The Star Festival (Open to all)

[Tao]

The line was long, and he waited a long while, occasionally distracting himself by looking over to the dancing or the competitions. It never took long for his eyes to be drawn back to what he was really interested inl; the Koten Temple, and the goddess. Every step forward brought him forward to his goal, the one that had weighed heavily on his heart since the very first day he had been alone. Despite the amount of people clamouring for her attention, he reached the front of the line much quicker than he wished. He wasn’t prepared; his thoughts were scattered and he still did not know what he could possibly say. He was grateful for the mask, hiding the fear that he knew revealed itself on his face. He froze before her. Tao couldn’t bring himself to look at her directly, instead glancing to the man standing by her side. A jolt of realisation almost made him leap out of his skin – he knew that man! He had heard that man’s words ringing in his ears for so many days and nights! Their eyes met, and he realised that despite the mask, he thought Atanu recognised him, nodding his head to beckon him forward. The smile on the older man’s face was friendly, even encouraging, though all the encouragement in the world could not have eased his nerves. There would be no more stalling, it seemed. He forced himself to step forward, until he was standing in front of Zintila, staring out at her past the crystal mask. She reached out a hand to him, glittering like the stars that shone brightly above. What was the custom here? Somehow, he suspected that a handshake was not what she expected. Mentally, he scrambled over every tradition he had so far observed in the city and came up with nothing suitable for dealing with a goddess. He lifted up a hand to hers, looking at her with panic filled eyes, hoping that she would understand his confusion. Zintila’s words were gentle, but they chilled him to his core as he realised that she also knew who he was. Not even noticing the way he was shaking, he forced his mouth to move. He had to say something! “I-I...” He paused, swallowing hard and taking a deep, shaky breath to compose himself. It didn’t really help. “I don’t know what I should do.” A pause, and another breath. His words were bluntly honest and unguarded, for the first time since he had been alone. “I... I’m honestly not sure why I came to Lhavit. My father died, and he told me to go someplace when I was happy. One of my fondest memories as a child was when my father took me out of the house at night, and I could see all the stars in the sky, just like all those stories about the city that glowed like a fallen star. I thought... I thought I would find a purpose here.” The rush of words spilled out of him before he knew what he was doing, and trailed away as he realised that he may have just been incredibly rude. He hoped that Zintila would understand what he was trying to say, one way or another.

[Jiina]

Jiina took a deep breath as she approached the Goddess. All of a sudden, she was nervous and her hands were shaking. She had not expected to feel like this. She had not expected to be nervous. She was all set to be angry and rageful and having to reign in that emotion, but the anxiety? The nerves? She almost didn't know how to handle it. She was never nervous. She had to admit, with the Koten Temple behind her gleaming of skyglass, and the shimmering skin of Zintila before her, it was a slightly beautiful sight. And for a brief moment, she understood why she was so awed as a child. But Taeto flashed through her mind and her heart hardened and her breath began to regulate into something much more calm. A cool expression of confidence crept onto her face. She was not afraid of Zintila. She would not be. She was not afraid, and she would not defer. She knew she had to be careful, and so she bowed low as she finally approached the goddess. It was a quick wait, she had not been long, so eager was she to see the Alvina of the Stars. The goddess' voice was soft, melodic, beautiful. Jiina suddenly felt incomparable, and instead of being upset or belittled by it, she was angered. It was a real struggle to rein it in. Her teeth were gritted, and she was afraid her disgust would be obvious. Briefly she glanced to the Anchorite and the Shinsa, two incredibly important people, but her quarrel was not with them today. Another deep breath was taken before she began speaking. She hoped her anger did not run away with her, and for that reason she cleaned her fists as she spoke. "I did have something to ask you." She was not really sure how to address the Goddess, so she didn't. "Do you ever feel guilty, ruling?" She blurted out, then blushed bright red. It was probably not the best thing to say. Angering the Goddess would be a mad move. She hung her head, a mixture of angry and confused and chastised, and waited for a response, her fists still clenched tight.

[Hawkins]

Oh. How nice. Once the exotic women started paying him mind, Hawkins seemed to forget the awkward exchanges he had with the other, higher class citizens of the festival. Oh attention. He did enjoy the attention. With a kick and a shift, the man allowed himself to be doted on, going so far as to even tease on his own time, grabbing some of the more private, unmentionables of his newfound friends. That was, of course, until the children showed up. Oh, how he hated children. Sculley little rats they were. Actually, he supposed rats were cuter. In their own way. He attempted to shoo the little bastards away, scooting them on and darting about as they made the occasional pass at them. Stupid language. When one bumped into his leg he merely eyed the rascal and quirked a brow above the other, his vision flickering between the two brats. There! Finally. They left. With a sigh, he twirled back about to his previous acquaintances only to find that they were gone. Bugger. Wait. Was he lighter? Frantically, Hawkins pawed at his groin. No! No no! His coin. Mistake. "Back! Get back! Hawkins was on the prowl. With a push, he knocked an innocent bystander aside as he hurled himself through the crowds. Moving with all the grace of a man robbed of his hard earned, er, well, robbed of his cash, he ducked, juked, and spun his way in the direction of the little thieving, rotten children. As the masses came Hawkins weaved through them like a dancer. And when he was not able to do that, he pushed. A few of the more upstanding fellows found it uncomfortable as the sailor did not stand for their slow, idle canter, and grabbed at stray cloth in an effort to broach a path. The hunt become a chase. His feet hitting stone, Hawkins plummeted his way after the children, by no more than sheer happenstance remaining on the trail. Oh, they would pay. They would. "Pardon me." His voice lifted above some of the nearby festivities. "Move! He kicked. "Out of the way!" Push. "Get. Go! Shoo!" Someone yelled at him. He yelled back. Pull, dive, twist, this was all in a days work. No one got away from Hawkins. Well, almost no one. Maybe more than a few. Lots of people did. "Oh. You're fat one, aren't you?" What a night.