Chapter 109 - The Meteor Festival Done Right - Part 3| Louis and Pina vs. The Festival

Pina interlocked one of his arms with Louis'. "God, you're so gay for dogs."

"Was it really that obvious?" Louis rubbed his cheek.

"I mean, Legosi made it obvious but then with his friends? I mean I don't blame you. They're cute. I just prefer felines for my carnivore."

"And deer for your herbivore?" Louis raised a brow.

"What can I say? I love horns. And pretty boys." Pina raised a hand to his brow and he laughed. "God, that sounds narcissistic as fuck. But I wouldn't date myself! Seriously."

"Is that really true?" Louis chuckled. "You do tend to show that you love yourself."

"Guess I'm a good actor then." Pina turned to Louis and smiled cutely. "Anyway, let's walk around and make our own fun and romance, like I said! And forget about anything having to do with cults or towers."

Louis turned his head this way and that. "Let's avoid buying anything until the end."

"God, it's hot when rich guys are frugal." Pina gripped Louis harder. "If we find cotton candy, I am buying some, though."

"How is it hot?" Louis laughed. "I just don't want to carry it around the whole time."

"What if my leg falls off and you have to carry me the whole time?" Pina asked.

"That's better. You're cuter than the stuffed prizes I've seen around."

"But I do like to be stuffed," the sheep winked.

"That can be arranged rather easily."

"Here?" Pina smacked Louis lightly on the nose. "Naughty deer."

"I didn't mean here!"

"But I know you'd like to. I'm not forgetting what you and Legosi did at that party."

Louis placed both hands on his own cheeks, feeling them grow hot. "I almost forgot."

"That just goes to show how much shit we have to go through if you forgot something like that." Pina pulled Louis along. "Maybe we can find one of those phony unwinnable games and get scammed."

"Getting scammed sounds better than being inducted into a cult," Louis laughed. "Yeah. But I'm going to win anyway."

"I would love to see that." Pina turned to rub his nose on Louis' cheek.

Louis began moving faster. "Let's just play the first game we find, then, so I can show you my skill."

Pina pointed. "Look! Ring toss! That's like the ultimate impossible game!"

The stall was manned by an excited looking alligator, and behind him was a table with various dinosaur figures set up, along with different sized rings. It didn't take long for them to deduce that you had to choose which rings to throw on which dinosaur.

"Coincidence that the game you've brought up multiple times is the first one we see..."

"I am the master of this reality, mortal!" Pina's voice boomed. "But I will release my grip on it for this moment to see your skills at work!"

Louis walked closer, pulling out some money.

The big lizard sprang to life. "Ahh, looks like we have our next participants! Pick each ring and get them on the dinosaurs' necks!" His spiel was interrupted when he saw the deer's money. "Oh, the first try is free, my friend!"

"So..." Pina eyed the walls of the booth, spying various odds and ends and trinkets. "Are those the prizes?"

"Yes! But you don't win anything unless you get at least three of the six rings on! And if you get all six you get a secret prize!"

"Secret? What kind of secret? Like...worth my money secret?" asked Louis.

"Very much." The host winked. "Now try your shot! This is your one free chance! If you make it you could win the prize without spending anything!"

Louis nodded, grabbing the rings off the counter. "Here we go."

Pina hugged him from behind. "You can do it!"

The deer took one of the rings in his hands and turned it while folding his arm up to line up the shot.

"Do you need me to let go?" Pina asked.

"Maybe. Just in case."

Pina did so and stepped to the side, bringing his hand up to his cheek and rubbing some of the wool.

Louis took another moment and then tossed the ring at the nearest purple dinosaur.

"There's one!" the host shouted as the ring went cleanly around its neck. "Five more to go!"

Louis smiled, confidently, then carefully tossed another.

"There's two! Of course, the hardest is yet to come!"

The deer's tongue poked out a bit as he tossed a yellow ring at the dinosaur to the right of the previous one.

It clinked off, and the alligator pretended to cringe. "Ooo, that's your first miss! But you're so close to a prize! Just not the best prize..."

"Oof. Well, keep at it, boo," Pina pat Louis' shoulder.

"No, no," Louis shook his head. "Restart."

The host gawked. "But...you could still hit five and get a pretty good prize for free. If you try again you have to spend 100 yen."

"I want the best prize," Louis argued.

"But you can get more than one prize," Pina countered.

"But...Well, I suppose you're right. Fine." He tossed another ring. No good. It missed. Louis scoffed. "Start over!"

Pina turned to the host. "Better listen to him."

"O-okay, well it's 100 yen..."

Louis quickly took it out and slammed it down. "I will get it this time."

The alligator retrieved the rings and placed them in front of Louis again before taking the money. "Good luck."

Again the deer began tossing, starting with the red ring. And it doesn't hit.

"Again," Louis said, taking out another 100 yen.

The booth runner smiled. "Welp, alrighty then!"

And the game began yet again, Louis tossing the same red ring in the same direction. "I'm going to get this." And he did, the first ring entrapping the neck of one of the plastic dinos. "Finally! Even though those other two didn't count, of course," Louis said, proudly.

"You still got five more to go on this turn, boo." Pina flicked the back of his head.

Louis continued his barrage of rings at the plastic figures, the fire in his eyes never diminishing.

That time he managed four hits before missing, and the host clapped his big hands. "Well! You get to pick a four-hit prize for-"

"No, I want to try again. I don't care about those little trinkets."

The alligator's smile grew wider. "As you wish. 100 more yen." At that point, a few animals had stopped to witness what was unfolding.

Louis continued on with his tirade, getting 5 one time, but not all 6, and not all 6 on the first try. He grew more frustrated with every 100 yen down the drain.

"Dude, how much cash do you carry on you?" Pina asked.

"I brought quite a bit," Louis growled.

"Well, you'd better win. I wanna see what that prize is."

"I'm trying, Pina," he huffed, continuing to play the game.

The turns came and went, and the crowd grew too. Murmurs could be heard as the audience asked if that really was Louis and if he really was spending all that money on a child's game. And the deer was clearly getting angrier as time went on. He had spent quite a bit of money at this point...

"How about you get your sheep friend to try?" the alligator suggested. "He gets a free turn, after all."

"My boyfriend is fine," Louis snapped. "What if I just pay you to fucking tell me at this rate?"

"You want me to just tell you what the prize is?" the big lizard asked in disbelief.

"I will pay you."

The crowd had gone silent, and Pina responded by looking back and fluttering his eyelashes.

"Fine. You don't have to pay me." The host reached down and pulled out a necklace with a brilliant red jewel. "It's a meteor necklace. That's a real ruby, too!"

Pina turned his attention back and giggled. "And you're giving it away at a kid's game."

"Well obviously isn't quite hard. Care to give it a try?"

"Oh, no way! My boyfriend would kill me."

"I would never kill you, Pina. But I need to win this. Or I'm a failure."

"Oh, you are not!" the sheep chided, and there were even some chuckles in the crowd. "Just don't waste all your money."

"Urgh...I...want to win that necklace for you."

"Ah, the fire burns brighter in his eyes now!" the alligator bellowed. "I know you can do it this time!"

"Thank you. Here I go." He put another 100 yen down and took a deep, deep breath.

Clink. One down. Pina patted him on the back.

"If only I had even more incentive," he muttered, tossing another thing.

Clink. Another one. Pina kisses his cheek. "That necklace is really nice."

"It is. And you will have it." Clink. The audience had a more audible reaction now, awaiting the next toss.

Clink! Everyone was at the edge of their proverbial seats. Just two more...

Clink!

"This is it!" Someone said from nearby.

Louis turned his head to Pina, just looking for a moment.

Pina stared back, eyes wide and intense. "Get that damn necklace, boo."

The deer turned back and, with bated breath, threw the last ring. Time seemed to slow down as it flew through the air. All eyes were on the ring as it flew gracefully for that last dinosaur's neck.

Clink.

An uproar of applause sounded and Pina jumped up and the air and shouted, "FUCK YEAH!"

Louis closed his eyes. "Shit."

The host brought the necklace up and placed it on the counter. "Welp! It's yours! Or rather, it's the sheep's! I must thank you for all the money."

Louis swallowed. "Oops."

Pina turned to the buck. "What is it?"

"I guess I could have just bought you that somewhere else..." He was scratching his neck, rather embarrassed.

"But you did it!" Pina grabbed the necklace, hooked it around himself, then pulled the buck into a hug and kiss. "You kicked the shit out of that ring game!"

Louis sighed. "You look incredible with it."

Red looks great on white, yeah. Thanks." Pina kissed his cheek again and turned back to the booth. "Thank you for not being a hack fraud, dude!"

The alligator dipped his cap and smirked. "No problem! Enjoy it!"

"Did...we get scammed anyway?" Louis' blush wasn't leaving.

"What? No no, it was just hard! And you persevered! Now, go off and enjoy yourselves!"

The deer bowed to the crowd. "I hope you enjoyed the free show."

The audience whooped and hollered, and unsurprisingly the alligator tried to use Louis' display to get more players. The two herbivores ducked out pretty quickly.

"Wow, this is actually a nice prize," Pina commented as he ran the necklace through his fingers. "Thanks."

Louis moved and grabbed it himself, inspecting it. "A real gem."

"Yeah! What a pretty stone to signify the catalyst of a mass extinction."

Louis laughed, and then kept laughing. "W-wow! Hahaha!"

"That's what it is!" Pina laughed, as well.

"You just said it so nonchalantly!"

"Because I'm a great actor!"

"But so enthusiastically, too!" He kept laughing, genuinely, a rare sound for Louis the red deer.

"Damn, can't believe a little bit of gallows humor got you that good," Pina whistled. "Guess I should bring it out more."

"It was really good," he smiled, affectionately. "You always know how to make me laugh."

"You further push me toward a career as a comedian." Pina glanced around, and then gasped. "Cotton candy! Candied cotton!"

"Sweet wool?"

Pina snorted. "That's a bit weird. Imagine if my wool was sweet to the taste."

"It's not like I already hold it in my mouth while you're asleep or anything," Louis said, straight up.

"That can't feel nice on your tongue," Pina said back, unflinching. "Anyway, let's go rot our teeth."

The two approached the penguin cotton candy vendor. "Two pinks, please," Louis said. "...Is that the best flavor? I've never had cotton candy."

"You...never have?" Pina looked downright shocked.

"You don't recall how I grew up?"

"True. Anyway, cotton candy pink can be a few things. Strawberry, watermelon, bubblegum, just regular cotton candy flavor..."

"What is it this time?"

The penguin looked up. "Strawberry!"

"You just went with it cuz you love pink, right?" Pina prodded.

"I do..." Louis handed the flightless bird the money.

Soon, the two had sticks of light fluffy candy in their grasp. Pina held off having a bite of his to watch Louis' reaction to it.

The deer was looking at him, waiting for him to take a bite for some reason.

Pina giggled. "You go first!"

"Oh, yes, of course." The deer leaned his muzzle in and took off a small chunk, eyes widening. "Mm?"

Pina leaned forward, expectantly. "Sooooo?"

"Where did it go?"

"In...your mouth."

"But where? It just evaporated?"

"That's just how it is! You tasted it, right? Your saliva broke it down!"

"It's not...chewy?" Louis asked, looking at the rest of the candy on a stick.

"Nope! Welcome to cotton candy. Population: us!" And with that, Pina took some of the colorful candy in his mouth and licked it up.

The deer pulled his hand and sat him down on a stone wall nearby. "So...this festival, huh? Hard to believe last time I was here...yeah."

"Yeah. Well, this sure as hell beats last year, huh?" Pina stuck his face back into the candy.

"I'll probably have my other eye by the end of this."

"What, like it's gonna grow back?"

"What? No, I meant the good one."

"Oh, so you think you're going to lose it at the end of the festival?"

"No I'm saying—Gah!—Nevermind."

"Mm. Eat your candy, silly." Pina pat his shoulder.

Louis continued eating, quietly. "Well...I apologize for making a display of myself back there."

"Oh, is that why you were upset? I don't mind it. People didn't seem to hate us."

"I don't think they did."

"Even though we're two guys, we're two herbivores." Pina sighed and ate more of his candy. "It's not fair."

"I love your cotton candy wool, thooough."

"I know." Pina reached out and rubbed one of Louis' long ears. "I just feel bad that one of our relationships can be seen as better than the others when they should all be seen as fine. Valid."

"You mean me and Legosi's being looked down upon?"

Pina nodded. "Or mine and Bill's. What our families did. I mean, my parents still wouldn't have been happy with me having a boyfriend, and I'm sure Bill's wouldn't either, but...yeah."

"I do wonder what it would have been like if I had gone instead. Maybe I could have convinced them..."

"I doubt it. But, like I told you, I did get that message from mom. But they're selfish, and just want me in their life because I'm their last son. They don't want who I am."

Louis leaned against him. "We all seem to have parental issues."

Pina leaned against him. "Yeah. At least we had other people in our lives to pick up the slack."

"Exactly. I sort of feel bad that me and my father are on better terms now since yours isn't with you..."

"It's not a contest, Louis. If you were still on bad terms with your dad then we'd both be miserable about it. I'd rather you be happy."

"And I'd rather you be happy."

Pina smiled. "I am! I got a nice new necklace and some cotton candy and I get to spend the day with my favorite boys today!"

"I guess so..." Louis looked at the ground as he took another bite.

Pina leaned forward. "So...cotton candy? Yay or nay?"

"Hip, hip, hooray."

"Doesn't sound so convincing." Pina got closer and took a bite of Louis'. "Mmm, cavities."

The buck chuckled and held it toward him, smiling. "Well...I'm unsure how I feel, still. It's strange. I guess that's why you love it."

Pina nodded and took another bite. "Yeah! It's just so...different. Do you have a favorite candy?"

"Ah...I don't really consume much candy," Louis answered.

"How about sweets? Pastries?"

"Well, I've made a few fruit ones for Legosi. These were good, I suppose."

"So healthy," Pina crooned. "Hope I'm not ruining you by making you eat this."

"You're not!"

"I'm stuffing you up to eat you." Pina stuck his tongue out. "Sorry you had to find out this way."

"I do the stuffing around here," Louis fired back.

"Woah, ho, ho!" Pina pat the buck on the back. "God, that was a good one! Proud of you for that."

"Also, you sure make a lot of jokes about eating me for someone who hasn't even a little bit."

"Next time, then," Pina said, mischievously, only his squinted eyes showing past the cotton candy.

"You won't regret it." Louis leaned and took another chomp of his candy. "Of course, you're not a canine either..."

"Yeah. Carnivores get all the cool tongues," Pina pouted. "Soooooo, anything special planned for your hotel visit with Legosi?"

"I don't want to tell you anything until after it's happened," Louis smirked.

"Well, don't do a sex marathon. That's my sagely advice." Pina tipped the cotton candy up into his mouth as if he were drinking it.

"No, definitely not," Louis shook his head. "I wonder if he is planning anything, though."

"Maybe. Bill might try and fill his head with ideas, maybe. Either that or he's gonna convince him to film that video he wants there."

"Of me? Oh, right. I didn't plan on bringing the toy..."

"There's stuff at the hotel," Pina informed. "They also have these little things you put on the ends of your fingers if you have claws to make fingering safer. Not that Bill needed them, but I thought that might interest you."

"That does interest me," Louis said. "Of course, you know I adore his claws as they come."

"Of course, of course." Pina leaned over to peck his cheek. "I'm sure you'll have fun. We'll have to go sometime, too."

Louis wrapped his arms around him, just enjoying the quiet moment. "...I don't actually hold your wool in my mouth while we sleep."

"You should. Bill has." Pina rubbed said wool up against him. "Well, he grooms it. Feline stuff. You could give it a try, though."

"I guess I could. But not here."

"Yeah. That'd be silly."

After a few more minutes, they both finished up their cotton candy, leaving a pink sticky mess over each. Of course, it was more noticeable on Pina's white wool.

Louis licked his lips and then stood up. "On to the next one. Also, you're going to play the next game."

"Sounds good. Off we go!"

The next game they decided to play was a claw machine. "I've only heard of these from Legosi," Louis said, stepping up.

Pina shook his head. "Oh man, you need to get out more." They approached the machine and peered in. "Good thing this isn't one that takes coins. Who the fuck just carries coins with them?"

Louis scanned the machine. "What does it take?"

"Looks like it can take anything. It even has a card scanner. How high tech..."

"I do have my card with me," Louis said, rifling through his satchel.

"Good, good." Pina presses his face against the glass. "See anything good? Just looks like standard stuffed animals and insects and mascots."

"Insects? Hmm..."

Pina pulled his face away. "Depends on if I'm winning a prize for you or Legosi. Or maybe I can win something for all of us? Maybe I'm a fucking pro at this."

"Prove it." His boyfriend crossed his arms.

"Alright! What am I aiming for, then?"

"Pick a nice gift for me." Louis rubbed his head.

Pina peered in again, and after a few seconds, he gasped. "Okay, I'm going for that one." He reached into his pocket for his wallet.

"Which?"

"You'll see." Pina swiped his card through and the machine sprung to life. He grabbed the joystick and began to manipulate the claw.

The buck stood beside him, watching it wiggle and move.

The device moved right, back, left a little, and then Pina hit the button to lower it. Louis followed the path down and saw the target: a little, fluffy, stuffed sheep."Wooow," he purred.

"So you can have your sheep with you even when he's not around," Pina explained. The claw wrapped itself around the toy's head, pulling it up. "Auuugh! My heaaaaad!" the real sheep cried.

Louis burst out laughing at that. "Oh nooo!"

As the claw brought the poor stuffed sheep over, it slipped out of the claw. Pina shrieked.

"Ha! I knew it!" Louis pointed, hitting his finger against the glass. "Aughhh!" He brought it back quickly and held it.

"What, did the glass hurt you?" Pina laughed.

"Hush..."

"Alright, well sheepy is out and easier to get now. Here we go. Round two."

Pina slid the card again and the claw came to life. He seemed to move more carefully, using feather touches to get the claw just right before it reached down and grabbed the sheep again, this time by its body.

Louis' eye widened, still holding his injured finger. "Wait..."

"The claw grabbed it. Can't control it anymore," Pina said. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why wait?"

"Oh, right. You honestly got it this fast?"

Pina flipped a lock of wool from his face. "These games aren't hard, love." As soon as he said that, the stuffed sheep was dropped just next to the glass tube that would have released it. "...Shiiiiiit."

Louis perked up. "There's still a chance, then."

"Yeah, but that means I spend more money. Whatever, it's cheap as hell. I could add more tries on to the card but I don't want to if I don't have to." Pina swiped the card again.

"I meant still a chance for you not to show me up," the deer whispered.

Pina barked out a laugh. "Oh, of course that's what you meant!" He positioned the claw once more, but since the sheep was so close it was child's play. Soon, it was deposited into the chute to collect. Pina pulled it out and presented it to Louis. "Ta-daaaa~! MiniPini."

"Did you have that ready?" Louis snorted.

"Nope! Came up with it on the spot!" Pina made MiniPini dance around in front of Louis' face. "Ohh, hi, Lou-chan! Pick me up and hold me and love me!" the sheep made sure his voice was high and squeaky.

Louis blushed and grabbed it, petting it. "Hello...uh...MiniPini."

Pina clapped his hands. "Yaaay!"

"Thank you, BigPini."

"Hah! No problem! Now you try!"

"You're kidding." Louis looked at him like he was crazy.

"Fine. I'll win Legosi that cute beetle plush myself, then." Pina turned back to the machine.

"No, no! I can do it!" Louis bumped him with his hip, pushing him out of the way.

Pina giggled. "By all means!"

The buck took out his own card and swiped it, trying to follow what Pina did to get one of the insect prizes.

Pina stood back and crossed his arms, awaiting the outcome.

And the outcome was a success on Louis' first try!

"The bug's round body made it easier for the claw to grab it," Pina dismissed.

"That made up for all of the trouble with the ring toss," Louis said.

"You're right about that." Pina looked off into the distance and held his chin. "Now I just need to get something for Bill..."

"From this machine?"

"Nah, I think I'll find something else along the way. There're no anime characters in there."

"Haha, true. Onward!"

The two herbivores were off once more, navigating the crowds and looking for anything that might be worth their time.

Louis hummed a song that had been stuck in his head as they went, enjoying the lights of the festival and all the smiling faces of carnivores and herbivores alike.

"God, all the students here are probably so relieved they don't have to be separated for this. And then they have to go back to it again on Monday." Pina sighed and put his hands in his pockets. "I wonder if Gon's really gonna resign or not."

"I think he will," Louis answered. "There's no point in him staying if he will be unhappy."

"I hope the board takes that as a sign that the segregation is a bad idea." Pina's head jerked back a bit as something caught his eye. He then pointed. "Hey, what's that pink neon heart thing?"

Louis' head turned in that direction. "It looks like it's pretty obvious what it is, considering the giant letters that say 'LOVE TEST'."

"Hey, there was an animal in the way!" Pina argued. "Anyway, what kind of test do you think it is? Multiple choice? Fill in the blanks?"

"I think it's a test to see if we love MiniPini or not."

"Hold on," Louis said, grabbing his wrist. Seated at the love testing machine were two familiar sheep.

"Oh my gosh, Shogi! No need to be shy about it! It's just for fun!" Sebun smacked his hand, lightly.

"W-well...What if it's low..." the male sheep responded.

"It's not real! Plus, we're just friends. C'mon, just put your hand here on mine!"

Shogi blushed deeper and his hand slowly moved to lay on top of hers. "O-okay...Now what?"

"Then we both press our buttons at the same time and hold our hands there and watch the meter go up!"

"Okay..." Shogi mumbled, sneaking a glance at her smiling face and then looking at the buttons on the machine in front of them, eager to test their "love".

They pressed the button and the meter started to slowly climb, lights flickering and bells and whistles going off. It was quite the spectacle.

Shogi and Sebun's eyes moved up with it, and the male herbivore felt his anxiousness rising with it.

Finally, it rose all the way past "burning", then "passionate", then "hot stuff", all the way to the top; "Uncontrollable".

Sebun's eyes went wide as it climbed, and she started laughing hysterically after it passed "hot stuff".

Shogi was looking at her, so he didn't see the result.

"Shogi, it's uncontrollable!" Sebun managed to recover a bit, wiping at her eye.

"Your laugh?"

"Our love! Look at the thing!" Sebun pointed. "A-also my l-l-laughing! Ahahhahahha!"

Shogi blushed, then felt a little bravery well up, so he moved to lean against her.

That got Sebun's laughing to almost stop. She took her hand off of the game and wrapped her arm around his back.

"Can I just...stay here?" Shogi whispered, moving his hand to grab her other one, which rested on her lap.

"Well, we should probably move for whoever might want to use this." Sebun turned her head and she gasped when she saw the buck. "OH! Louis!"

Shogi raised his head so quickly at that that he was thrown backward off the chair, onto his back. "Yagh!"

"Ah, Shogi!" Sebun reached down to help him up.

"Holy shit, you killed him," Pina gawked.

Louis rushed forward and kneeled down. "I apologize, Shogi-san! Are you alright?"

Shogi's brave moment shattering like glass, he just sighed. "I suppose so."

Sebun and Louis managed to help Shogi up, and the two sheep turned to third, taller sheep. Pina stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Hey, I'm Pina. You may or may not know about me."

"I remember you from when Legosi and Louis moved in," Sebun nodded. "And you and Louis are dating on the side. Is Legosi here?"

"He's around," Louis answered. "He's with his old Cherryton roommates right now. And Bill."

"Well, tell him hi if we don't see him," Sebun looked back to the Love Test. "Were you two going to give this a whirl?"

Louis nodded. "We were."

Sebun grabbed Shogi's hand. "Well! We won't keep you guys! Have fun! See you later!" And with that, the two little sheep took off.

"Wow." Pina looked over at Louis. "They're cute."

"And their love was uncontrollable..."

"Well let's see what we get, then!" Pina took a seat.

Louis sat in the seat next to him. "Indeed. I'm quite interested in how this works."

"It's something to do with body temperature or something? I think." Pina put his hand on the metal half-sphere.

Louis reached out his hand and placed it upon Pina's. "Ready?"

"Hold up." Pina got up and slipped onto Louis's lap, dipping down so Louis could see over him. "There."

"Ah, that makes sense. To generate more heat, right?" Louis asked.

Pina looked behind him. "Is it working?"

"I definitely feel it."

"Then let's go!"

They both pressed their buttons and the meter began to climb. Up, up, up, and...it stopped halfway.

Pina squinted at the words. "It says...'Naughty, but nice'. What the fuck does that mean?"

Louis grabbed his hips, playfully. "Exactly what it says."

"Naughty, huh?" Pina turned around in his lap and touched noses. "Wonder why it's only at option five..."

"Whoever made this is clearly daft," Louis gestured. "But...right, too."

"We'll have to test it with all our other couple combinations when we meet up with Legosi and Bill again," Pina said, slipping off his lap. "Let's let the wind guide us to our next adventure..."

"And that adventure is?" Louis asked.

And find out they did, coming across a photo booth that had a line of animals waiting for it. Louis paid no mind, but Pina's ears perked.

"Hey, check out that photo booth! We could go inside there and be gay."

"Be gay? Like...naughty and nice?" Louis asked.

"Yes, exactly. Let's get in line!"

The line went by rather quickly, and soon, Louis was pulling back the curtain for his lover. "And there's no one behind us at least."

"I've never been in one of these. Have you?" Pina asked.

"Um...no." He came inside and closed the curtain. "Oh, it's really tight in here."

"I guess they could only afford one at this size. I feel bad for any big animals that want to do this." Pina looked forward at the screen, which showed the video feed of themselves back to them. "Woah, sexy dudes on the TV."

Louis was bending to avoid his antlers scraping the ceiling. "And animals with antlers."

"Ah, yeah. My horns are faring a bit better." Pina looked down, spying a green button with a camera picture on it. "Guess we hit this, then."

Louis turned. "What is it?" And then his hand pressed the button. "Oh, oops. Um. Maybe I'll just sit."

A countdown showed up on the screen and the two sat back. Pina leaned his head toward Louis', careful of their horns.

Louis looked at the screen. "What should I—"

FLASH. The picture was taken and showed up on the screen. Pina was leaning his head on Louis' shoulder, smiling, while Louis was facing away, mouth open.

"Not again!" The deer groaned.

"What? You bad at pictures or something?"

"I've taken so many in my life, of course not. Let me get positioned..." He pulled his boyfriend closer. "There. I'm ready!"

"Oh, there are different filters here, too. Let's pick one!" Pina began to cycle through them, plunging the pair into sepia, black and white, warm colors, cool colors, and more. "Oh, and borders!" Pina fiddled with those, too.

"Woah, that one makes it looks like Legosi drew us," Louis pointed.

"Yeah, let's do this one. We look like we're manga characters or something!" Pina posed next to Louis, holding up a peace sign and sticking his tongue out slightly.

Louis tried to mirror what he was doing. "Mmm!"

FLASH. This one was better, obviously. Pina went back to adjusting the settings. Eventually, he landed on a border that was pink and heart-shaped. "Alright, time for the romantic one."

"Naughty or nice?" Louis questioned.

"Naughty." Pina grinned, devilishly.

"Mm~ Go for it," Louis cooed, honestly unsure of what to do in this tight space.

Pina brought his leg up and laid it across Louis' lap, reached over to hit the button, and then brought his hand up to Louis' mouth, forcing it open before sticking his tongue in on full display for the camera.

Louis blushed deeply. FLASH. And of course, the kissing didn't stop, yet.

Now that the picture had been taken, Pina could actually continue it properly, which he did. The screen asked them if they wanted to print out their pictures.

Louis, still kissing him, reached and clicked yes.

Louis smiled at Pina after they pulled back from the kiss. "I'm guessing you've been waiting all day for that. Or am I the only one?"

"It was near the top of the list," Pina smiled.

"Wait, wait. What's at the top?" Louis asked, a hand on his thigh.

"Well, aside from just being here with everyone and out of that damn tower..." Pina looked away, a bit bashfully. "The candles, I guess. Even though it's just superstition."

"I agree. I'm very eager to light a candle with Legosi," Louis said. "If there were mini candles, maybe...But I don't know, even then."

Pina snickered. "Like, those little birthday candles that smell weird?"

"What? No. I meant I would maybe light a mini candle with you, and I bet Bill is going to try and get Legosi to light a candle with him anyway."

"I know, I was joking! Legosi is stealing your ability to understand jokes." Pina flicked his forehead. "Anyway, let's go out and collect our pictures."

"Oh, they're not in here?" Louis asked. "Alright." He got up and opened the curtain, then began stepping out, until he froze, Pina unable to see what he was looking at.

"Oof!" Pina ran into him. "Hey, what's up?"

"Can I help you?" he heard Louis say.

"Louis..." the extremely familiar voice said back.

"Nori!?" Pina poked his head from behind the deer, only to see an arctic fox. "Weh?"

The arctic fox ran forward and hugged him, tightly. "It really is you! I would recognize that eyepatched deer anywhere!"

Pina held up a finger. "Uh..."

"Who are you?" Louis blinked.

Nori stepped back. "Oh, right. Got lost in the moment. It's me! Nori! The red panda!"

"Um?" Louis stepped fully out so Pina could join him.

"Uh, about that? Did you get bleached?" Pina scratched his head in thought.

"I'm an arctic fox now! Well, not really! It's my new look! Look, even sharper fangs!" He opened his maw, pointing.

Louis felt his lip quiver just a bit. "Nori..."

"What? It's fine! I'm happy!"

"So, it really is you?" Pina asked.

"Of course it is! Look, look!" He pulled his bag forward and unzipped it, then just barely pulled out his gloves with claws on them. "See? Same ones!"

Pina observed and confirmed they very much were the same weapons. "Wow...so you really went all out with hiding from Ichi, huh?"

"'Course I did," the fox smiled, putting a hand on his own hip. "I had a whole plan, obviously."

"Where's Hachi?" the sheep asked, looking around.

Nori turned his head this way and that. "Oh...they're just in the bathroom. They'll be back any second now."

But it wasn't even a few seconds before the tall Hachi was walking toward them, then speeding toward them, their horns adorned with little meteor decorations.

"And they look the same," Pina joked.

Nori blew some air between his lips. "Yeah, some 'beauty of the gods' thing or some shit. Oh well."

Hachi approached and grabbed both of them, lifting them up.

Louis and Pina both were caught by surprise, but eventually put their arms around the strong elk's back.

Hachi kissed both of their heads multiple times. "My friends! Oh my lovely friends! Ohhh I missed you so much!"

"Glad to see you're okay!" Pina said, joyfully.

The elk just continued kissing him. "Your voice...your wool...ahhh!"

"Were you always this strong?" Pina kicked his legs a bit as they both dangled.

"I haven't stopped training!" They explained, setting him down, but kissing his cheek one more time. "It's so good to see you."

Louis laughed. "Hey, be careful with my boyfriend. I haven't even kissed him that much today."

"You gotta catch up now, boo," PIna answered.

Louis leaned in and kissed all over his face.

Nori made a sound. "Even though you're having a damn kissing fest right now, I couldn't care less. I'm just so happy to see you. I missed you guys..."

"I really missed you, too," Louis said, looking back at him from the sheep.

"Do you want kisses, too?" Pina raised a brow.

Nori blushed. "Maybe."

Pina crouched down, face to face with him. "Hehe, we're the same color now."

Nori sighed. "Yeah. I'm sorry if you don't like it."

Pina kissed his forehead. "It's a nice look for you. Is it forever?"

"I plan for it to be..." Nori looked up at him. "And I think that's okay because it's what I want."

Louis came over. "It is okay. I support whatever makes you happy."

"But you said Hachi wasn't so happy..." Pina looked at the elk.

"...Yeah, well that's their problem," he whispered.

"So what are you guys doing here? Just having a good time?"

"Yes. Look!" They pointed to their antlers. "Did you see? Did you see?"

"I do! They look amazing!" Pina raised the necklace Louis won him earlier up. "Look what Louis got me!"

"He bought that for you?" They smiled. "It is so cute!"

Louis shook his head. "Technically I bought it, but I had to beat this ridiculous ring toss game."

Nori gawked. "The one with the alligator guy?"

Pina nodded. "Yup! Did you try it?"

"Fuck that shit," Nori hissed. "Ughhhh..."

Hachi giggled. "He could not win and gave up."

"Well, this was the best prize. It took him a few tries but he did it." Pina wrapped an arm around Louis and puffed his chest out.

"I did, in the end," Louis looked at the necklace one more time, feeling the pride inside.

"Ah, it was just some dumb necklace," Nori turned to Hachi. "No juicy secrets."

"So where are you guys staying?" Pina asked after some silence.

"...Anywhere, really..." the faux fox answered.

"Has it been difficult?" Louis asked.

"It's a lot easier with someone like Hachi with me. We're a...good team, honestly. Who knew?"

Hachi just reddened at that. "We also got a handbook."

Pina inched forward. "A handbook?"

"A survival guide," Nori explained. "How to be street smart and all that."

"Well, that's good. Also, Juu said she was coming to the festival, so...she'll recognize Hachi for sure."

"Wait, wait, wait! WHAT?"

Pina shrugged. "I don't really know her deal. Louis is already paying her off to be quiet about stuff so I don't think she's exactly the biggest danger. But just so you guys know. Ichi also said he regretted how he handled the situation with Nori."

Hachi looked at the fox. "Should we leave?"

Nori seemed to really debate this for a moment. "Weeeelll..."

"It'd suck if you didn't even get to meet Bill, though," Pina mumbled.

And the look on Hachi's face was enough to break Nori down. "We'll stay..."

Pina clapped his hands together. "Alright, so do you guys wanna do anything?"

"Let's go meet your friends before anything happens," Nori said. "Then we can talk games."