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"Perhaps," she amends with a small, mysterious, smile.

"I've never been near the forest, so I was curious. Though this is my first time attending the Moon Festival. Anyway... I suppose a lot of things can seem possible when we don't really understand them."

Content to see the dancing girl smile at her partner, the old man decided the boy posed no immediate threat and allowed his attention to shift to other things. He hated wasting time, and time was something you were especially hard-pressed for as someone past their prime. Besides, if he stayed seated too long, he feared his body would go stiff and with no fire to warm and coax it back into motion, he could have very well been stuck. After a few minutes of sitting, he got up again to look for the mysterious dancer in red, though he lingered about the group of people with canines as he did so. Last he'd seen of her, she'd been near this crowd, anyway.

If she couldn't be found close by, he would move, but for the time being he wanted to keep an eye on this group of humans and their collarless dogs. They were intriguing in their own way and had him curious about a number of things. The question asked by one of the ladies in regards to their names when ignored by the old man. She couldn't have been talking to him, surely, and if she had, he would have preferred she address him directly were she interested enough to do so. He had no desire to answer anyone who wasn't addressing anyone in particular, especially not with something as personal as his name.

Oh, why had they chosen to reduce the lights to mere moonbeams? Yes, the moon was full, but even then with his tired eyes, it was hard not to squint in the relative darkness after the previous lights of the fires.

Ah ha! There she was - at least he thought it was her, having never had an up-close look at the woman - but judging by the number of other people who surrounded her, the old man was fairly certain she was the dancer from the start of the festival. Mask still clenched in his hand, he emptied his pipe of ash, tucked it into his inner coat pocket, and hobbled his way with his cane toward the central area of the courtyard.

The worst of it was the other people. The elder man was reminded once again how greatly he detested being in such close proximity to strangers, especially those lost in the throws of a party such as this with food, drink, and pretty young faces all around. It was all just an excuse to indulge themselves and have a good time. He had no interest whatsoever to get caught up in their silly celebration, fairly certain that almost no one here had any idea what the meaning behind the festival was all about. No one, that was, except perhaps the dancer.

With hisses of distaste and snorts of disgust, the old man fought his way as close to the dancer as he dared, all but beating scantily-clothed, drunken strangers away from him with his cane. From there, if he wanted to get her attention, he would have to wait until she got closer to him.

((Edited to include a new character because I don't want to double-post))

Near the more central area of the courtyard where the tables of food were spread out, a happily performing young man in brightly-colored clothes juggled several balls, adding more and more. They wove intricate patterns in the air, awing his young audience as the children's eyes remained on the vivid spheres. Their attention darted this way and that, doing their best to follow the movement of said balls, but try as they might, the objects disappeared and reappeared in the blink of an eye.

Sometimes they even appeared to transform into other objects - a banana, an orange, a cluster of grapes - the last of which found its way into the juggler's mouth instead of his hand. As he feigned surprise at the missing fruit, the children laughed and pointed. For an entertaining gypsy with a love of children, an insatiable hunger, a fondness for festivities, and a lack of money, celebrations such as the Moon Festival were what he lived for - possibly quite literally.

Startled by the sound of the bell-like laughter, the old man turned. He hadn't realized he had attracted so much attention to himself; he'd merely been attempting to make his way through the crowd with as little bodily contact as possible. He had no idea that the lovely woman had been aware of his steady, somewhat violent advancement. Hastily removing his cane and mask from view by clutching them behind his back, he did his best to recompose his disconcerted expression and prayed he did not look as much like a sheepish bully as he felt.

"Ah, ahem," he cleared his throat, having trouble meeting the lady's dazzling gray gaze when she smiled. Now that he had gotten his way and people had consciously made an effort to step clear of it, he felt awkward and exposed. He wasn't used to getting his way so easily, especially when attempting to seek out the attentions of a lovely young dancer surrounded by her admirers.

"Ahem," he began again, trying to find his voice. "To be honest...I wouldn't have thought so, my lady. But that was before your little reenactment caught my eye." Retrieving a handkerchief from his waistcoat pocket, he dabbed at his perspiring brow. Couldn't the surrounding idiots give them at least a moment in peace?! But no, it would have been rude to keep her from those who also wished to speak with her. Besides, it wasn't as if he had any romantic interest or anything like he was certain at least half the young men present were there for. Dancers deserved to have fun, too; especially young ones.

"Pardon me; I don't often attend social gatherings like this one these days...I'm afraid my mannerisms and self-conduct have suffered significantly because of it." This was said half to the woman and half to the people she'd seen him whack about. It was about as much of an apology as they were likely to get out of him, and even then, mostly for the dancer's sake. "This may be a peculiar inquiry, and I am in no way questioning your skill as a dancer," he assured her, "But I was wondering how accurate your dance might have been to the original summoning." Hesitating, he added, "Not that anyone here would be expected to know, of course...but surely your splendid choreography must have been based off something, yes?" Another uncertain pause. "Miss, um..."

Amriela quieted down, it seemed as if everyone was too preoccupied with other conversations to pay any attention to her introduction, either that or they had already heard it. She saw a bench nearby and she made her way to it.

She sat down, and Aku sat next to her. "Well Aku, time to wait and see who wants to talk to us next" She said to him, patting him gently on the head as she waited.

Amriela sighed, she was a lot lonelier than she expected to be tonight, it seemed as though everyone was chatting with newly found friends, and she was just alone. She didn't mind it all too much, she and Aku were having fun chatting among themselves and watching the people come and go.

She watched the people walk by, many wearing masks that were supposed to resemble the hounds. She took all of it in, appreciating the art for what it was. It was amazing, the details in some of the costumes were immaculate, she smiled and pet Aku.

A man walked up to her, she smiled upon his arrival. He asked her about dancing, it had been a while since she had danced but tonight she was surely dressed for the occasion. She stood up, her dress swayed in the wind, highlighting the curves in her body as it went. He hair framed her face just right, she did indeed look beautiful. However, having someone kiss her hand made her blush slightly.

"Oh, no one is waiting for me, I'm here alone." She said, hiding the sadness in her voice. "But I guess that means I can dance with you." She said, motioning to Aku to lay down and stay where he was. The hound huffed and did as she requested despite how nervous he was to let her get out arms reach.

"Ah, I see. Does that mean I can keep you all to myself for the evening?" he asked with a warm smile. Extending a hand, he offered to lead her out into the dance area, hoping he wasn't too rusty in his footwork. As she signaled to her dog, however, he raised his brows. "Heh...my, that's a really large dog you have there. So you're not alone then after all, are you? I guess he's the only protector you need. I'd hate to get on his bad side. Don't worry," he told Aku, not imaging that the creature would be able to comprehend his words. "I'll have your mistress back to you before you know it."

"Come to think of it," he murmured, glancing around a little, "It seems like there are quite a few dogs around this evening. Perhaps people wanted to take advantage of the fact that we're outdoors." With another bow, he began the dance with traditional steps. "So, mi'lady, what brings you to this party? The good food? The fine company?" He winked playfully. "Or perhaps a fascination with the lore from long ago."