(Partway through writing this I ate a muffin, heh. ^^ )
~
Chalcedony’s Tales of the Festival~
“Oh wow!” Inima was the first to approach of the duo, and waved an arm at the great snail. “Hi Snastle! I’m Inima and that’s Ruha and we’re looking forward to the festival!” Ruha reached her companion and the two presented the seashell-gifts they'd prepared. “Here’s what we brought for you, enjoy!”
The two moved around the stalls, taking in the sights and pausing to look at anything particularly interesting. “I’ve never seen so many Snappers in one place before.” The Coatl remarked. “I passed a troupe once in the desert but it wasn’t like this.”
“In general festivals will draw diverse visitors. Often some travellers specifically plan their routes to coincide with them.” Ruha informed Inima.
“Really? Wow…”
The Coatl wandered over to a stand where a Snapper was committing to memory various accounts of cryptids. It appeared that some visitors had opted to leave hard-copies of reports for reference. “Oh wow!” Inima picked up a handful and looked through. “Hey! One of these was left by one of the clan!” Ruha caught up and Inima remarked to her, “so others
did come.”
The Pearlcatcher gestured to their surroundings. “Not only is it remarkable to encounter the likes of a Snailith, it’s a special occasion and one embracing dragon and beastclan guest alike. I believe Melreyna decided to attend formally to offer her regards and commend the host-clan.”
“Ahh, making new friends. How nice!”
“So that would probably explain who left the report. I heard that Chlorr fully intended to learn about shell construction and care, given its function as a structure.”
“But, that might mean leaving Veev behind. She’s not all that keen on travel.”
“Well, my dear, that’s something they’ll deal with. I trust they will find a solution that makes them both happiest.”
Inima giggled softly. “Who else do you think we might see?”
“Well, Shunic’s a lover of travelling to see new sights. In spite of her timidity Molerince travels out of the lair fairly often.”
“Good for her!”
“Strala might decide that this would make a nice family outing and others might bank on there being libraries of interest.”
“Though maybe the non-literal kind, knowing Snappers.”
“True.”
The festival was a colourful and merry place and the two were enjoying their day.
“So we’ve seen a raffle, a bunch of artists, that nice lady we told how to get a letter to us about future festivals, we may go back to that fortune-teller…what else is there?” Inima recounted points of interest of their visit so far.
“Some storytellers have been wandering in and out and some of the other visitors have been wandering around in costume. The hatching has yet to happen, but we haven’t yet-”
“-
Baking!” Inima hurried over to a stall and hummed happily at the delicious air. Plump pies, gently frosted cookies, moist brownies, treats of berries and nuts. The Fire dragon was impressed at the array. “Ooh, can I try this!”Inima handed over payment and tried a muffin. She made pleased noises as she ate and Ruha joined her with a couple of bags from shopping at an incense stall.
“This is delicious!” Inima announced.”How do you make that? Umm…Well. You bake too, so here!” With that, the Coatl presented the bemused stall-owner with a small bag of flour as a gift. The Snapper laughed and recommended an author who was known for good books of recipes that weren’t especially difficult, but itself had recommendations at the end for potential further reading. The baker was thanked and the two moved on. “Need to remember about that book.” Inima commented half to herself.
“Perhaps someone at the festival has a copy to sell.”
“Really? Best keep an eye out then!”
Ruha smiled, delighted at her companion's zest.
