Welcome to Gaia! ::

Treide didn't remember the last time she had cried. Maybe... Maybe when she had fallen down in her hive from the lofty area and onto the hard ground? Her arms and body had hurt bad, so tears had crawled up and out her eyes. But now? Had she been burnt or cut? No. But still the sniffles began as she looked at the mush, exploding mess of cakes on the baking pan. What was this feeling? It was different than the happiness that usually defined her. It was bitter and sad and... and... Disappointing.

"I don't want to do this anymore Da...." Said a quiet voice. CD blinked at Treide, his ears laid down in sadness as he whined and nuzzled her.

Practice Makes Perfect. Keep trying, dear. You can do it. And look! The filling is tasty in this one.

"The dough is still too mushy, though, and I messed up the stamps." Wiping at her eyes, she scraped them all into the garbage. CD whuffed and knocked over his daughter, licking her face until she began to giggle and squirm.

"Okay! Okay! I'll keep trying! JEESH!"

"This game is so hard." Amonee dropped a handful of hay on the ground and brushed some of it off of his clothes as well. He was determined not to give up but it was still a very difficult game. Thankfully he wasn't allergic to pollen or grass though so he considered himself lucky.

He gave the pile one more look, watching a few other trolls give it an attempt with varying degrees of success. Amonee half wondered if there even was a needle in there or not. Given the zany nature of some trolls, he wouldn't put it past the farmer to have made this whole booth as a hilarious prank!

This was so embarrassing. He had even been watching this oven this time to ensure that his mooncakes came out well. If only he had been smart enough to put his mooncakes in first! Amonee had been watching someone else's stuff bake while his own sat on the counter still raw.

"I'm so sorry, I promise not to waste any more." He blabbered to the woman running the booth with tears brimming in his eyes. Gog, he had better make sure the next one came out as something she could actually sell! That was the whole point of her letting him do this!

As Etsali worked on a new batch of mooncakes, a younger greenblood caught her eye nearby, crying to the nice lady in the charge. She tilted her head, a little puzzled at why he seemed upset, and then glanced at the mooncakes nearest to him. Ahh, they didn't look very cooked, maybe he'd messed up on the oven the way she had a few times? She picked up one of her own from where it had been cooling, took an experimental bite, then glanced around again.

When no one was looking, she swapped one of hers for one of the perfect cakes set out on display to be sold, then walked over to set it on top of his batch. Maybe he'd feel better if he had a fancy one?

What was this? Someone had placed an impeccable mooncake in front of him! This wasn't one of his, no, this was clearly well made and beautiful. Grasping it selfishly in his hands to ensure no one else walking by snatched it, Amonee cradled it in his hands for a moment. It still felt somewhat warm from the oven and the gesture lightened his pump biscuit. He looked around to see if he could find the culprit but whoever it had been had been too fast.

"Thank you." Amonee glanced up at the moons to thank in place of his mystery gifter. Perhaps it had been a manifestation of the Harvest Moon Jubilee's goodwill!

With that, he took a bite and enjoyed the sweetness of the cake as he wandered back into the crowd

Ҕᾁʐɱᾁʂ Ҏӫςɧῒɱ
xxxxOutside
The aromas of hay, burnt baking and almost pristine foods filled the air as Hazmas and Machim wheeled down to the celebration. The energy below reminded the greenblood strongly of bloodfest, making it difficult to not to be enthusiastic.

"I smell food!" Hazmas hooted, earning a grin from his lusus. It hadn't been very long since the disastrous Gala and the young troll had been, in Machim's opinion, far too sluggish for his own good since then. This festival was the perfect tonic to his worries over his blue and orange blooded friends. No doubt they'd be here to join in and lay his anxieties to rest. But even if they weren't, she was sure a good dose of positive excitement would do her charge good.

'Then let's go eat!' She hooted back and began her descent. After a few minutes of circling, the pair reached the ground and the youngster got a real look at the festivities around him. It was fantastic! Needles in haystacks, veggie bartering, and mooncake cooking!

"Hey Ma! I'm gonna make some mooncakes, 'kay? he said with a grin. Machim grimaced and slapped her hand over her face. Since going to Bloodfest, Hazmas always wanted to try his hand at cooking again and had been practicing in his hive just for the occasion - though more often than not, Machim scolding him for burning his new pans.

'Don't ruin their kitchen stuffs,' she replied with a series of guttural grunts.

Hazmas grinned. "I won't!" he shouted and rushed off to try his hand at making mooncakes.

Leeroi took a big whiff of the community pot. Even through his clogged sinuses, the blueblood could tell that the pot was coming along deliciously. But not nearly as delicious as it could be! Leeroi looked around wildly for something bright and delicious to add to the stew.

Leaning down, Glitch offered her charge a nice, juicy popato. Leeroi reached his arms high for it, and quickly dunked it into the pot. Score!

Except, when the popato rose to the top of the pot again, it was clear to the pair that the crop was rotten at its core. Leeroi shot his lusus a dangerous look, and the beast returned it with an apologetic one. Quickly, she shoved off her lusus to another booth.