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Destiny City is passing out 'Wishmaker' Buttons; there are many local charities that have set up booths. If you have a passion for change, all you have to do is keep your eyes peeled and you're guaranteed to find someone raising money for a cause near to your heart. In return for donations, a character will receive a 'Wishmaker' button. There doesn't seem to be anything particularly magical about the button--but the moment it's attached to your shirt things suddenly take a turn for the best. You notice, for the rest of the day, everything seems to be going your way. You might not win the lottery, but maybe you got a call you were waiting for, an opportunity fell in your lap, or maybe things just seem to finally be lining up. The magic only lasts for one day, so you'd better make the best of it!
The red-head was embracing this festival in a way she hadn't done in quite some time. It wasn't that she disliked social engagements, on the contrary she loved them, but she'd been more inclined towards the university meetups in recent years than large scale festivities. The decision to take part in this years festival was proving to be a good one, and she'd managed to collect more than just a few useful trinkets during her visits to the various stalls throughout the city. There was no way that she could have managed to get around all of them in a single day, and she was grateful the festival lasted for a while to grant her the opportunity to explore everything that was on offer.
This morning she had chosen to start early though, and with her lips pursed she was regarding a list of locations and various stalls that were dotted about the vicinity on her map. She hadn't really intended to focus on one particular area today, but given she was trying to make this as efficient a set of days as possible, she knew that even her mother would say it was probably advisable to do so. Ah, but efficiency often spat in the face of spontaneity and on this occasion she was going to have to sigh and accept it as inevitable.
...Sometimes, mothers were right.
Now that she had settled on a location to focus on, she stood up from the bench and gave her dress a quick pat down. A series of checks to make sure she hadn't left anything behind her and she was soon on her way towards the park again. She'd been here recently before, having visited the Wishing Tree some days ago, but she hadn't actually managed to explore after she had finished the work she had chosen to do.
Re-entering the park did bring a smile to her lips though and she afforded a quick glance towards the duck ponds and towards where her handiwork would have been. Hopefully whoever made that wish would be happy to see that the benches weren't inclined to stab their legs with splinters anymore! Another few minutes of walking and she had swept passed the Rose Gardens where her own wish had been laid to rest, and then two minutes more had her in the middle of familiar chaos.
The park was thriving, filled with excited people who were perusing stalls or simply participating in events that volunteers had carefully arranged for the festival. If there was ever a place to feel inspired it was here and this extrovert in particular quickly found her batteries recharged.
A deep breath and a delighted smile crept onto her lips.
She wouldn't people watch yet but this was certainly on her scheduled list of things to do (hey, it was fun); instead she made her way towards the stalls she had seen a number of days ago to inspect their wares. There was one stall in particular that had caught her eye, selling an array of artist supplies that she considered well worth a look.
Liliane wasn't in to fine art, not by a long shot, but her appreciation for her Architecture wasn't just something she showed through an understanding of maths and technical drawings. When the notion took her she enjoyed taking a moment to sit down in an out of reach location and simply sketch what lay before her. For this not-so-secret pleasure she needed supplies and given that she had no need for the wares to be pristine she was more than happy to purchase the 'less than perfect' as it were.
She delightedly came to a halt in front of the first of the art supply stands, absentmindedly reaching out to drop her spare coins into the bucket that lay just to the right of her hand.
Now which of these things did she want?
The answer soon came to her and eventually she had selected three sketch books; one was of an extravagant astral landscape, another was a cartoon white cat with a goofy smile, and the final one was of an odd bridge to nowhere which had been completely overcome by nature. A set of pencils, a sharpener and a novelty eraser were her final set of purchases to make and as she finalised her payment she was also handed an Amber Star Charm. It was almost identical to the Emerald one she had been handed last time and she grinned... Well if she had two, maybe she should consider starting a collection?
It was food for thought as she pinned the badge to her bag alongside the emerald charm. They looked well together and with both proudly placed, she went off to explore the next set of stands, even pausing to try her hand at a few of the games.
The first set of games were easy enough, but the next set would have proved more difficult if it hadn't been for the fact she began to experience a set of what could only be described as fluke-ish successes. She'd never been great at shooting the water pistols through those tiny targets and she managed to ace that one, and normally she would have given the basketball throw a miss but she succeeded in that one too.
Tower slam? She even hit the damn bell!
All right, she was going to just make an assumption that that one had been made a bit easier to ensure that the kids could participate but still, it did put a spring in her step.
She was more than happy to donate her change to each stall as she passed until she ran out, and on occasions she found herself gifted with a trinket for her effort. By the time she was nearing the last one she had actually stopped to purchase one of the linen shopping bags to store the items she had bought and the trinkets she had won.
It was only when she began to make her way home that she did decide to stop by the duck pond, if only to say hello to the ducks themselves, only to see that one of the benches was occupied. Off on the opposite side of the pond sat an elderly man, bread bag at his side, and by his feet were more than his fair share of ducks. Rather than disturb the peace she elected to slip on by.
...Not a bad way to end the day, if she dared say so herself.
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