Chapter 2:
They finally reached the city part of Anestef and the three (or at least two of the three) were amazed at the sight before them. Aaron smirked at their expressions and was proud that her city placed them there. Chaos jaw was close to hitting the dirt and Iris' were filled with awe as she took in everything around them. Loki didn't show much interest but she saw his eyes widen for a millisecond before they returned to their original size.
"Welcome, my friends, to the second world renowned city of magic…Anestef!"
She proudly outstretched an arm towards the millions of buildings and people surrounding them. They could see the market place was full of bustling people and shopkeepers trying to make a good sale. The buildings looked as tall as the gates outside and were used for various businesses. One of the buildings they passed was solely devoted to selling oriental clothes. Another full of clothes that were for juveniles, and another for regular everyday clothes. When they went through the market the saw stands selling jewelry, some selling mixtures of potions and hard to find ingredients, and special books that write down everything you say (a diary of some sorts). There were banners of all sorts of color's hanging from the stands, lamp posts, and buildings. It made the city look even brighter than ever. Every now and then Iris would separate from the group to buy a small trinket of some sort that caught her eye.
People everywhere greeted each other making it seem that the community was tightly knit together. Some people (mostly girls) would approach Aaron and say their greetings and exchange some gossip. And Aaron would introduce her cousin and her friends would immediately group around her and take note of the resemblance between the two. The two boys stood far enough away trying to stray away from the mob of girls that would show up spontaneously and surround the two other girls. As they continued their walk they would pick up their own little audience and would try and detach themselves from them.
Aaron finally shooed away all her friends saying that she had important matters to attend to (namely getting the visitors over to her place). Loki scowled and mumbled something about the little interruptions from her friends being unnecessary. "Awe, lighten up a bit Loki! Look at your two friends, they're probably a million times worse then mine!"
"I resent that!"
The guard shrugged her shoulders as she continued walking. They eventually made it to the center of town where an event was taking place. In the middle next to the water fountain, there was a stage with a few performers walking back and foward. Curiousity getting the best of them (namely Iris and Aaron) they made there way through the crowds until they made it to the base of the stage. Looking for someone who looked to be the person in charge, Aaron did a quick sweep until she found the right person.
He was aroud Iris' height and looked about mid fourties. His beard came down so that it rested on his chest. He was aged indeed because you could see the salt and pepper strands of hair weaving it's way in and out of the beard. His attire was common; leather boots, brown trousers, white blouse and a worn leather vest.over it. It read Samuel on his name tag.
As Aaron was about to question him, a huge boulder came from overhead and landed on the stage right in front of him. He took a step to the right and sweatdropped when he saw the person who threw the huge object at him. Glaring angrily at him and breathing heavily, not from exhaustion but from anger, was a little girl no older than thirteen. Her red eyes burned angrily as she stomped her way through the crowd.
'Can this day get any weirder,' Loki and Chaos asked themselves.
"Aaron you prick! You left the house without telling me or Danielle where you were headed and we got stuck babysitting the monster!"
Chaos scratched the bridge of his nose and looked at the girl curiously.
"So you weren't aiming for the guy on the stage?"
The girl stopped midstep and turned to regard Chaos and laughed embarassedly.
"Not exactly...Big crowd so I just threw the closest thing I could find...didn't know it almost hit the guy."
Samuel (the guy on the stage) just shook his head and walked away shouting orders around. It was then that Aaron remembered what she had come for, and turned to ask the old man what he was doing. For this, she received a strange stare from him.
"For being one of theroyal guards, you sure are clueless...there's a festival going on next week. Don't you remember the governor announcing it some days ago?"
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"Oh that festival? I thought it already passed."
Samuel, Chaos, Iris, and the young girl fell over while Loki just glared at the girl. 'How she made it to this position will be a mystery...'
It turned out that it wasn't just any festival. It was the annual Star Festival. People from all over the land came to attend this paticular event. The tradition bgan over 2,000 years ago when the city was first built. On the first day of spring since the town was built, the first viceroy placed an enchantment over the forest that surrounded the town. That was the purpose of the engraved spells they saw when they first reached the city gates.
For one week straight, balls of light that came in all colors and sizes wouldglow inside and outside the walls at night. In a way, they resembled fireflies, floating about with their glowing bodies. Special performances would be held at the center of town such as dancing, feasts, plays, choreographed dances, and other things. On the final day of the festival, there would always be a meteor shower, where everyone would make wishes on as many as they could, in hopes that they would come true.
Another part of the tradition was that on the final day, there was to be a masquerade ball everyone was to give a single blood red rose to the person they loved. (Okay I know that's kinda lame, but it works for the story). And at midnight, as magically as they appeared, all the lights vanish in the wind, leaving the stars to twinkle down at them brightly.
"Wow that's a really cool festival! I can't wait till it starts," Iris yelled happily as the four of them continued walking.
The girl with the red eyes had been introduced as Mei Tsubasa, Aaron's childhood friend. She seemed to be a mischievious type of person because there was this ever present gleam in her eyes and she always wore a lopsided grin. Her hair was black and ended just past her shoulders. Her hair was cut diagonally so that it was short at the nape of her neck and became longer as it came forward. She wore a tight black mid-drift shirt with fishnet sleeves.On top was a red vest that ended two inches below her breasts. Her pants were black and baggy. On Mei's right thigh were bandages wrapped around. The same bandages adorned her hands from her elbows to her knuckles.
"Yeah, it's the biggest thing that ever happens in this city. But that's not the only thing that's big."
Iris scared the bejeevies out of Mei when she suddenly appeared nose to nose with her eyes wide open in anticipation. Mei raised an eyebrow and then smirked.
"Sorry Iris, but I don't swing that way."
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Man, Iris just got PEGGED! HAHA-OW!"
"SHUT UP YOU BIG APE!"
Iris huffed and kicked Chaos in the shin one more time before turning back to Mei.
"Now what were you saying?"
Mei sweatdropped at how casual Iris sounded. 'Okaaay...these two must do that often...weird.' She just shook her head and answered Iris.
"Well...MAJOR SHOPPING!"
The minute those two words came out of her mouth, Chaos could see all his zeny fly out the window.
Let's just say that this author is too lazy and that the next half an hour consisted of Iris jumping up and down happily yelling out all the things she would buy while Chaos cried animatedly, and Loki just tuned out of the conversation a long time ago. Aaron just shook her head sighing at the sight they made and Mei happily contributed to the yelling and jumping.
So half an hour later...
Iris and Mei had calmed down some and they had finally arrived at Aaron's place. Once again, Chaos and Iris gawked at the size of the 'house' they were staying at. 'Nothing in this town is ever simple, is it,' Chaos thought absently gawking at the three story complex before them. It looked to be made out of mismatched bricks, but in reality, it was perfectly even, just a trick of the eye. The garden in the courtyard held different colored roses in bushes and trees. Ivy hung from the old-fashioned iron gates giving the house a sense of privacy. A fountain was placed in the center of the courtyard, justbefore walk way split to make two trails that lead to the house. Gravel was placed on the walkways so it would give extra footing for when it rained.
Walking up to stand next to his friends, Loki turned to them with a bored expression as he raised an eyebrow.
"If a bad wind were to blow pass your face's, they would stay that way..."
Both Chaos and Iris snapped out of her daze and glared at the assassin. Iris stuck her tounge out at him and dragged her cousin and her new friend Mei towards the building. Loki just rolled his eyes and followed the three girls, and a grumbling Chaos. As soon as their accomadations were set, he was going to mediate.
Life with these guys strained whatever sanity and self control was left in him...
AN: Hehe...well what do you know, I finally updated! Yeah, it's been, like what, 3+ months since I last did? Ano, I blame school. the Only freetime I have now is the summer, and I'm hoping on finishing this one off within the next year. Maybe some feedback would help? I don't know, so you decide. Sorry if the new OC sounds retarded somehow, same with the festival. I was originally planning it to be a festival of flowers, but replaced it when I got an idea for one of the shows. So please humor me on this one. '
NEWAYZ, hope you enjoyed the new chapter, although I think it's rather lame...please send some feed back!