Welcome to Gaia! ::

Murphy tugged at his neck cloth, trying to get a little breath of air. He didn't dress up formally for many occasions, but tonight called for it. There would be people of all social standing here, and the last thing he wanted to do was stand out. Of course, having a huge Hell Hound at his side might cause some staring, if only for the sheer size of the beast. The Summoner glanced up at his hound as the thought occurred to him that he might cause a scene, but a quick shake of Kasar's head let the quiet human know that everything would be well.

With a little sigh of resignation, Murphy headed in to the party. He'd arrived a bit late, having gotten lost. He wasn't used to the huge city, even though he'd grown up on the shore with the spires of the city in the distance, and had come to work in the port. He rarely left the docks until recently, though. After finding Kasar, he'd had to move to a more remote location outside of the city, in the fields, as part of the deal. Now he was completely out of his element, and looked to the Hell Hound for guidance.

There. In the corner. Do you see them? Other Hounds. Murphy followed Kasar's gaze and spotted a few other large canines, as well as their Summoners. He nodded just a bit to let his Hound know he'd spotted them, and began to weave his way through the press of people. They parted for him without much fuss, barely paying any notice to Kasar. Murphy stopped a few feet shy of the ring of people, preferring to watch instead of interrupt. They could be friends, after all. While he'd never seen someone with a Hound other than himself, he decided it was better to play it safe and wait to be spoken to than to speak up.

Kasar had other ideas, though. He bobbed his head in greeting towards the other Hounds, a little grin on his face.

Amriela giggled to herself, she was surprised the tiny girl could knock down the tall man that stood in front of her.

She looked to Aku. "What do I say?" she asked him in her mind. He shook his head, she knew that he was just as lost on the matter as she was. She contemplated what to say, she wasn't really sure how she got him in the first place, and she definitely didn't know how to explain what a hell hound was to someone who didn't have one for himself.

"Well, he kind of found his way to me." she explained. She wasn't sure what else to add.

"Umm..." she hesitated. "I don't even really remember how we came to be together, but now we are inseparable, do you have an interest in dogs or something?" Aku rubbed his head against her hand as a sign of love.

"Oh, I didn't catch your name... What was it again?" she asked the man in front of her.


It was then Aku turned his head. There was a man heading their way. He let out a small sound to catch Amriela's attention.

Amriela smiled at the sight of the man and his hound approaching the group, she smiled and waved his way.

Amriela let out a small sigh, she wasn't sure if she should tell him or just continue on with her original story, if she told him Aku was a hound he might just laugh it off and not believe her, or he could believe her and then more questions would really start.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Avlur." she started. "Actually, today is very special, this festival is celebrating our countries history, it is celebrating legend and lore" She explained. "I came because I want to be a part of that celebration, I want to discover more of our countries beliefs and history." she smiled.

"As far as the history, there are legends that say we had magnificent looking... hounds.... that roamed the earth with human companions many years ago. They say these dogs are mystical creatures, coming from somewhere unknown." She smiled. "I guess you could say Aku is like that, he came from somewhere unknown and is attached to me in a way I can't explain."

She sighed, unsure of what he was going to ask next. She smiled regardless and waited for him to ask his next question. Their conversation was intriguing her probably more than it was him.

Just as the new arrivals are getting to know one another, something shifts in the festival. The music continues to play, and the dancers to dance but it becomes apparent, rather quickly, that some of the lanterns are being shuttered. The pale, warm, glow becomes dimmer, still, until the cool light of the moon seems to be all that is left.

After a few more moments, the dancer from earlier reappears. She wears red silks now, rather than the white from her dance, but her grace and beauty are unmistakable. Already a small group of part-goers have gathered around to speak to her. Most comment on her dance earlier, and some merely seem excited to be in her presence.

It may prove a little difficult to get close to her for long, but if you are patient you may get a chance to speak to her, if you wish it.

[[OOC Note:
- The dancer is an NPC who will sometimes appear during the festival to interact with characters.
- The FIRST person to respond to this prompt will get anywhere from 1 to 3 response posts in turn.
- After that she will move on to someone else, and the next person after that to respond first will be able to interact with her and so on until she leaves the scene.
- You may still post as if you're character is trying to get close, but she will ignore everyone except the first poster until the next 'round'.
- On the other hand, you do not HAVE to interact with her if you do not wish.]]

Murphy nodded to the few that had waved to him, but didn't move. He wasn't sure he wanted to get involved with that large group, even though most of them had hounds. He could tell Kasar wanted to go talk to them, but he kept them in place for the time being. There was one other man there talking to the group of girls, and they seemed to be eyeing him oddly, so it was better to keep to himself for the time being.

A murmur ran through the crowd, and both Kasar and Murphy turned to see what it was. A woman appeared, and Murphy recognized her as the dancer that had finished her performance as he had come in. He observed her in silence as she approached, moving through the crowd without much difficulty, as if she were still dancing. Kasar, who was getting bored, pressed his head against Murphy's back and gave him a firm push in the woman's direction.

Go talk to her! If you're not going to talk to these people with Hounds, at least tell her she did a nice job. The Hound sounded as if he were talking to a child, and Murphy flushed as he stumbled forward into the path of the dancer. He cleared his throat and straightened up, murmuring a soft apology for getting in her way.

"You dance very well," he added after he got a hold on his flush. "I came in a bit late, but what I saw was very...moving." It had been the dance of the first Summoning and, while it seemed he wasn't the only one to have gone through that, it was still an amazingly rare occurrence.

"Umm.." She began. "I don't know if I would say that" She said, a frantic tone appearing in her voice. She was starting to get nervous but she felt something interesting about Avlur, she felt that he knew something more than he was letting on. She shook off that feeling and began again.

She contemplated what to say, she was at a loss for words. She looked at Aku and he slightly shrugged. He was just as much at a loss as her. She thought it over several times before coming up with what to say, she took a deep breath and gulped.

"I guess I would just say.." She cut off, examining the lanterns, they were flickering, the dancer from before was moving in an almost mesmerizing way. Aku was staring too, both were shifting their gaze beyond all the people to focus solely on the dancer. Their gazes transfixed, they smiled, peace showing on their face while they watched.

Avlur was focused strictly on Amriela and what she was saying, from what it sound liked he got at least sixty percent of the info needed. He watched as Amriela turned over to look at the lady, He watched as the other girl turned her head to the dancer as well. Avlur decided to take a second glimpse as well. He watched as the man the group had been waving to walked right up the dancer and talked to her. He looked closely to see if he could read what they were speaking. To no amazement Avlur failed in doing so, he wasn't surprise at this fact.

"Assan did you hear what they were talking about?" Avlur asked Assan who was placed possibly a bit closer to the two.

"No go Av, to much noise around me to hear." Assan replied to him as quickly as he asked.

Avlur then began to watch the women return to the crowd of people. He stopped for a second and thought to himself. "Maybe I been asking the wrong people, Next time she appears I must try getting a word in." Avlur thought wonder what the group would do now that he isn't asking questions anymore. It was probably time for him to bounce out before it go to heated.