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☆xThe festival was quiet all but for the few people who had arrived early to help with preparation - Finnian among them as he wheeled a wheelbarrow full of plump tomatoes. The man had arrive especially early to town square, after all, so he could get his personal preparations done! Such as hiding his regular everyday clothes in a bush somewhere to change if he happened to lose during the fight. He didn't want to be cheerleading as the great Finnian, not when he could just leave a dramatic motivational line before collapsing in a puddle of red juice for his team-mates to use as fuel to enact revenge, but forgiveness after realizing the follies of emotionally charged risks! Ah, it would be beautiful. Speaking of team-mates, Finnian was happy to say he had found his two newest employees to join in the fight against evil! Or, well, they would join after he assessed their loyalty and capability of working in a team! He sent quick, curious glances around the area in hopes Tshila or Lunesca would arrive shortly. They needed to discuss a game plan, after all, and he would like their creative input before they had to jump into the event.x☆



♢xAh, the Tomato festival! A place where a true huntress could exhibit her skills! Catrina had bounced into the square happily, especially after she had been trapped in that silly forest for so long, lost without a clue where she was! It was frightening, though she had trouble admitting that even to herself. So, she was happy to be around the familiar sights and sounds again, the people she had grown up around and coaxed into throwing her scraps. As such, she had sought after Zelynity, her old junior detective, so she could team up with her once again, for old time's sake! Plus, it would be a good chance to see if the little bumbling kitten had learned any valuable skills after taking over the Murrow family business. Really, it should have been Mimi, but Catrina had a lot more faith in Zelynity, even if she did suspect her of being a dog for the longest time. She stalked over to a bench where the other teammate, Theresa, was sitting in wait with two from her litter. She didn't know the Waldroup's very well, but she knew the second oldest was a moron who had a lovely stock of fresh meat in his yard. ♥ It wouldn't hurt to get to know the rest of the family. Which just meant she had curled up into a ball beside the brunette's feet.x♢



☼xThe last few weeks had been pretty stressful - hell, Theresa would even say they may have been more stressful than the panic of her two baby brothers going missing. She had worn Kaleb out with her mood swings over the matter and, as they came back, Kade in tears and Jacob apparently on cloud nine, her frustrations had only grown. The police hadn't gotten a culprit, though that stupid sheriff had dared to try to accuse Kade of being a part of it, so she had to come to her own conclusions. They may have been hugely coincidental kidnappings - maybe Kade got drunk with some creepy kitten-murdering guy, but Jacob had been found in the middle of some abandoned zoo deep in the woods with the owner of that bogus local detective agency. Everyone knew it was a crock of bullshit, considering it was opened by the Murrows and run by some middle-aged 'cat-girl' (who was sitting at her feet exhibiting her insanity as she 'groomed herself'), so it wasn't without reason that she had doubted the sanity of the next owner, Zelynity. It wasn't hard to believe that her true colors had shown and she nabbed poor, stupid Jacob to con him into some sort of relationship.

Well, it wasn't hard when she didn't know the girl, anyway. So, she had invited her to the festival so she could maybe bond a little, chat with her, and let her know Tess would fasten the straight-jacket herself if she was as psychotic as she suspected. In the meantime, she waited patiently on a bench and watched the people slowly filter into the festival with her brother and son beside her.x☼



☐xAwe, yeah, Jacob was feeling good as he entered the town square, walking beside his nephew and older sister without really acknowledging their presence. He was too stuck on the success of that weird kidnapping event, though it.. really ended in a way that he didn't expect. Or intend for. Well, he thought he was going to die! Of course he was going to be a bit impulsive, but what did it matter, anyway? Zelynity was the end result and he couldn't say he didn't like that at all. He was smiling slightly to himself as he stood beside Brian and Tess, watching the crowd to see when she was going to pop up. He knew Tess had teamed up with her this year, so of course she was going to show up! He wasn't sure what to think about competing against Zell, though he was sure he wouldn't go too hard on her. After all, she was still a girl, their personal relationship aside.x☐



✌xThe festival was one of Brian's favorites! Or, rather, the one he had looked forward to the most since they moved back. This would be his first time in it - or he thought so? He wasn't sure if those vague memories of throwing spoiled fruit at people had been something part of a festival or just him throwing fruit at people. Eh, he wasn't going to ponder too hard on that one. He was busy trying not to notice the awkward cat lady at his mother's feet. Instead, he set his eyes on the people around the festival, trying to pick out who was probably without a team too. He was glad his mother and uncle had already found some people to team up with before they dragged him into their squad, though he had the feeling Uncle Jacob was pretty close to doing that with his muscle squad. ..Yeah, he wouldn't have appreciated that much when he could be hanging around people his own age. Who were hopefully going to filter in any minute now!x✌



♋xZhi usually didn't like competitions very much, to be honest, but the Tomato Festival was special. It was like a birthday for when their family had become whole! When she had first cast eyes on the splendor that was River, who had valiantly rescued her from a life of stained dresses and solitude..! Ah, Zhi was more than happy to come as a family back to this wonderful festival. She stood in an outfit of old clothes - River's old clothes~ Sure, the jeans were a little tight, but Zhi knew that any sane person found the idea of their loved one in their clothing to be the most romantic thing ever. She did it for River, for their marriage! Plus, it was really comfortable too. She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked over who had already arrived. ..Oh, yes, this wasn't even going to be a competition~x♋



❦xHappily bouncing in place was a large, ripe tomato ready to break out the anti-tomato-slaughter posters and preach on the welfare of his brethren - oh, no, it was just Sani. In his tomato costume from last year. He was in disguise, except not really because he actually didn't have much logic as to why he wanted to wear this costume today. He had at first fallen in love with the bright red sphere he wore once a candy-monster-night ago early that morning when he should have been asleep but was instead rummaging through the closet. It had been a long struggle to get Da to let him wear the costume before they left for the festival, but Sani had come out victorious. So, now he stood in the middle of the square as a happy red ball, playing with the red and green hat that served as the leaves for his assemble because when he threw it just right it was almost like it flew for an eighth of a second before hitting the ground!x❦



◔xBaba had arrived a bit early - not in the game plan, but, she could handle it. It was probably a good idea to scope out the area and she sort of wanted to get some fresh air away from the RV a bit. It was a cool set up, but Baba had been raised to respect everyone's privacy and to expect that in return. Spotting her fiance using the bathroom at three in the morning wasn't really how she wanted their first year together to start out, nor was she really happy that some people couldn't remember which room was supposed to be theirs and walked in at the worst moments. Even if that 'some people' consisted largely of her. She would have to pick up some labels later, but, for now, she was busy figuring out how they were going to win this competition. They didn't know anyone in Sonata Town yet, but first impressions were damned important and Baba wanted this island to recognize her and her wives as winners. Strategy was essential, even in a game of dodgetomato.x◔

Dodge was lurking back behind his lovely women, scoping out the scenery. He didn't want to play in the festival himself, it just wouldn't be fair for someone as powerful as him to be throwing tomatoes at his three fiancees. So, he was there for mostly moral support. But, it also sounded like it would be a nice show. He loved sporting events and assumed that this live event would be all the more thrilling. It also led to the opportunity of meeting some new people. He hadn't got out much in the time that they had been on the island, just to try and better find his way around the place and get away from all of the estrogen. The RV was rather large, but with three women roaming around it, there was nowhere much to hide. Even the bed that was designated for him to hide from them was right in the middle of everything. In short, he had not done anything that had gained him any friends as of yet. There wasn't so many people in the town square yet, so he decided it'd be best to just fine somewhere to lean against and make sure he had a good enough view. He couuuuuuld go bother the women, but he'd probably hear enough of their s**t after the festival. So, lounging in a bench with his arms sprawled out across the back seemed like the best option at this point.

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Luna was a bit overly ecstatic to have been invited to the festival. In the last couple of years, she hadn't joined in on much and was hoping that she would now be able to change this. It was even more exciting that she'd be on a time with her co-workers! She hadn't much got to know them other than small talk and work-related things, so meeting together during leisure time meant a lot to her. The fact that she would be showing off her precision throws just made it even better! Of course, she wasn't all that good at dodging, so that was a bit frightening. If all else failed, she could probably just hide behind Finnian. He definitely seemed like he would want to defend her in her time of need. Oh, speaking of Finnian... there he was now! She waved at him and walked over to stand next to him. "Hey Finnian." She smiled and clasped her hands together behind her back and looked around the area in attempts to pick out anyone that seemed like they might be a problem. "OH! I meant to ask you if you had ever been in this festival before. That way maybe I could get some pointers?" She looked back over at him, eagerly awaiting his response.

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Todd was glad to be out in a group of people. It had felt a bit unnerving to be home lately, knowing that that was where he had been taken from the first time. Thankfully he hadn't been hurt much besides the few scrapes he had gotten from falling onto the ground with all of that slipperiness. But, he felt safety in numbers and was glad that he had a team formulated, especially of people that he did genuinely like. Granted, he still didn't know Umi all that well, but he had liked what he had seen so far of her. Maybe that was just because she was a woman. Jacob, on the other hand, was someone that he had gotten to know over time and was happy to have as a partner. He also had his sister with him and had heard that some others from the gym were going to be there. That all made him feel much better, because if he was going to be the victim of another kidnapping then he'd definitely want them all to be there to help him fight his way out of it. He knew they all had the best muscles on the whole island, it may just be time to show all of that off. He looked around and could see River walking with that one guy that he had seen at the inn before, and he waved over to her while looking for Jacob in the crowd. "Hey Tat, do you see Umi or Jacob anywhere?" He asked her, inwardly admitting that he hadn't been looking all too hard for him as much as he was looking at everyone else. All the lovely women and random people that he didn't know were distracting him. Of course the women were just something to look at, but those random guys could very well be the 'nappers.

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Tatyana had tried her best to keep her pride in dealing with this whole situation. It wasn't like she would ever have stayed in that house alone, but she really didn't want to have to admit that it was because she was scared. It made her feel much better to act as though she was just there to support Todd. The face that she knew those lovely muscle heads Xeiro and Jacob would be there, just made it all the more enticing! She hadn't been to the tomato festival since that dreadful year when she was on Riley's team, but thankfully she wouldn't have to get covered in icky tomatoes this time around. No, she could just stand on the sides and watch the sweaty hot guys! She turner her head over to Todd as he spoke to her, then she went on a machine to find Jacob. "Oh! There's Jacob!" She was able to easily hone in on him, but who could forget those arms? She tugged on Todd's arm and pulled him over towards the small group that Jacob was standing by and stopped. "Hiiiii Jacob!" She reached up and gently touched his arm. She would get this man, yet.

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Xeiro was shirtless, as was to be expected of someone that was ready to kick some serious a**. He had new partners this year, attempting to try something new in order to gain an upper hand. Sure, he wouldn't much like to attack those that were his friends, but a man had to do what a man had to do in order to win. Unfortunately, Lyra did not want to come and cheer her father on, so he was walking into the area alone. However, it didn't take him long to spot Alex, as they were heads (and sometimes shoulders) above the crowd. River was even with him, so he approached the two of them. "Hey River, Alex. I'm glad you're both here! The competition doesn't look so bad. I think either of our teams will definitely come out on top." He was just so excited to be there. All he had talked about with Lyra the last couple of days had surrounded his desire to win. "Has River given you a rundown of the game play? You've never been to one, right?" Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to invite Alex, since he was less experienced. But, he had to believe that his long legs were good for something and he seemed like he definitely have some decent power behind his throw. Plus, this was a wonderful way to bond with the man that he had hated for so long.

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Zelynity was so frickin absolutely pumped! She had borrowed some of Raiden's music that no one could possibly understand and had listened to the angry screams long enough that she had started screaming back. Thankfully she lived alone now, or else someone might think that there was something wrong with her. Rocky didn't much seem to mind the screams since he was happy to howl along, but in hindsight, maybe that was because she was hurting his ears. Oh well. She'd have plenty of time to apologize to him later. Now was time for war. There was almost nothing in her life that she took as seriously as the Tomato Festival. She had tried every year, and she had miserably failed every year. But not this time. This time, she was sure to win. She had been practicing her throws in her free time with a dart board and desperately hoped that would give her the edge she needed. She hadn't much planned on having a partner, let alone a team. She had become accustomed to going it alone, but assumed that maybe that was her downfall. That was precisely why she didn't hesitate much at the thought of partnering up with her old boss and her ...somethings sister. She really didn't have time to think about Jacob since she had made it home. The passion she felt for him would have to take backseat to the passion she felt for the marvelous Tomato Festival.

She very much felt like her outward appearance screamed that she was ready to kick some a**. Her hair was up in a high ponytail; she was wearing spandex short shorts, sweatbands on her head and wrists, knee pads, a tank top, and war paint. She was very much ready to finally win one and she was scouring the area for her teammates. Her heart had sank a little when she spotted them because Jacob was standing right next to them. Shouldn't he be off figuring out something with his own team? It wasn't her job to fraternize with the enemy and she didn't quite have so much faith in keeping her mind separate around him. She was already starting to lose focus from the few seconds that she had been looking at him. Be that as it may, she took a deep breath and marched over to Tess and Catrina's side. Maybe she could act as though she didn't even see him. "Hey, girls." She forced a smile to both of them, looking down at Catrina and happy to see that nothing much had changed with her. If this game wasn't so important, she would probably be even happier to see Catrina. But, this game was important.

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A tomato. Keegan had brought a tomato with him to the party. Did that get him some kind of extra reward? Did he automatically win for having the best partner possible: a literal tomato? Sadly, he didn't much understand how this tomato festival thing was supposed to work. But, he imagined that his small child was not a very good partner to have. All he could hope for was that Sani would be able to distract some of the competitors. "Sani, don't throw that. You're going to get it dirty and then you won't be able to be a tomato anymore." He patted the top of his little blue head and looked around to see if there was anyone that he recognized. He saw a few kids that he knew were right about his age, but he couldn't quite place them much. Oh, there was Brian. Well, he seemed to have plenty of people around him, so Keegan decided it best to just stand and watch the others pass him. People watching was a wonderful past time anyway.

☆xThe man had just finished delivering the tomatoes up to the front when he heard the footsteps of a familiar individual. Well, he heard the footsteps of a lot of people, but individuals with super heroic memory powers could discern the different footsteps from others easily! He turned around in what was excitement and not surprise as she spoke, however, because he did not want to alarm her with his super abilities!

He grabbed a handful of his cape as he responded with a loud, booming laugh, "Finnian? Ma'am, you are mistaken! It is I, SUPER KUIPER!" Just as he was starting to form the 'S' sound in his title, he threw the cloth behind him so it billowed as if a strategically placed wind blew just behind him for dramatic effect. He grinned widely with bleach-white teeth and looked around Luna to see if maybe Tshila had arrived too.

To his delight, he saw her and she was already waving a hand in their direction. ..If only she had gotten the name right, it would have been perfect. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted back to the blonde, "Ahahahah, I do not know of this Feeeeennnneeaaahhn you two are referring to, for it is not me! I am.. Super Kuiper!" He struck a pose, but it wasn't nearly as great as the first introduction he did. Oh, well. Tshila was blonde and thus easier to impress. Also, she was far away. "However, I am more than happy to help you! I, Super Kuiper, have been in this very game several times before, sometimes ending with.. causalities.." He paused and looked at Luna expectantly because, of course, she would be curious! Why wouldn't she be?x☆



♢xCatrina had just been partaking in a wonderfully relaxing nap when her keen feline senses heard the clip-clops of some snacks approaching. She already had her fangs bared in delight before she even opened one eye, but it was all in vain. The ones approaching were no more than silly humans and that one moron she had been trapped in the forest with. She sat up suddenly and peered over at Todd with a mixture of emotions, the most important being expectancy. She had fed that loser for free when she could have just left him to starve! She thought she deserved a little something, but it seemed he had shown up empty handed. She frowned as she looked up from his hands to his face before turning to greet Zelynity who was in a most flattering attire. Merow. "Mrawr." She replied playfully as she stood up to rub her cheeks against Zell's shoulder because she really was happy to see the girl again. Ahhh, her little apprentice~!x♢



☼xBam, people. Tess swore, she had blinked and suddenly she saw at least four surrounding them, though she was pretty sure the majority were part of Jacob's team, so it made sense. It took her a moment to register the woman eyeing Jacob like a slab of meat wasn't Zelynity - hey, she hadn't gotten out very much in the last few years and it was easy to forget faces of people she wasn't very close to. She saw a lot of people, after all. But, no, she wasn't completely out of the loop and the lack of pink hair sorta gave it away pretty quick. Jacob apparently was more popular than Tess ever realized.

Huh. Suddenly, kidnapping Jacob had a motive and it seemed just a little more likely. That seemed even more clear as she spotted the look the real Zelynity had given Jacob. Riiiiight, she didn't want some kind of catfight to start. Better to save the real energy during the actual game. She stood up shortly after the cat girl had greeted her and smiled, "Hey, Zelynity. Let's go discuss the game plan over there, okay?" She set a hand on the girl's shoulder and slowly started to direct them elsewhere, "So, tell me about yourself."x☼



☐x The majority of what was going on was pretty much null and void the moment he noticed that Zell hadn't noticed him. Jacob had been feeling pretty happy up until that point, even pretty proud that Tatyana was giving him some obvious signals he could turn down because, sorry, ladies, he was a taken man. Hell, he may have started to smile a little too dashingly to encourage Tatyana for a moment there, but Zelynity had walked right by without so much of a hello. Maybe crestfallen would be too strong of a word to describe how he felt right then, but it was certainly some level of that feeling overcoming him as he brushed the rest of his team off with a sigh. Maybe he had just imagined that whole thing?

Maybe she was regretting it all and didn't have the heart to tell him? He brushed a hand through his hair and shook his head - no, he had a game to win today. He would just have to throw himself into that and forget about Zell for the time being. "Uh, hey, Umi, Todd, Tatyana." He greeted as he stepped closer, joining the group in a casual huddle because this was business. "It's like dodgeball. Try to get as many people out as you can, don't get hit, and.. yeah, basically that. You can hide out behind us, Umi, if you get tired." He wanted to say scared or overwhelmed with emotions, but he didn't want to offend her, after all.x☐



✌xOh. Looked like it was officially time for Brian to head out on his own! He shrugged off the sudden abandonment of his family, knowing they were just distracted by the thought of competition. He was too, though he wasn't going to get all serious about it. It was just tomato chucking, why would he stress himself out over it? He needed a team first, though, before he could start thinking too far ahead. Most of everyone looked a bit too old, which was disappointing. There was Jeremy, but he was already with his family, and then there was Keegan with his.. son, which was just a little weird, to be honest. So his options so far sucked. He held his hands behind his head and scanned the crowd again - nope, no Chun Fei or Asa or anyone. Damn. He guessed he would just wander around for a bit.x✌



♋xWhile River focused her attention on Alex, who she didn't hate because he had totally been part of the supporting cast that helped get them together in the first place, though she was a little disappointed River was ignoring her in favor of her brother. Zhi never ignored River in favor of her sister, after all! Granted, Zhi's sister could never afford to visit Zhi, so it wasn't like she was there to put that to the test. She shrugged it off, though, because this was a family event and Zhi had family to pay attention to. She looked at Jeremy - ah, he was already looking so much like his mother..! Zhi couldn't help reaching over to smooth out his hair a bit, frowning at the lack of ribbons and clips adorning the red mane. ..Oh, but she couldn't.. push him into wearing what she wanted. Even if Jeremy looked so cute in those fluffy dresses and..

She sighed and withdrew to cross her arms, "Don't talk like that - we will win. Your mother is the best and will never let us down! We just have to stay out of her way and let her carry us to victory." And she was going to leave it at that, but then something horrifying happened. A man approached, shirtless, as if he was attempting to seduce her River. Her eyes narrowed as she leaned in towards Jeremy, "But we should try to take him out first, okay?"x♋



❦xWhat? Really? Didn't Da know anything? "No." He said loudly as he firmly set the hat back onto his head, "Not tomato, 'm pretend tomato." Jeez, Sani had to roll his eyes at Da sometimes. Sani couldn't be a tomato, that was just silly! He was a little boy and becoming a fruit was just stupid and.. and everything! He had to giggle at the thought and maybe even share with someone how silly his Da could be. But, when he started to look around, he didn't see anyone who was right to run up to. He made a face and looked around again - no, no. This couldn't be happening. "Da," He pulled at his pant leg, "where them?" That should have been enough information or it had better been because this was seriously upsetting. He wanted to see those colors he liked a lot and there just weren't any around! Why did everyone come as a man and not as a girl?x❦



◔xBaba had just come to the haunting conclusion that there wasn't any beer tents around. The festival was crappy looking, sure, and she could handle that just fine, but she didn't get why they wouldn't give her at least the chance to build up some kind of buzz before throwing tomatoes at people. It was the sort of thing people had to get drunk to do, right? She was about to ask someone about it when the first of their team had finally arrive. Ayaka. She smiled down at her fiance and made sure to listen closely to what she had to say. She wasn't too bad at English, but she was pretty sure even a fluent person would have a little bit of a problem with Ayaka's speech. ..Then again, they would probably have a problem with her speech too, so she didn't have much room to judge.

"Ah, yeah, no?" She wasn't sure what was really a standard in the 'west' for festivals, but this felt more like a festival for a school than a island-wide event as it was advertised. "In this west, maybe this is a festival. It will be a fun game of tomato dodgeball. I will protect you, Ayaka, so you should stay behind me with Cox." She wanted to win, yeah, but after seeing Ayaka again.. She was suddenly reminded how tiny she was. Well, a lot of people were tiny, but Ayaka was part of her girls, so it was her job to make sure they didn't get hurt. Not that tomatoes could hurt them, but Baba wasn't going to risk one of them having a severe unknown tomato allergy.x◔

Murren was brand new to the island. She had literally just arrived a few days prior and had barely gotten her house in order when she got news of a Festival! She loved festivals. They were the best things ever! This one involved tomatoes but she was sure someone would bring booze! Or, lat least, she hoped so. Festivals definitely needed alcohol in copious amounts. But just in case these silly islanders forgot how to drink, well, Murren had brought along plenty of alcohol (she was half convinced island liquor would taste like coconut so she had to bring some good, Scottish stock with her to keep her over for a while) and packed up several bottles in her bag, along with some other necessary supplies, and headed over to where the festival was being set up.

Ooh! This looked fun! There were so many tomatoes and people everywhere.

She wondered what she was supposed to do, though? Maybe she should find someone and ask. Goodness! Everyone was just so tall! She felt like Gulliver in Brobdingnag. Maybe there was something in the island water that made everyone grow really tall or something.

"Och, I feel a bit out of place," she said more to herself than anyone else.

When Rose heard about the upcoming festival, he was stoked. Not because he wanted to throw tomatoes or anything, but for other, important reasons. For one, it gave a lot of attractive men an excuse to take off their shirts, and for two... wait. That was the only reason. Well, regardless, he was going to have a lot of fun with this. His team was perfect, though it would be a bit uncomfortable to work with them, and he was certain they would win. As he traveled toward the festival, he double-checked his suit, making sure that it would work properly. It seemed fine, but he couldn't help but worry. If his suit got snagged, his entire plan would fall apart. As soon as he arrived in the town square, he pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket and slipped them on. He was ready.

Yeah! Time for the tomato festival! It was always a pretty fun one, even if she did have to go alone. Every year Mitsukai tried to talk her older sister into going, but Usagi always refused. She said something about tomatoes being gross, and not wanting to get covered in them. She also said something about being bad at throwing, and so Mitsukai eventually gave up on trying to coax her out of the house and to the festival. It was okay though, she'd have fun without her sister. Maybe she'd run into some old friends or meet new people, both sounded good to her! Who knows, maybe her team would even win! It was doubtful, but a girl could dream, right? She looked around the festival grounds, trying to see if she could spot anyone else without a team. Come on, there had to be someone! There's no way she was the only one there without any teammates.

Sethrian wasn't sure exactly why he decided to attend the festival except maybe the promise of being able to take home left over tomatoes for the purposes of being able to can them for use later in the year. And maybe because he was secretly a lonely hermit and was craving some Human company other than his boss and fellow employees. (Saying of which, he spotted his boss strutting around shirtless almost immediately and was a little disturbed by the image...)

At any rate, he entered the festival area, which was getting to be quite crowded and sidled off to one side where he could watch the whole thing go down without actually having to participate.

Fortunately, since he didn't actually know anyone there, the chances of someone approaching him was fairly slim, which meant he could just lurk in the corner alone but feel like he was almost, sort of, kind of interacting with other living things for a change.

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For his part, Javor had no idea why he was at the festival. It was like Valentine's all over again. He knew why he'd been going there but by the time he arrived, he'd completely forgotten so hew as soon standing in a crowd of people who were excitedly discussing battle plans. And he was just wondering if he'd stumbled upon some sort of revolt, or group of rebels plotting to overthrow the sonatas.

He also spotted his Valentine's date and was staring at him intently. Xeiro was not wearing a shirt. He had very nice musculature, which Javor was admiring from a strictly professional standpoint because he could pick out every single major muscle group and without really giving much thought to it, he was mentally dissecting Xeiro and attaching little labels to all the different muscles with their full names.

But the other thing that had grabbed Javor's eye was Xeiro's tattoo. It was quite simple but somehow Javor...wanted to lick it. The compulsion to do so was so strong that he'd actually edged in that direction, eyes glued to the tattoo. He was trying to talk himself out of doing it though because he wasn't stupid. And he had a strong suspicion that Xeiro would hit him if he tried it (alas). He needed to distract himself with something else. But...what?

Javor licked his lips nervously, chewing the inside of his cheek as he glanced around to find someone else...to...talk to.

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Angela did not want to go to the festival. She wanted to spend the day reorganizing the disaster that was the wine cellar at the winery but her father had dragged her out (quite literally--she'd been fighting tooth and nail) and dragged her home and the b*****d had imprisoned her in her bedroom until she changed into something casual so they could go to the festival together. So.

Here she was. At a stupid tomato thing, hair pulled back and dressed in old clothes. But she was no happy about it. Not at all.

She was glaring daggers at her father the entire walk, but Eoin's hand was locked tightly around her arm and he was definitely not letting her escape.

And he definitely looked like he was planning to participate in the whole thing--his hair was tied back in a low ponytail and he'd abandoned his usual nice cardigan for an honest-to-God t-shirt. And jeans, even. It was creepy. And at this point, Angela determined her only avenue for revenge at having been dragged all the way here, would be to team up with someone else and leave the old man alone to mope and cry in his lonely stack of potatoes.

Unfortunately, she didn't really know anyone besides Xochiquetzel (who was quite mad) and Alfred (who she wasn't sure was here). But as soon as they reached the place everyone was gathered, Angela's face lit up.

"Oh! Hello!" she called, waving madly (at no one in particular), before tearing her arm out of her father's grasp and darting into the crowd away from him.

"Wh-Angelica!" Eoin called, starting after her. "Wait right--ah, excuse me. Pardon. Angela!" Eoin looked around dismayed. Despite his height, he completely lost track of his daughter. Curse her shorter than average height! He needed to get that girl some stilts. "Angela!" he called petulantly. "Come back!"