Welcome to Gaia! ::

Summer was in full swing. The breezes that flittered down the northern mountains carried the faintest of chills but nothing erased the warmth of the midday sun. Along the borders of Sauti the grasses grew green and wild while plants sprouted in the gardens planted along the manor's lands. Today especially seemed brilliant with crystal blue skies and barely a trace of clouds to be seen. The sun blazed above, its golden rays kissing the landscape and sharing light everywhere. It was a perfect day for the summer festival. The longest day of the summer was here and the local village was certain to celebrate it. Food stalls, some games and a lot of merchants were set up along the outskirts of the Zenan village nestled at the base of the mountains. Colorful banners waved in the summer breeze while music drifted from the center square. The sight brought a smile to Talisia's lips as she paused and studied the town from a distance. She was so close that even the scent of the food was starting to drift towards the path where she stood and excitement shined in her gaze at the sight of it all.

The beast master was dressed for the occasion, her curvy figure shown off in deep blue dress decorated with silver butterflies and twisting floral embroidery. A silk sash was cinched around her waist and the dress had slits along the side for ease of movement. Dark leather sandals wrapped up around her calves and her hair was twisted into braids and decorated with flowers and crystal pins and bells that lightly chimed whenever she moved. It had been a while since she had dressed up but Talisia felt it was a special enough occasion. The thought made her cheeks flush slightly as she turned her bi-colored gaze towards Eresin and waited for him with an outstretched hand. "Looks like the festival is in full swing already." She commented lightly as the music drifted towards them along with the faint chattering of the crowds as Zenans moved through the town. "Ready to join them?"

[Talisia 1]

Talisia leaned into the kiss before pulling away with a faint flush. "Are you certain you still want to go to the festival?" She teased lightly as she reached out a hand to tuck back a stray bang from Eresin's face. He looked handsome dressed up and it was a while since either of them had truly went anywhere outside the manor that wasn't wilderness. I suppose I did rely on Zyphire, Tori and Taaru to run a lot of the errands lately. So many animals had been showing up at the sanctuary and a lot of the villagers had relied upon her expertise in helping with their familiars in the last few months, more so than usual she felt. But today she would at least learn to relax and enjoy the free time that she had with Eresin before either of them got caught up in anything else. She had missed him while he went on his magical quests and was happy to have him back at her side. Even if some kits had stolen a meal just spending time with him the other afternoon had been a blessing enough for the hybrid woman.

And speaking of food....Talisia grinned as she reached out to tug on Eresin's hand. "Let's grab some food first, yeah? I smell kabobs!" Laughing, she seemingly had the energy of a teen again as she led the way down the hilly path and into town. Gray buildings of solid stone rose up to meet them but the gray stones were lit up and accented by colorful banners and flowers. Wildflowers spilled out from the doorways of houses and onto the curving stone paths of tans and grays. The bright array of colors brightened up the place, mostly teals and orange and pinks blending in with little white flowers that dotted around the stalls set up by local and traveling merchants alike. Talisia's target wasn't the shops with trinkets, however, and so she skipped over them to go towards the center of the square where several stalls steamed with fresh food for the festival goers.

[Talisia 2]

"With the way everything is opening up between the countries it's no wonder." Replied Talisia with a small smile. All the opening trade routes made it easier to spread news and she was certain that there were quite a few more foreigners at the festival this year. "Look there's even a stall from Oba with spicy rice cakes." She commented before grinning at her husband's enthusiasm. "What about one of everything?" She teased lightly as she gave a wink and headed towards the fish cakes. It was something new and she was also eager to try out the Oban food next. If anything it would be nostalgic for when she was in Oba and first met Eresin. Seems like forever ago now. Talisia mused quietly to herself before passing some coin and trying one of the fish cakes for herself.

"Not bad." She held it out towards Eresin. "Want a bite?"

[Talisia 3]

"Are you sure?" Teased Talisia lightly. "I feel like there would only be one way to find out." She couldn't resist winking playfully, almost a rare moment for her, before she watched Eresin walking over to a different stall. What was he getting? Her brow furrowed thoughtfully before her expression lit up with a smile. "Thank you." She replied before plucking the tart from his fingers and plopping it into her mouth happily. If there was one thing that was for certain it was that Talisia had a deep love for sweets, especially those with berries.

"Mmm." She let out a soft moan before licking the remaining crumbs of tart from her fingertips. "Between these sweets and the nice weather I would say that today is a good day." The hybrid mused before looking about to see the other stalls. There were even artisans here with little trinkets and she wondered about finding chimes to hang up around the manor. She loved the musical melodies that filled the air whenever the summer breeze fluttered by and the thought made her look towards Eresin thoughtfully. "Do you think we should get some chimes?" She asked finally with a slight flush. "We could browse their wares since there's plenty of time before tonight's bonfire." That was another thing she loved about the summer festivals - the bonfires and the evening spent under the stars.

[Talisia 4]

"I'm glad you think so too." Talisia smiled faintly as she tugged Eresin along after her towards the stalls. "Those are really pretty." She motioned towards a set that had pieces of what looked like colored crystals hanging from the fine wires. Whenever the breeze moved them it made a song almost out of the musical notes chiming from the crystals. Others were made of wood while some had metal chimes and each one seemed to have its own melody. "How do we even decide?" She teased lightly as her fingers trailed across several pairs of hanging chimes. The sanctuary was large but perhaps it would be a bit too much if they simply bought every chime here to hang up. Two or three would be nice though.

[Talisia 5]

"I suppose we could." Replied Talisia with a smile as she watched Eresin browsing through the chimes. "I think they're quite fitting." She reached out a hand so that she could tap the chimes lightly with a finger and the chiming noise they made was indeed pleasant on the ears. A pretty design and a nice melody? I'll take them. She thought happily before reaching over to pick up another set of wooden ones, their melodies slightly different but their designs reminiscent of the mountains of Zena with painted chiavis and raptrix flying overhead. "I can say the same to you." Talisia quipped back with a grin. "I think these will go nicely by the front gardens since they're wooden and sturdier. We can hang the ones you picked by the kitchen so we can hear them in the morning and whenever we're in the back courtyard of the manor." She loved the manor now that they had rennovated it to fit their needs, the darker colors tossed aside in favor of brighter and more open concepts that allowed her and her family to live their happily. It was also nice seeing the open fields full of various animals and knowing that anyone would be welcome to visit whenever. The chimes would be a nice touch to the atmosphere and would add additional melodies to the morning noises of birds chirping.

[Talisia 6]

"Thank you." Talisia flushed lightly at her husband's praise before following him away from the vendor. "I think we could definitely afford a few more tarts." She teased lightly as she nudged him back. It was true that time did seem to fly today and already it was already late afternoon. The hybrid glanced around the festival one more time just to make certain that they weren't missing anything before nodding. She would much rather get home early so that they could put up the chimes and enjoy the rest of their evening together.

[Talisia 7]