mira's confusion — not a single speck of powder coated her crisp attire.

"We couldn't find you and came back." She says lowly. She pockets one hand and continues smoking with the other.

Adelaide on Mira's other side groans out loud, "How in the actual world are you clean? You of all people. You're always in your black grimy stuff. Yet here you're sitting clean as ever."

Zalaena regards her with a smile, her electric blue eyes glowing, "Firstly, that black grimy stuff is soot, and secondly, I don't fiddle in this pathetic thing which you call a festival. What are those? Powders?"

Adelaide rolls her eyes before squirming in her tight-bossom black dress, her hands tugging in her loose skirt once again shaking off the red and blue powders,"Yes, they're powders. And they don't come out Z. They don't."

"Exactly. What's the point to this? To get fun and dirty, just to struggle getting them out again? Pretty stupid in my opinion." She blows the circles again. After years of smoking and working in the Blacksmith. The men has taught her many things. One of them being smoking skillfully. Which Zalaena still practices till this day. She has also never brought her attention to the men she works with. Her preference layed elsewhere.

"I think it's fine. Not the best, but it's not the worst." Mira all but looks for Jezio to see if he has ditched them once again.

Zalaena hums before responding, "What were you girls talking about before I came. Adelaide looked dreadful."

"Oh my... Zalaena! It's Jezio-" Adelaide screams.

"He said you ugly again?" Zalaena questions.

"Uhh Zalaena let me finish-"

"He is having some girl issues." Mira cuts off Adelaide.

"Uhh, what the fuck is wrong with you people!" Adelaide squirms even more.

"That's old news. I thought he wasn't the relationship type." Another blow.

"He isn't. He is hiding something, but I'm not bothered." Mira knows Zalaena detected the lie, but she didn't say anything more.

There was a quiet pause as all three of them watches Jezio coming back finally, with many ales on a tray. Adelaide pretended to be incensed with them by keeping silent but they all knew that would never work on Adelaide. She can't stay irate with them for more than a minute.

"Can I talk now?" Asks Adelaide.

"Sure." Replies Zalaena.

"Oh good. Because this just isn't my night, first my dress gets ruined and now you're both not letting me speak my part about Jezio-"

"What about me?" Jezio looks curiously towards Adelaide as he offers the tray towards them.

Adelaide looks like she was about to cry, "Nothing. Just nothing." She snatches an ale, and chugs it down fast her throat bobbing quickly, "I need more." Before heading towards the fire and starting up some dance movements with the rest of the other girls who were already trying to get the attention of men.

"Poor girl. Times are tough." Zalaena goes to light her cigar again.

Jezio starts heading away from the festival in the direction of the darkened alleys where some villagers are still tossing powders at one another.

"Aye, where are you going?" Mira pulls his arm back. She frowns at him. He has left his hair loose, and his normal tunic and breeches is the most dirtiest between the two of them.

He shrugs, his features unreadable, "Just going to my mates. We had powder plans and joints for after so..." He trails off as he walks backwards his arms up  in the shrug, "I'll be back later. See ya." And he dissappears in the heavy throng of villagers.

Lies. He was lying. She was about to follow him when felt a presence.

"Hey." Whispers a male into her ear. His breath is hot in her ear and  her stomach does a double take.

The source of that hey belongs to a heavily muscled man with dark green eyes and light brown locks. His handsome smirk causes  her entire body to react, straight from her sore eyes down to the tips of the toes. Her body feels hot. Scorching hot.

"You look lonely. I hope I didn't scare away your lover."

Mira didn't even tell him that that was her brother as she pulled the man closer to her wrapping herself around him,"Let's fix that shall we?"

Thoughts of Jezio disappeared down the drain.