I️ don't, but maybe then again I️ DO (ARRANGE ME UP, LAND)

Luna hears the rustling but doesn’t even have time to comment before he’s telling her to run. She picks up the pace, keeping with him easily, preferring this more anyways. If there’s a reason for her to move quickly with intentional grace and stealth then she’s going to take it.

It’s not a hard task staying by him, even if he struggles more than she does. Between his long legs and her skilled movements, they move at about the same pace even, canceling out their own flaws.

But what is the noise- No, who is the noise? Who is following them? It... It can’t be whoever her parents have sent after her are already here, can it? That’s impossible. Well, maybe not, they did camp out over night then spend time this morning on a river rescue mission.

But why is he running so quickly? Her feet move with purpose but why are his? Who is he expecting? Her heart rate picks up.

The noises sound like whoever is keeping pace pretty well.

“So... Is running our best option here? Not fighting or splitting up to divert attention?”

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Shand slows a bit as he listens both to her and the noises. The rustling diminishes a bit, enough that he lands on one wide, flat stone and turns back, standing stock still, to listen. She stops just as abruptly beside him, most likely confused.

He can't be like a scared rabbit, taking off at every noise or turn of the wind. He has to pretend like he's comfortable here in the woods, anywhere they go really. He has to pretend like it's not a real possibility that he's being hunting this very moment.

But as he listens to the sounds of the forest overtaking what he'd heard earlier, he realizes he's probably not being hunted by whatever that had been. Maybe just a small, strange creature native to these woods? Either way, he needs to save face.

"How much attention would it divert if we were to fight each other, do you think?"

He leans over slightly with narrowed eyes to peer back through the forest, and although he caught a blur of white fur before, this time he just sees a few strange shadows and notices that the sky is much darker than it had been a few moments ago, covered with thick gray clouds like a storm is brewing.

"I️ think it's okay now.. it must have been a predator or something, some animal that got bored with us. We probably were too fast for it."

He gives a ridiculous smile just to let her know that he thinks he's as ridiculous as she probably does.

"But the way the sky is looking, I️ think a storm is rolling in. We should speed up and try to make it to Kesari before the rain comes. We should be pretty close now."

There he goes with that town name again but how does she know it without ever having been there? Kesari...Kesari...

"Kesari- Oh! Isn't that the town known for all the festivals it puts on throughout the year? Mostly festivals revolving around seasons and the trading business, but still festivals nonetheless, yeah?"

She remembers being a little girl and hearing the merchants in the courtyard talk about the newest party they had just come from in Kesari. It sounded fantastical and magical, but any time she brought it up she was scolded for an interest into something so lavish and a town so openly ridiculous and weak, opening itself to so many tourists multiple times a year.

The idea of seeing one of these festivals was a dream that died long ago, probably back when she first joined the military, but now, hearing the name and knowing that's the destination, a sudden spark flares up again.

The wind shifts and the breeze gets noticeably cooler, enough for both of them to turn, look around, then look back at each other for an answer. It's like the entire atmosphere and air pressure has changed in an instant, but really just for a fleeting moment because the chill is gone.

They both shrug it off and continue, both unaware of the growing shadows on the ground, shadows of trees, rocks, bushes, anything and everything that all watch them, take note of them, reach out towards them as if trying to grab them slowly.

Nothing really makes a move to touch them, but it doesn't mean something isn't there lurking, waiting for the perfect moment to consume them both.

He'd forgotten about all the damn festivals.

"Uh, yeah. That's the one. The whole place is basically a never ending party, except for when it's time to clean up after the party."

He takes a moment to ponder as they move from rock to rock, and he can start to see the edge of the forest up in the distance. The ground looks even darker there, where it should be brighter from the undappled sunlight. But the sun seems like it's decided to go on an impromptu vacation.

What festival is going on right now? He's wracking his brain trying to figure out because the place is known worldwide for its celebrations, a part of Natanian culture that people set their calendars by, and a bit more for how crazy things can get when the whole town has consumed twice its weight in beer. It's an atmosphere Shand has only dreamed of.

He has to exercise a lot of self control to keep from moaning out loud when he realizes today's date, what festival it'll fall on.

Citizens the empire over insist on celebrating royal birthdays like national holidays, and honestly when it's Shand's birthday, he thinks it's a smashing idea. But when it's anyone else's, he's not quite on board. And today is his father's birthday.

"Sorry if you have any certain expectations of what a Kesari festival is like, cause we're catching the place on a really super off day that's going to be ridiculously obnoxious and unbearable."

When they come to edge of the wood, they can see the town off in the distance- a good size with strong, stone walls and ornately carved gates, clearly more for decor than for efficiency. It had been a good long while since this place has seen a siege, evidently.

He keeps a steady path down a small ravine that puts them out in the small valley the town in nestled in the bottom of.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm kind of new to the whole party scene. Didn't exactly throw celebrations in the army- Well, the men did but for other reasons."

There's a slight pause after that statement and a little hum from her throat as she thinks back over certain memories she's not currently sharing with him.

"Anyways, that said, I don't really have expectations. What kind of festival is happening now?"

Her leg armor clinks lightly up around her knees and tighs where it meets the hem of her long dress like shirt and she's now very aware of the noise it makes in the quiet still of this valley just before the city. Has it always been this loud and she just never noticed or was the constant soft scraping of metal by her ears thanks to the armor around her shoulders enough to drown out the movement of her legs normally? Now with her arm pieces tucked away in a bag there is nothing to distract.

Not that she comments on it, she's sure he has something stupid and witty to say on his own so she just continues and waits for the mocking tone and words.

"What are they celebrating?"

The large ornate gate is before them and they pass through it into the bustling decorated town.

The whole place is littered with every garish color someone could imagine, and probably some new made up ones, too. Banners flying from every window, people throwing confetti out in the streets at each other, streamers flying across one building to another to span quaint streets.

Shand doesn't care for the display today, but the smells that waft on the air are another story completely. Hot, buttery pies of every kind of flavor are set out on windowsills and he has this burning desire to just swipe one, but he ignores that drive.

There are other smells, like hot, spicy roasting meat on small open fires on nearly every corner. And between all the savory and the sweet, every child that skips by in their best clothes has some kind of candy filling their pockets, their cheeks, being thrown at them by their friends a little too hard to be totally safe.

"Today..."

He cuts himself off early, way before he needs to, because he knows he'll slip up and say father if he doesn't rehearse in his head now.

"Today is the King's birthday. And people around here go nuts for it. For some reason I'll never quite figure out."

“Oh.”

Luna says, a bit short though she tries to reign in her tone the best she can as she walks surrounded b people enthralled by the King and all he stands for. For Shand she’s sure it plays off as distaste just due to her connections with the Atorn military which still isn’t exactly right but it’s easier than explaining she’s met the King and wasn’t thrilled to have that experience under her belt.

Honestly, as a country, she has nothing against this place, she actually finds it quite beautiful compared to her desert home and had wanted to visit for years, even in the army, but the circumstances around her visit now are less than ideal.

A child runs by, chasing after a friend, throwing candy. He loses his footing and falls right into her leg and armor, flinching away with watery eyes at the impact of the metal against his skin, stumbling back and falling down to the road.

He looks up at her with wide hurt eyes like it was her fault and she in turn looks around awkwardly for a bit as if trying to find anyone to pass the blame to and to help him. No one comes to her aid, but a few people do watch as they walk by. Instead, she kneels down slowly, hugging her knees and staring back at eye-level with the boy.

“I’m sorry, are you okay?”

He shakes his head and points a finger at the metal pieces hugging her legs and slightly jutting out at the bend of her knees.

“What’s all that?”

“This?”

The question pulls her lips into a quick flash of a frown. People in armor is as normal in Atorn as the sand that blows into the doors of buildings and the complaints of all the housewives that have to clean up the relentless mess. This boy looks like he’s never seen anything like this before and she can only imagine the peaceful life he must have lived here in this never ending party town.

She also can’t even begin to imagine what this must look like to him seeing it for the first time and she’s not even fully dressed in a suit.

“It’s armor. You know, like what soldiers wear? You know soldiers?”

Something seems to click in his mind because he nods confidently back at her.

“Yeah! My brother is one.”

Luna smiles a little, regaining a little more easy composure, flicking one of the pieces so the metals rings out.

“I’m sorry, that probably didn’t feel good, huh? Imagine trying to wear it all day every day.”

“Does it hurt?”

The boy sits up a little straighter, leaning forward, forgetting about holding his arm now, forgetting, at least for the moment, about the bruise probably forming.

“Oh, yeah, why do you think I’m not wearing an entire suit of it? Only really strong people can do that. I bet your brother is super tough.”

Of course she’s lying. She’s worn a full suit since the day she was eight, but he doesn’t need to know that, especially not now when just what she had said makes him smile proudly like he is.

“Yup! He is! Really tough! He’s going to be a general one day and then King Dolan is going to give him a Medal of Honor himself and ask him to work at the palace!”

“Oh? Wow, he really is strong! Well, don’t go telling him that my armor hurt you, okay? I don’t think I could face someone like that.”

She winks at him and the boy laughs, standing up to his feet.

“I won’t, I promise.”

His friends call for him and he turns to leave but not before looking back at here, motioning for her to hold out her hand. When she does, he nearly smacks a few pieces of candy down in her palm.

“I hope you enjoy the festival!”

And he’s off without another word. Luna stands, looking over the bright sugar in her hand, her face fallen and serious again as she studies it.

She really hopes for that boy’s sake and his brother’s that the little future he spoke so starry eyed about never happens.

“Being a general isn’t that great.”

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"You won't hear me try to argue with you."

Shand's arms are folded at the scene, lips curled a bit in disdain over everything going on around them.

"Generals are asses. And truth be told, I️ don't think it's all that great to work in the palace either. Sucks to be that kid's brother."

Shand keeps on his way down the main street, one being beautified with fresh flower garlands and banners and being readied for some kind of parade soon. He wants to spit on all of it and get up on a soap box and preach about how awful his father actually is. How horrible it is that all these people are celebrating him like he's a hero and they've never even met him.

"Maybe watch out for the kids here, too?"

Shand looks over his shoulder at Luna, who's taking in the sights an no doubt enjoying what she sees far more than Shand is.

"I️ wouldn't put it past one of them to snatch any valuables you might have. The old candy in your hand while I️ sneak your wallet, oldest one in the book."

Shand rolls his eyes, and yes, it does have to be the oldest one in the book because he'd used it growing up. To be fair, he'd used snacks and cakes and other appealing things to distract from him taking important court documents and trinkets and even his mother's necklace that still bounces around under his shirt.

"I️ say we get the supplies we need, as far as we can because a lot of placed will probably be closed. But we get what we need and get back out as soon as possible."

“He can steal whatever he wants. Nothing valuable is... Within reach.”

Luna shrugs, watching the small child run off, eyebrow arched when he darts around down into an alley away from the friends he had been running with but she shrugs it off, turning back to Shand.

“So what did you have in mind? What do we need? Some non perishable food would be nice. Not that I mind hunting but maybe not for every meal.”

She looks around at the brightly decorated shops around them, getting a little caught up in all the colors, containing her excitement to herself but she can feel it swelling the more she takes in. Shand, on the other hand, doesn’t seem as excited by all of this.

“Hey, while we’re here, do you mind taking a quick look around? We don’t need to stay for all of it but maybe look at some vendor booths, get some festival food, take a look in town square to see what’s going on?”

Who knows if she’ll ever get a chance like this again and she’s near ready to fight him on the opportunity to enjoy it, but there’s no reason to come out the gate swinging.

The little boy runs down the alley way, all the way towards the end then drops down, falls completely over, behind several boxes unconscious. His Shadow slips from under him, streaking away to the shadow of a building to hide as Shand and Luna pass by.

Neither notices.

The wind picks up a little again, just like it had in the forest, blowing some of the hanging decorations, but it ends as quickly as it came.

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Shand lets his eyes wander up to the sky in exasperation, trying not to let all his irritation out at once. Normal people like parties and festivals. To be fair, he likes parties and festivals. Just not this one. But if he was a normal person, he would.

"Fine. Just for a little bit. The longer we stay, the longer it takes us and you never know the kind of weather you're in for around these parts this time of the year. Just, before we leave we should stock up on like dried meats, breads. I️ guess the selection will be pretty good at least."

She seems to accept that answer readily, and turns to continue down the street almost before he's done talking, so he follows along after her, content to let her take the lead in exploring.

Things had been a little different in the town before... no one there is accustomed to seeing king's men, or are even highly aware of the king's existence at all. Here, soldiers and people from the towns right outside the castle come in and out, and especially today of all days to enjoy the celebration.

Anyone at any time could probably look the wrong way down the street, catch sight of his face, and recognize him. The thought turns his stomach a bit. He hasn't come this far for nothing.

Down the street a little ways, there's a vendor table set up with souvenirs and costumes of crazy colors, wild, sparkling patterns and fabrics, and outlandish things not very common elsewhere.

"Oooh, look at this!"

Shand grabs Luna's hand and pulls her toward the table, only realizing that he's got her by the wrist once they're over in front of it. He lets her go quickly and tries to gloss over it, not make a big deal of touching her, but he can tell that it's made her a little uncomfortable.

So he pulls a glittering mask out of a basket of similar masks. It's back and white like a checkerboard, the pattern made of glistening sequins, and feathers adorn the sides, sticking up like plumes off a peacock in a beautiful purple color. It only overs half the face, but he holds it up to her face and admires.

"That's fun."

She leans down, taking the mask from his hand and examining it in a small mirror the vendor holds up for her. Shand scans the table and grabs another half- mask, this one covered with small, crinkly paper flowers in an electric blue color. He pulls it to his face, tightens the back strap across his head.

"Once the parade starts, everyone's usually wearing masquerade costumes and crazy stuff. If we're gonna tourist it up for a little bit, we might as well blend in, huh"

Luna plays her fingers over the feathers with one hand, the other holding it up in place, turning her face to different angles to admire how the sequins catch the light and glisten.

“Seems... Odd, but alright.”

Wearing masks all day during an event seems like an interesting way to celebrate but that could just be her Atorn life coming into play. Rumors of masquerades weren’t rare but she had never seen one before. The balls back at her parents’ palace were always stiff and people walked around in military inspired elegance, not frills and masks.

“Just- Give me one second.”

She waves at him as she slips behind one of the tent walls of the vendor stand so no one can really see her. It’s annoying that she has to go and hide just to put on a simple mask but she can’t risk anyone seeing her hair so it’s a necessary evil, unfortunately. Under cover, she slips the veil down and begins tying the mask into place.

“It matches well.”

Her skin turns cold at the low, unnatural sounding voice that echoes from anywhere and everywhere, surrounding her, an unseen force pulling at the feathers to indicate what it means.

As if that wasn’t obvious.

Somehow Shand has picked the only mask with such a similar purple to her, to him, unknown hair color that she could probably call him out on being some sort of spy. She didn’t know that there was a different threat.

Her head whips around to confront the peeping figure but all she sees is a shadowed form just a few feet away with no discernible features.

“Who-“

A sharp cold wind rushes by her, the shadow moving past as if riding it. Luna yanks her veil back up, resting it just behind the feathers, and chased after it back onto the street just to notice it’s gone without a trace.

Well, almost no trace. Her arm tingles around her wrist so she glances down, greeted by a tar black claw mark on her inner wrist. It lightly burns but it doesn’t hurt, it’s not even that big, more like a cat scratch than large predator.

This wasn’t an all out attack: She’s been marked. For what, she can’t say, but -

She hears Shand call for her so she turns, shoving her wrist behind her back for later inspection, deciding to change the topic in her own mind.

“Yeah, I think these are both good choices for us, flower boy.”

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