With his back laid out on the heated grass underneath him and the trees in the midst of properly spouting now giving him shade , and his clothed stomach acting as a comfy bed for his new feline friend , the azure haired boy held out a piece of darkish paper in his hand in front of him that he couldn't stop staring at ever since he got the chance to actually look at the thing properly since he was now free of his duties.

"Ann…ual…"

"Me…Meteor show..wer?"

The words left his lips with curiosity as his other hand simply remained to stroke through the warm fur mindlessly as his focus remained elsewhere.

Those were the words that were drawn over the paper in cursive and large letters at the top , framing the silhouette of a giant sort of building with a lot of points and different shapes and flags on top of the points ; all which looked extremely decorated and fancy , even compared to those that he would see when he would just start going to the entrance of Taïr.

And even with that impressive drawing of his mind on the paper , there were other things that were included alongside that he couldn't help but look at with marvel. Such as the illustration that depicted the full moon shining above high , with stars aligned and dotted all behind the silhouette and some things that looked like strikes of falling ink amongst the depiction of the stars which stuck out rather brilliantly.

'Meteor shower…'

'What is that?'

It was his first time actually hearing of the name of such a phenomenon. And that was not even through his own knowledge , but from hearing some guy acclaim the name aloud in town near the giant flowing fountain. It was when he had been sent back to collect the delayed order of the dress that he had been told to collect again at a later date.

So not too long ago.

And whilst he was in the midst of trying to navigate back to the tailor's establishment , he had heard the following , loud and passionate.

"Come and witness the divine beauty that will be bestowed upon us through the mercy of the gods!"

"The Annual Meteor Shower!"

"In preparation for our reverent goddess's nights of worship!"

"Seren will bless us with a sight from the heavens in the midst of capital , out of bounty for her pleasure for the people!"

The man had seemed to be deeply devoted to the cause he was calling towards , to which Jellal noticed that the guy was handing out these papers alongside whilst he proclaimed to the public , tears in his eyes and all as he literally seemed to speak with his heart out.

And all the bluenet could think when witnessing this sight , was how dedicated and avid this man was in his duties , that he could even make the nonstop buzz of Taïr come to a momentary halt from his words before it would commence with it's ways , lost in the world and energy that was deeply infused in it.

But that didn't seem to stop the man at all as he pressed on with calling and grabbing the attention of those he could find.

To the point that he actually dropped one of the flyers that he had been handing out onto the floor , the one which Jellal came to notice and he actually gave pause to his own doings to try and give back the paper to the man seeing one got misplaced.

As in his mind that was the right thing to do.

Seeing how emotional this man was through these papers alone , he thought the man would be upset to know if one of his papers got trampled on or lost in the midst of his efforts.

And though he knew it was practically forbidden for him to do anything in the marketplace that wasn't related to his duties , he believed it wouldn't be that much of a problem as he would be doing the right thing and also it wouldn't take much long to do as he was just giving something back.

But to his astonishment , when he had got the attention of the man with some difficulty , and had turned to face him with the flyer in hand as he met his gaze , the man dismissed him completely , having a sudden stilled look on his face , having only caught a glimpse of the child before turning away and completely ignoring the bluenet and his efforts to give his paper back.

And because of that he assumed that maybe he didn't want it back now or that he was actually allowing him to keep it.

Which is what he did.

Having folded it and put it into his pocket for until when he could look at it properly as he still had his errands for the day to complete until then. Which of course included getting the dress order which he knew could not be allowed to be delayed any further , so his curiosity about the paper had to wait until a later time.

Which was what he was indulging in now , at the comfort of his own relaxation with the warm rays of the sun shining down on him , and the cool sweet breeze blowing in contrast against his body as the warmer weather was gratefully welcomed by his being and seemingly the cat too.

A sigh left his lips as he tried to deduce the significance of this event called a 'Meteor Shower' which seemed to be occurring soon. Given what he heard , the man had been announcing such in regards to the protectress Seren , so that made him wonder if it was another event in her reverence that would take place or something more?

Was it going to be possibly another festival coming up maybe? Considering there was really no lack of celebrations for the nation given the prevalent honouring of the gods , he wouldn't have been surprised if that was the case. From what he witnessed when enclosed in his walls , not even 3 cycles of the moon would be fulfilled and somehow Almeta would have erupted in cause of festivity , fluctuating in energies as celebrations became more prevalent and lead up to the greatest and most anticipated of all.

Moving about a little on the soft pasture to make himself more comfortable and being careful not to disturb the kitten's rest too much , his fingers moved from his fluffy friend's being and started to lightly touch the illustrations which fascinated him as his mind started to come to another thought.

Just last year he had been forbidden from even going outside his room , let alone his house unless time called.

And now he had been given that allowance to travel more freely and bring light into his life through the experiences that were slowly being granted to him. He bit his bottom lip softly as his heart drummed lightly in his chest from a flash of possibility that pulsed in him the more he looked at this flyer.

Maybe if he asked permission…

'Could I possibly go too?'

Considering all the fun and excitement he heard and would see people witnessing in anticipation whenever they travelled to one of those festivals , it made him really curious as to what exactly happened in them and what magnificence they must have come across for the energy of their hearts and souls to become so apparent that even he was able to notice it.

And because of the fact that the event was most likely happening somewhere in Taïr , according to the man's words , there probably would have been those fantastic sightings in the direction of the capital which would come forth. Probably the meteor shower could have been a part of that too!

Just thought of viewing the grandness of what the heavens had to offer filled him with a freshly brewed excitement and curiosity. He had been an avid spectator of the cascading night and all it's wonders for as long as he could remember , both out of the comfort they would grant him by being his light bearing companions in the dark and just from this strange affinity he seemed to have with them naturally.

To the point he felt like his body and mind itself actually felt more at peace or even functioned better in the late hours when the world would be asleep , almost as if something surged through him to keep him awake longer in those times.

Whether if that was by just his sheer adoration for the nightly hours or something else he didn't know.

But there was no denying he certainly had some form of connection with the night and cosmic wonders in general. Hence what could possibly be happening in Taïr in regards to this occurrence of the 'meteor shower' , his mind was already bumbling with what sight of awe would occur there and how much he would enjoy such a thing if he had the chance to witness it.

'Maybe I should make a prayer about this?'

That could be possible right? Considering what the gods had granted to him before , it shouldn't have been too much to ask for this isn't it? Especially considering if he was asking to attend something related to them , wouldn't they like him more because of that?

Of course there was the matter that he wouldn't be going solely for them , he really wanted to see what this thing called a 'Meteor Shower' was , how different it would be compared to anything he had seen in the sky already or if it was something he might have witnessed before without knowing.

But if they could grant him that opportunity to watch that , he'd be ever more grateful and try to form the bond he had with the gods stronger with what he could. They would have liked that then right? He would be willing to do that even more if he could just watch the fascinations of the heavens from a place that wasn't confined or barred.

He wanted to feel the wonder in the atmosphere , he wanted to get lost in his thoughts and feelings , the awe that would overtake him and truly see all the colours that would dance in the darkness through the heavens' light.

Just thinking about it was getting him so infatuated.

Though before the enthusiasm could whisk him away , a thought struck through him as he realised something of concern.

'Oh damn it!'

He wasn't exactly sure when this spectacle was meant to take place. Or if it had done so already or was soon going to. The man who had been relaying the information was unfortunately very vague , the most he had as a clue was it was going to be before the 'reverent's goddess's nights of worship'.

Which of course meant no one other than Seren.

So if it was something in relation to her , then that might have been the upcoming festival in her honour. Though of course with so many that came and went , it was hard to keep track of which one actually correlated to what. The only way he actually had some inkling of thought was through observing the seasonal changes that occurred and which god was being venerated at what time.

But that barely narrowed it down still with all the mixture in people's interests.

However he was aware that Seren's main festival did occur a few months after that awaited festival of the gods. Or at least that's the one he certainly could take note of with how much commotion and acknowledgement there would be around it. Every year when the land would start to get warmer and truly begin preparing for another year of prosperity and cultivation , the festival of Seren would commence.

Almost as if trying to root new blessings for the country in addition to what could be lingering from what had passed.

And with the change in weather he had been noticing becoming fairly pleasant yet he still hadn't felt or heard the energy arriving for the goddess in question , he had the reason to believe her festival was still to come and alongside that , the meteor shower occurrence too.

Though with that being narrowed down by his logic…

It still barely did anything to tell him what night exactly it would be taking place. Or if it was not even a night or a span of nights. Here his logic could barely do much to decipher to his dismay , and with the other words that he could read on the paper , there was nothing he actually understood of it.

Other than it was meant to denote some form of time , but given how out of touch he actually was in understanding that , that information proved useless to him.

'Would that man possibly be able to tell me?'

Thinking back to the man in the square who had been saying such , would it have been possible if he was to go back on one day for his errands and ask him for the exact date to have his confusion cleared? Though of course when the idea crossed his mind , immediately his logic brought the negative outcomes forth that he couldn't ignore.

'There's no guarantee he'd be there again...'

And alongside that he didn't know when he would be sent out to town once again on orders since he'd done quite a number of errands already. And it's not like he would dismiss protocol and go to town without permission either , everything about that sort of idea had bad written all over it and he didn't even want to think what could ensue if he was to be found out for doing such.

'Maybe I'll ask the quiet stone-faced lady…she's not too scary…'

Jellal thought to himself with hope as his gaze on the paper remained , excitement seeping into his blood the longer he looked at the piece , already with his heart and mind set to be heard with the new desire blazing in him to be heard and granted by the gods.

Though as he was doing so , he suddenly started to feel a familiar brushing against his bare hand from the touch he instantly recognised as his eyes looked down from being stuck to the paper , to now the fluff ball that was rejuvenated and active.

"Oh you're awake again-"

"!"

And also trying to eat a corner of the paper.

"That's not for eating!"

He scolded lightly as he tried to move the paper from the kitten's mischievous grasp as it's small mouth tried to lightly gnaw what was available to it. Of course from the sudden reprimanding , the kitten did retract it's actions out of obedience.

"Good."

But that was only so it could stretch out it's small limbs towards the paper being taken away from it , lightish mixed toned eyes that brightened more with how the flyer flapped , pupils becoming wider and intense and the bluenet caught wind of what interest was taking a hold of the cat now.

"Hey!"

Jellal started which caught the feline's attention for a split second , breaking it out of it's razor-like focus as he went on to explain what else was off limits for the cat's mischievous behaviour.

"It's not for playing either!"

He shook his head before moving the paper completely from the kitten's grasp , who looked evidently sad and he already felt guilty for doing such to it.

"Alright alright…I'm sorry."

With a sigh he folded the paper and pocketed it back into his clothing before his hands went back to giving little scritches under it's neck , somewhere he realised it liked being handled the most as it would immediately start making that small humming noise when he did so.

"You want to play now don't you?"

He said with a tone that was filled with endearment as he looked to his side and found that the long stalk that they had been playing with beforehand was still present and hadn't blown away like before. His fingers picked up the firmness of the stalk and started to wave the thing in front of the kitten's hold , similar to what a parent would do to a child with a rattle.

And as expected whatever attention the cat had fixated on the flyer had now been transfixed to the makeshift toy they played with. It was in the midst of some moderate tears and being worn down due to how feisty the little thing could be when playing with it , and he'd probably have to replace it sooner or later , but for now it would do and the cat wasn't complaining.

Though as he started to engage in playful behaviours with his feline companion , thoughts about the coming event still didn't leave him. Imagining what this special night or nights were meant to hold that would captivate the attention of probably everyone who would be present.

Everyone…

A heaviness started to form inside him as that thought dug deeper than he should have. Because every time everyone would go to such a thing like this , they would always be accompanied by their friends and family who would be talking , laughing with them along the way , making everything all the more enjoyable and also memorable with what they would share together.

He didn't have that.

Even if with the grace of the gods he would be allowed to attend with the rest , there was no one who would actually be his companion. No one whom he could relay his excitement and awe to , no one who could make memories with him , no one he could share them with either.

His mother was completely out of the question , she didn't even leave her room for the most part unless necessary , and he hadn't been able to see her since that night to know what she felt towards him now.

As it had haunted him so badly.

And the stone-faced ladies weren't exactly someone he could ask either as even with the better treatment , none of them really wanted to stay with him and he doubted they would want to accompany him to such either.

His hope had been that soon he would make companions closer to his age and bond over them over things they had in common due to being kids.

But…It had been so many days , weeks (maybe even months) and he still had yet to meet those kids he had witnessed , almost like they had gone off the face of the earth somehow and left no trace.

Mewl

The bluenet was stolen away from his thoughts as the kitten grabbed a hold of stalk , pulling it with enough force and bringing his languid hand closer to it as it's paws touched him with tenderness and it's large orbs looked up with at him , as if trying to be a comfort to the sadness it could sense welling inside him.

A smile crossed his face from it's gesture.

Because even if he was alone in regards to humanity , at least he wasn't alone entirely.

"I'm not alone."

"Because I have you."

He doted on the fluffy creature as his other hand went to touch the paw which had rubbed against him , tender bronzed orbs being warmed through the glaze that clouded it as started to add more movements to the stalk he was playing about with and trying to entice the cat more by.

If he had to be honest though…It did dishearten him that perhaps his chance to make friends like other boys and girls his age might have been missed , and he didn't know when that chance would come again…but he couldn't let that weigh him down.

Because who knew what the future could hold right?

Especially after having gotten through a storm for years that seemed to have no end , skies were finally starting to clear up for him and it truly did seem the brightest it had ever been.

And the thought of that was enough to quell any misery or sorrow that tried to linger around him due to his conditions. Because there would be nothing sought from focusing on the past , he just needed to look towards what could come and hope for the best that it all would change in due time through the gods' help.

Maybe then soon enough he would also meet people who wanted his companionship as much as he wanted theirs and truly start to unfold those colours and feelings into his life he craved so dearly and was so deprived of.

'I just need to have faith.'

'It will all work out, I'm sure of it."

'The gods are helping me now and that's what I need to remember.'

'That's what matters now-'

Miaow

His train of thought was cut off from the growing sounds from the fluff ball that was trying to get attention from the bluenet. It's paws had slid off his hand and entangled back on the stalk , trying to bring the green toy towards it's feisty and playful mouth which broke a light laugh out of him.

"Maybe you can come with me if I go?"

That wasn't an awful idea was it? As it would be something that he liked to do and maybe the cat would enjoy it too? He wasn't really sure what else it liked to do other than playing , eating bits of his food and sleeping so maybe if he took it with him if he was allowed , maybe he would find something else out more about it?

And then maybe that would be something more to bond with.

"That would be fun wouldn't it?"

He asked the kitten in confidence , having felt bad that he had allowed himself to think so selfishly about himself after the cat was the one keeping him company majority of the time and that on it's own he didn't know how to ever repay it with.

As there's only so much he could give by breaking off chunks of the food he got.

And he wasn't even sure if that food he gave was it's favourite so that wasn't really doing justice for his friend in giving back for their companionship.

His eyes fell to observing the fidgety being of the kitten in his lap , taking note of the level of fluffiness of the creature that seemed to have increased since the first time they met and took on a more bronzed tone due to the increasing temperature. Along with it's face starting to look more rounded and it's body being just slightly bigger than what he found it looking like.

And of course , the leg having healed completely from the worrisome state that he had first seen it in. So there was no need for a bandage anymore.

"I still need to choose a name for you…."

The azure haired boy sighed before chewing the inside of his cheek. He still hadn't thought of something that seemed to suit the small thing. He had thought of maybe names like 'Fluffy' due to how much fur literally swamped the creature and how soft it was , but it felt a little too obvious. Then there was 'Paws' he thought of but then again that sounded not as creative and obvious , and it didn't really come off the tongue as nicely as Fluffy or others he had thought alike (like Cutie or Brownie).

But Cutie sounded a bit too easy and seemed better as a description than a name. And well , Brownie might have worked but the cat wasn't entirely brown in the first place and also he didn't want to go and name the cat after something you'd find in the bakery stall or something.

Even though it did like to eat.

And though it could be argued that his own choices weren't creative to begin with in the first place as they were derived from the cat's appearance , he felt like that was the best way to think of a name since there wasn't much he could use to his knowledge to tailor something which fit the cat and embody it properly.

And he wanted to make sure his name for it didn't sound boring or lazy or anything.

And that it came off the tongue well too.

Also possibly to have some meaning to him too if possible.

'I'm so bad at this…'

He was frustrated by his lack of ability to do such a thing. Honestly it was a wonder how people choose names for things so easily because he was finding it strangely puzzling. Like what did they consider to come to the conclusion of what they would choose?

Was he just thinking too much of it or like was he not thinking enough?

With an exasperated sigh he looked towards the kitten's face , it's bright and lightish coloured eyes looking innocently up at his , capturing his attention as the resemblance in the shining tones of light goldenish brown looked incredibly similar to the colour that he had learned of recently which made up the very dress he had been made to collect.

'That's it.'

His eyes remained fixated on the fluff ball as he stopped holding the stalk entirely and stroking his fingers through the fur swamped belly of his feline friend as it's like he had an epiphany then and there.

The name he had finally chosen went through his head a few times , getting himself accustomed to how it sounded , how it suited his feline friend and also how it both seemed to sound nice but also not too lazy.

As it related to the most animated part of his companion , the one which it saw the world through and expressed it's own inner richness through the changing tones and intensities he would see swell. It was also the part of his friend which he believed he could truly form a connection with , and feel in those moments that they truly could understand each other too with the emotions conveyed.

And it's what captivated him most about it's appearance too.

He mouthed the chosen name to himself in confidence , imagining how it came off the lips , conviction growing inside him as he went on to do so. A smile started to grow on his face as he decided on the next and most promising choice that he had in mind for his feline friend.

"How about…"

Though all that was left was to see how the cat would react to it.

"Hazel?"

The name left his lips softly , causing the cat's ears to prick up from the sound , confirming to him that indeed it was registered , and with the rubbing he could feel of the cat pushing into his being as a trill left it's throat , he could tell it was liked.

His hands went to hold the small creature , taking it into a small embrace like they would usually have before he relayed his own thoughts on the matter alongside.

"I like that too."

As the young bluenet was consumed the wave of delight which was shared by him and his feline friend , he was wholly unaware of the number of youthful yet hardened gazes that were trained on him from a distance , that had been watching him from a far and had been doing so for some time now.

For how long it could not be said , but that's what they had been doing when the hooded child no one wanted to know came into the open , all of them simply being hidden away in the growth of nature that covered them , not even wanting shed an inkling of their presence, as they watched the unknown boy with something that was still yet to be determined.

And he just remained blissfully ignorant of it all...