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She had made off with a good haul when first picking out veggies; an even number of each. Luxara felt fortunate indeed! But she wasn't playing the stalk market. There had to be something she could do with these besides, well, eat them. Fortunately, she noticed the opportunity for trade ins. "Oh, I can get some preserves? That would be great! Can I get more than one jar?" Apparently not. Well, one would do nicely! If only they could haul more of these back to the swamp. Free food that could store for a long time was always appreciated.

Mera passed by the community pot, taking in the smell. It was coming along well! She peered in, wanting to see what others had tossed in over time. Most of it looked good and- oh, dear, was that someone's sock? Hemera cringed. Absolutely not.

However, like when she screwed up...twice...she couldn't just pluck the item from the broth. Instead, she pawed about for something that could work as seasoning and tossed it in to combat the stinky feet treatment. She could only hope it wasn't dirty.

Just like normal, Mahmud had gone to the haystack expecting nothing but hay. So with a sigh he gave a short wave to the operator, and began to delve headfirst into the pile. Nope. Nothing. Again. No needle. With a sigh he came back out with his hat full of hay, and turned to the man in charge. "Okay I'm done I guess... see you tomo---"

"WAIT!" the operator shouted excitedly, stepping in front of Mahmud in a way that made his stomach instantly turn and take a few steps back, clutching his hay to his chest. Why now? Why was he getting busted now?!

Then the man began reaching over to Mahmud's head, causing him to further wig out. With a tiny shriek, the boy swiped at the other man's hand, trying to bat it away. "COME ON kid your HAIR! Shake your hair!" At first, Mahmud was incredulous but... with narrowed eyes, started to shake his head wildly, big curly frizzy curls bouncing all over the place until a soft ping noise came from the ground below, causing him to look down.

A button.
A shiny, bright purple button. Brighter than any high blood he saw here today.

"Looks like we have a winner... here's five ti--- are you crying kid?" With a quick shake of his head (and a bit of teary eye-wiping on his part), Mahmud took the tickets, took the button, and went to go put the hay back. "... Look you can keep the hay too. Count it as part of the prize."

Oh god. He was getting more teary eyed. Would this guy just stop being so NICE?!

"My girl's only sweet when I'm rollin' in dough!"

Fermer leaned over the counter, not even bothering to make the cakes this time with him, instead giving her attention to the little boy at the table making dough. Mahmud couldn't stop grinning while he gave a mediocre-at-best rhyme, trying to come up with something on the go. It was much harder to do this freestyle, thats for sure! But a promise is a promise, he promised her a show.

"But lemme tell ya, my beetles? Be hers when I start findin' needles! Cuz' the second I'm... darn it!" Mahmud gave a loud laugh, wiping hair out of his face with the back of his arm, trying not to get dough in his already messy hair. "I can't think of the rest! Ugh!" Despite the frustration though, he was grinning from ear to ear, looking eagerly at the other troll.

"I don't mind! You're really good for someone your age!" Truth be told, Alternian Slam-Poetry wasn't her forte or even her interests. Given just how excited the boy had been about giving her a little show though... that was enough for her to find him good. With a soft smile, she went back to her own cooking, starting to talk to Mahmud again. "... You get really excited about stuff."

"Well YEAH like, everyone does!" he chirped back in reply, bouncing a bit when he pressed the mooncake. A whole bunch of stuff splurted out the bottom end, causing both trolls to stop, stare, and then laugh a bit. "Like... like I like making rhymes! And making building stuffs! I got a whollllllle buncha hay from the hay guy, so Ommy could have the best nest ever! And and I wanna be really great at poetry! And then everyone will listen to me! Ohhh but what if I became a professional mooncake boy or somethin'? Oh my gosh!"

Fermer smiled as the little boy rambled on and on and on, his mind darting from one excited possibility to the next.

Leeroi watched Chiara walk away, a confused look splayed across his face. What was that about? Still, he liked the idea of making an ally, even though he hadn't done anything to really deserve it. Plus, he got his shoe back. At the sound of his other friend's voice, he turned.

"You get a button? I found some a' those," Leeroi said, reaching into his pockets. He pulled them out, showing them off to Guo. "Keep it. You can get some extra tickets out of 'em," Leeroi glanced up at Chiara's direction, gossiping with Guo, "I think she's alright. She wanted to keep my shoe as a trophy but she did give it back... so." Leeroi looked back at Guo with a glint in his eye.

"Guess you're gonna have to bully someone else," Leeroi gave Guo a loud laugh and a hard punch to the chest, quickly running off to avoid getting hit back. Laughing, he ran for the mooncake booth. If he was going to start any kind of fight here, he wanted it to be a food fight.

Maybe Engrav hadn't been fair to the haypile troll. He'd watched her for anything nefarious, and it didn't seem like she was up to anything. Of course, he hadn't slept in... three days? Maybe he was just too tired to catch up on it. Damn. He'd have to get some sleep soon.

Might as well deal with that gnawing feeling in his bile pocket as long as he was up, though.

Making mooncakes might not have been the best decision, however. He messed up everything possible, undercooking the cakes and letting his head fall into the crust before he realized where he was. The greenblood wouldn't even take them for her stall. She just shook her head and said "Maybe get some rest, sweetie."

Of all the ungrateful... she was probably in on it too. All these festival people would need to be watched. He hadn't really thought about it, but this was the perfect opportunity to make sure all the trolls were gathered in one place, if someone had something deadly in mind. Yes, that had to be it. The greater plot was beginning to unfold now. He had to find something to defend himself!

Engrav scrambled wildly around the inside of a tent. He didn't know whose it was. Sure, he had his trusty punch-thingys, but that wasn't going to be enough if they moved on the trolls assembled here. He didn't know who "they" were, but he was sure they were up to no good.

"The tealblood is one of the ringleaders. Must be. She's too good at keeping secrets. It's too convenient that all these interactive booths happen to make everyone group together. And those vegetables? Must be altered. Added to the pot, they must release some kind of gas to keep everyone docile. How many are in on it?" Engrav mumbled to himself as he rummaged through the tent.

Ah, stinkspray in a can. Wonderful. Anyone who messed with him would get a can full of stink. Bet they weren't ready for that. He'd go down with a fight, at least. Damn! Where was Morrimom? He hadn't seen her for a while. Probably hiding to teach him a lesson again. Well he didn't need her. He didn't need anyone.

Choking back a sob, Engrav ran outside, heading straight towards the closest booth, waving the can wildly. "You'll never take me!" he was yelling. Or something like that. It was a little blurry, afterwards. He ran right into a giant pot and the can went flying right in, spraying as it went. The trolls stirring stared at him as he fell down and rolled around a bit. Apparently they liked what he put in the pot, though, because they game him two whole tickets.

Engrav didn't move for a while after that. Maybe he just needed a recuperacoon. He hated being dependent on the damn thing, though. Ugh.

And that was that. All in. Mera gave back all the crops she had. Her arms felt...empty...without them. Free, even. Anxiety flared in the back of her mind, but she did what she could. Without past statistics, information on likelihood of future rates, it was a blind gamble. She took advantage of what deals she could, and she even scored some veggies to take home. All in all, a good haul. Also, less to keep track of during the rest of the festival.