Hey guys, just to let you know I've never written a deaf character before so feedback would be greatly appreciated. I really want to know if I am doing anything wrong.

Well, other than that, enjoy the chapter!

Michael's eyes fluttered open. He was taking a nap on his bed, or, had been taking a nap on his bed, when something had woken him up;

though he didn't really mind, as he had been having the worst dream.

He slowly sat up and stretched, recalling the strange, shadowy figures from the dream, and what they had been saying, Dormammu.

Michael shrugged, Whatever, bad dreams happen- he glanced at the heavily curtained window next to his bed- It's over now, so what's the harm?

Something across the room caught Michael's attention. A small, white piece of paper was sticking out from under the door.

Michael gave it a wary glance, he wondered if this was one of Mordo's tests again and if the paper was going to explode as soon as he touched it. Wincing, he recalled the training test involving a lone cupcake sitting in the center of a table. "Always be wary of objects that seem the most innocent", those were the words his teacher had ingrained into his head from day one.

He cautiously held his hand out to the paper, flicking his wrist slightly and casting a simple disenchanting spell. He hoped that it was enough.

He walked over to the paper, sliding the rest of it out from under his door with his big toe. Bending down to pick it up, he read the fancy, curved writing, You're Invited!

Before he could even ask himself what he could possibly be invited to, he felt something smack hard into the side of his head. He fell back onto the floor, still clutching the paper in his hand.

A short, black-haired man burst through the doorway. He glanced down at Michael and quickly made a few signs in ASL. "Why are you on the floor?"

Michael signed back, "You hit me with the door, Joey."

"Sorry," Joey signed. He held out a small piece of paper that was identical to Michael's. "Did you get a paper?"

"Yep, mine looks just like yours," Michael signed, standing up and holding out his paper.

"What do you think it means?"

Michael shrugged, "I'm not sure."

Joey tapped his chin for a few moments before suddenly his face lit up: as if an idea had struck him. He made the sign for 'follow' and turned to race out the door.

Michael grabbed him by the back of the shirt. "Wait for a second Joey, explain first."

Joey grunted and turned back around, he quickly made a few signs and stared expectantly at Michael.

"Oh, find Margaret! Great idea Joey."

Joey nodded, rolling his eyes. He made and jerked his thumb towards the door.

"We'll go in a minute, but I gotta change out of my pajamas-" Micheal looked his friend up and down-" and do you want to stay in those boxers, or…"

After taking a few minutes to change, the two were off. They raced through the building, climbing up and down stairs, ducking in and out of rooms, and totally not tripping over various things (including people), until they finally found what they were looking for.

It was a small balcony, only able to fit three small tables and a few potted plants. It was known for its excellent view of the city, and Micheal knew for a fact that it didn't disappoint; since he often came here to relax after a rigorous training session with Mordo. On a normal day a person could see the entire village, perfectly framed by a distant mountain range, and beyond that, a backsplash of bright blue sky.

There was only one problem, this apparently wasn't a normal day, because a small storm cloud was hovering just above the balcony. Rain poured out of it in a sheet; soaking the stone floor.

"I don't think Margaret is here," Joey signed, turning to Michael.

Joey gestured to the cloud, "No way, really? Also, what the hell is that thing?"

"Hi Joey, hi Michael!"

Michael jumped. He turned to look at the sound before letting out a sigh of relief, "Oh, it's just you Margaret."

Margaret Levine, otherwise known as what happens when you shove sugar and spice and everything nice into a four-foot-ten package, was standing behind the two. She tapped Joey on the shoulder, waiting for him to see her before signing, "Are you two looking for looking for me?"

"Yeah, we were, I thought you had tea with Master Hamir here every couple days. What's with this cloud?"

"Just some student getting caught up in their magic. Master Hamir said we can have tea in the sunshine room instead. I'm kind of disappointed though, the sunshine room is pretty, but the view from this balcony is so much better," Margaret sighed. "What did you want me for anyway?"

Micheal held up the piece of paper, "Yeah, we have to ask you something. Do you know-"

Joey burst in front of him, signing rapidly.

Margaret took a step back, putting her arms up in front of her. "Okay, I get it. You want to know what I think of those invites everyone got this morning."

"I was getting to that, but Joey just had to cut me off."

"You sign too slow."

"Well, it is a second speak to me."

"Speak? Don't you mean language?"

"See! I told you it's like a- Can you repeat that sign again?"

Joey started forming the sign for 'language' again when Micheal's arms suddenly shot down to his sides. Opposite him, Joey's did the same thing. Micheal tried wiggling his fingers but found they were unalbe to move.

He glanced at Margaret, who was pointing a finger in their direction. The short woman's fiery glare burned a hole in his head.

"Okay, we're done talking now," he said, glancing at Joey, who was giving Margaret a look of both awe and fear.

Margaret smiled, "Thank you." She flicked her wrist and a burst of sparks left her fingertips. They landed on Micheal and Joey, where they glowed for a moment before disappearing. When they were gone, Micheal realized he could move his beloved limbs again.

He rubbed his arms, "Could you, like, never do that again."

"Sure, as long as you don't come for me for help and then immediately forget I'm there," she signed.

Joey, who was hopping from foot to foot, signed, "So, about the invites."

"Oh, right!" Margaret reached into her bag and pulled out the same piece of white paper Micheal had pulled from under his door earlier. "At first I was kind of weirded out, you know, a mysterious note gets slid under your door in the morning, who wouldn't be? But then I flipped it open and-"

Micheal waved his hand, struggling to find the right signs, "Wait, what do you mean, open it?"

Margaret blinked, "I mean open it. It's not just a slip of paper, it's a card. Did you two not know that?"

"No," signed Micheal at the same time Joey signed, "Yes."

Margaret sighed, "Well if you had known that and opened it, you would have seen that there's more information inside: a time and a place. I looked up the generally publicly celebrated events or holidays in this region, and apparently today, and tomorrow and the next day, is part of a three day Labor Day holiday. The invite says that we should head to the town square at four-thirty. I'm guessing there will be some sort of party or parade."

Micheal put a hand to his chin and nodded, "Okay, I got about two-thirds of that." He turned to Joey and signed, "Explain?"

Joey rolled his eyes and signed a simple explanation of what Margaret had said.

"Oh, a party, cool!" Micheal grinned, "I hope there's good food, and music, and food."

Margaret shook her head and signed, "I don't care what they have, as long as it's not Barfi. I'm so lactose intolerant just looking at that stuff will make me sick!"

"Don't worry, I'll eat it for you," Joey signed back, smirking.

"Great Joey, listen, I got to get to the sunshine room, Master Hamir and I are having tea today and I really don't want to be late."

"Bye Margaret," Micheal said out loud. Joey signed the same before Margaret hurried off towards the sunshine room.

"The whole thing was just a party," Micheal signed, turning to Joey, "Well, at least it wasn't something worse."

"What do you mean?"

"You heard what happened to the old librarian, I just didn't want this to be something bad."

"If you're really worried we can bring the paper to the Ancient One-"

"No, no, I wouldn't want to worry her about nothing."

The two turned and headed down a hallway in the general direction of the kitchens.

"Hey Micheal, do want to get some breakfast?"

Micheal's shoulders slumped in a way that almost looked resigned, but Joey knew that Micheal could never be resigned about food.

"Yeah."

Flashes of bright, colorful banners swam around the square and playful drumbeats danced through the crowd of people. The smell of frying foods and steaming meats flooded the streets and the sound of people laughing and talking filled the air.

Micheal stood off to the side with Pam, Margaret, Joey, and few other Kamar-Taj students. He took a sip of juice from his glass and glanced around nervously.

"So, are we supposed to just… Join in?" Margaret asked, peeking her head out from behind Micheal's back.

"I don't know, it feels kind of rude to just barge in on their celebration."

Pam elbowed Micheal out of the way, "C' mon you guys, it's no big deal! This is a town celebration, we live in the town. Therefore, by the rules of etiquette, we are allowed to join in without it being awkward."

Margaret stepped out from behind Micheal but still stayed close, "Pam, I don't really like big parties on a normal day. I might just stay here with Micheal and the others."

Pam shrugged and tucked a strand of short black hair behind her ear before brushing her robes off. "Suit yourselves," she turned to Joey, who had been eyeing a plate of dumplings sitting on a nearby food cart. She tapped him on the shoulder and, once he turned, quickly signed out the phrase, "Come on."

Joey nodded and followed Pam, not forgetting to wave to Margaret and Micheal. The two weaved their way into the crowd, and eventually, Micheal lost sight of them; though he thought he could catch glimpses of Joey buzzcut or Pam's pink headband every now and then. He looked back at Margaret to see if there was anything she wanted to do and saw her squinting at a crowd of people exiting the doors of Kamar-Taj.

A smile appeared suddenly on her face and she grabbed his arm. "Micheal, follow me, there's someone I want you to meet." Her grip on his arm tightened and she dragged him over to the doors.

"Well, I mean technically I'm not following you because- You know what, never mind."

After saying 'Excuse me,' and 'Please move,' about a hundred times, Margaret came to a stop in front of a dark-skinned girl with a morose look, and black makeup, covering her face.

"Hey Corvina," Margaret said, grinning. She pushed Micheal in front of her, "This is the friend I told you about, Micheal!"

Corvina stared at Micheal with what was either rage or indifference. She gave a listless wave, "Sup."

"Uh, hi."

Margaret glanced between the two, a smile practically splitting her face in half. "Micheal, Corvina is very into the 'goth' fashion movement, as you can probably tell," she gestured to the other girl's dark eyeshadow and lipstick, "Isn't that just neat?"

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." Michael scratched the back of his neck, "Listen, I don't want to be rude or anything since I just met you, but…"

Corvina's glared at Margaret while the latter almost squealed in excitement.

"Have you heard of a song called 'Welcome to the Black Parade'?"

Corvina stepped back as her eyes widened, "No. Freaking. Way. I LOVE MCR!"
"That's awesome, I love them too!" He smirked, "And, no offense or anything, but I could tell you were a fan since the moment I saw you."

Corvina quirked an eyebrow, "Intuition?"

"No, all-" He gestured to her makeup filled face and black robes, "-This."

Corvina laughed and nudged Margaret, "You sure have good taste in friends Marge."

The blonde girl grinned even wider and began bouncing on her heels, "I sure do."