[Indigo]

Niles, looking at himself in the mirror, sighed quietly. He was not traditionally a festival kind of guy. Or a big event of any kind guy. Or a leaving the house more than once a week guy, except of course for work, but when you lived above your shop the distinction became somewhat academic. Not to say that he was some sort of recluse—call him a homebody, maybe, someone who would always rather stay in than go out, go right upstairs after work and curl up with a book and maybe, if he was feeling social, call his sister and chat about her day. Brandy always joked that they compensated for each other, her job and her life giving her enough human (or nonhuman) interaction for both of them.

But business opportunities were business opportunities, although the words left a bad taste in his mouth when he muttered them to himself, and did not represent a line of thought he normally subscribed to. There was something distantly appealing about the prospect of running an ice cream stand at the festival, and it was good to get some promotion out, now that summer was setting in. He just...didn't want to go.

He sighed again, shrugged on his jacket, and went down to the car.

[Indigo]

The stand didn't take too terribly long to set up; the real challenge was arranging his golden decorations in such a way that they stood out rather than blending into the surrounding stalls, or completely overwhelming the eye so that nobody wanted to look at it. He had also, as a concession to the holiday, worn a slightly shimmery gold shirt for the occasion. He felt more than a little silly in it.

It was obnoxious to keep the freezer case running electrically out here—so much equipment to haul around, which wouldn't have fit in his car anyway—so he had rented some frost enchantments and lined the inside of the case with them. They hummed, disconcertingly. He made sure the labels on the different ice cream flavors were readable and took up his post, perched on a stool behind the case, with a tablet and one of those little credit card readers along with a regular register for cash. You never knew.

[Indigo]

Niles was not...a huge fan of the Festival of the Golden Thread, for more or less the same reasons he didn't care for Valentine's Day. It wasn't exactly the same, of course. The Festival was not wholly focused on romantic relationships, he could have gone with a good friend if he'd wanted to attend in a non-work capacity, no one would have looked askance at him walking around by himself, even. He'd gone with Brandy and her then-girlfriend a few years back, shortly after she'd moved back out of his spare room, more because they'd gotten used to hanging out all the time and missed it immediately than for any other reason. He'd even had a good time, that once. But he hadn't been back.

[Indigo]

It wasn't that he had anything against romance. In fact he was quite fond of it, but it never seemed to work out for him, for a variety of reasons—incredibly terrible taste in men, incredibly selective taste in women, the aforementioned disinterest in going out and doing things, a near inability to pick up on hints or certain kinds of subtleties.

And it was fine! Of course it was fine. He was his own person, he didn't need a relationship for fulfillment, most days it didn't bother him at all apart from the occasional spectacular fight with a soon-to-be-ex and the resultant visit from the neighbors to make sure he was all right. That was always awkward. There was just something about being out here and seeing happy couples, et cetera, tying themselves together with golden thread and laughing and enjoying themselves that made him sort of melancholy about the whole thing.

[Indigo]

Niles mused on this subject despondently for about half an hour, serving a handful of customers as he did so—it was still early in the day, a little cool weatherwise for people to be seeking him out just yet and also a bit premature in terms of meal planning. At this point he spotted, with some surprise, a familiar pink-streaked bun across the street. He waved to Brandy as she turned around.

When she arrived at his stall she looked as surprised as he was. "What in the world are you doing working the festival?" was her opener; they spoke often and rarely bothered with greetings unless there had been an unprecedented lull. All conversations were part of one vast uber-conversation.

[Indigo]

"I don't really know," Niles said. "It seemed like a good idea, since business is probably going to pick up again soon in the ice cream trade—" This was a long-standing joke between them, his answer to many cryptic comments about the intricacies of working in journalism. "—and it's important to...expand the customer base. Although I always feel scummy when I put it that way."

"I'll bet." She leaned on the case. She was taller than him when they were both standing on level ground, but he'd brought a tall stool, and she had to look up at him a little. "This isn't about Alex, is it?"

He sighed. "A little."

[Indigo]

"I don't think he's going to be here," Brandy said, "and I also don't think you would enjoy talking to him very much, at this point."

"I know. I'm not completely without self-awareness. This is just...proving a point. Proving that I can get out of the house and enjoy myself if I choose to, no matter what anyone else has to say about it. I just don't choose to most of the time."

"But I know that, and you know that, and Alex isn't going to know it or not because you broke up, so who are you proving it to?"

"The world? Myself, even though I already knew? Both?" He drummed his fingers on the ice cream case thoughtfully. "I really haven't gotten out much lately, even for me. Since the book club stopped meeting regularly. It is nice."

[Indigo]

They didn't talk for a few minutes, watching the people go by. There were more of them now, as the day dragged on and more people felt prepared to face the day. Perhaps that was a cynical way of thinking about it. Mainly Niles was just aware that most people didn't like getting up early, even for something fun, though it wasn't an attitude he fully understood. Different strokes and all that.

He served a few more customers, and between himself, Brandy, and festival-goers seeking ice cream an intermittent friendly patter arose, passing the time and bringing him out of what remained of his mood. It really was nice to be here. He ought to come more often.

Another thought occurred to him as a couple left the stall. "What brings you here alone, anyway? This isn't exactly your scene either, without a date." As far as he knew Brandy wasn't seeing anyone. And he was pretty sure she would have told him, probably in the form of an offhand mention of someone she'd forgotten to tell him she'd met in the first place.

[Indigo]

"Oh." Brandy looked embarrassed, which was not an expression Niles was used to seeing on her face. It had a mildly disorienting effect. "I've been thinking a lot about trying to date more actively again, lately, and it put me in the right frame of mind to think about the festival as well. I started to feel foolish about it as soon as I got here, to tell you the truth. I don't know what I was expecting to find."

"Not your brother lying in wait to ask you strange questions about your motivations."

She laughed. "No. But I did ask you about yours, so it's only fair."

[Indigo]

"Are you planning on working all day?" Brandy said. "How long do those glyphs you have in the case last, anyway? The twenty-four-hour kind must be awfully expensive."

"I thought I'd pack up around one o'clock. Late enough to catch the lunch crowd but early enough that I don't have to be outside for the hottest part of the day."

"Smart," she said. "Well, do you want to meet for lunch afterward? I have some, ah, interesting developments on the work front to talk to you about, and you'll probably even understand what most of them are."

"Hey," he said, but there was no real reproach in it. "That sounds good, though. I'll have to drop some things off at the shop first. Say around two?"

"Perfect. I'll scope out a good restaurant and text you."

Well. At least he wouldn't be stuck thinking about this festival all day.

[Wild Pet Found]