[Celtic]

"Say-a boss-man, why are we going to this a, ah-- holy city?" The little maus ran a circle around the apparent "boss-man's" shoulders, flicking his tail.

A tired voice replied, "We've got business, alright? Can't you just leave it alone."

"Well not that I'm complaining, y'know I come from the holy city, but it's just... Odd you're going." The lights on his display flashed rapidly, apparently depicting some quick calculating.

"There's business to be done. I go where business is."

A tense silence, then a string of discontented beeping, but no more argument from the maus. That was alright, he could manage getting cold shoulder from his friend. He was worried about this upcoming job. Truth be told, he really wasn't happy about heading to Aldrect but had few choices. They were broke and therefore desperate.

[Celtic]

The lucain was draped in a large brown coat with a hood attached. It was really more like a poncho, but that word wasn't really part of his aesthetic. It was well worn, and provided shade for the maus to hide in during the sunny parts of the day. There wasn't much talking as they trudged across the countryside in effort to make it to Aldrect, but then again these two didn't seem very talkative.

"Why are there so many other travelers headed to the city?" Keturah muttered to maus. There were a lot of caravans passing by them, and judging by how many drivers cursed at him, they were in a hurry.

"Hmm..." A small symphony of beeps played and maus in a robotic accent replied, "Golden Thread Festival. Aldrect, Holy City. Competition. Parade. Two days from now."

Ket rolled his eyes, "Is the accent necessary? You could have just told that to me."

"Why-a yes it is. You want accurate information, do you not?"

More rolling of the eyes, "Okay, okay. Just thought that you could maybe tone it down next time."

"I will not tone it down."

[Celtic]

A festival though... That could be good. His memory pinged at the mention of a Golden Festival and a parade. He remembered hearing about it as a pup from a relative. They talked about how magical the city was, cloaked in glittering gold decorations. The superb performances of the dragons and Seraph... He was whisked away for a moment as he imagined what the city must be like at this moment.

"So what kind of a job has us headed to a city during the great Golden Festival?"

That... That was a good point. A job in the middle of such a happy event? He wasn't exactly a great person, but he wasn't evil. Ket muttered a response, a bunch of unintelligible nonsense really, and tried to buy himself more time to answer.

"Boss-man. What job has us headed to the Golden Festival?"

Ket sighed, he should probably stop being so secretive. "There's a girl there. We've got to help her."

The maus let out a mechanical giggle. "A GIRL? Oh Ket, no wonder you didn't want to tell me. This isn't normal at all- is it?"

Ket got defensive, "We need money. I took the only job that I was offered. Or do you want me to starve?"

[Celtic]

Yelling. Yelling was at them.

Ket turned and just barely saw the cart before it ran into him and jumped to the side of the road. The driver was shaking his fist at them but kept going. It was a particularly impressive cart being pulled by three matching white penticorns all in unison. In that moment, Ket groaned. He just realized that this festival was going to be filled to the brim with rich people. The worst kind of people.

He didn't realize it, but he had been fantasizing about entering the contest. He'd played the part of a dragon many times with his siblings growing up and surely that would translate to a seamless performance on stage here. How would he compete though without money to finance a proper costume?

"So this girl, what exactly are we doing with her?"

Right, right. The job. Ket had officially made himself grumpy and the last thing he wanted to think about was that stupid job. "Just help. No details."

"Ah, so we have absolutely no idea what we're walking into then."

"Nope."

'Fan-tastic."

[Celtic]

Ket took care to walk a little ways off the road. There was no need for them to die on their way to the city and these carts, cars, buggies, creatures were all driving like maniacs.

"Would it seriously kill them to slow down or just have common decency. It's not like the road is just for them. It's for us too. For the love of yepha, these idiots should think!" Ket was mumbling to himself. The grumpiness had fully set in. His thoughts were still drifting to the festival. He could see the city on the horizon now-- it's bright marble glory. It'd been a while since he had gone somewhere nice and he likely wouldn't even be able to see it. What rotten circumstances. Finally get to go to this thing that he'd been dreaming about and he wouldn't even enjoy it.

He was dragging his feet now and the maus was getting quite tired of his shit. "Keturah. Get a grip."

"What if I don't want to get a grip? What're you gonna do!"

"Are we teenagers now? Am I your parent?"

That snarky comment shut Ket up. He knew he was being a jerk and a whiny little kid. That wasn't professional and he, he was a professional. A professional what, he wasn't really sure. But people hired him and he did the job and he needed to be in the city in... Two days. Shit. He was scheduled on the day of the festival. What could that mean?

[Celtic]

Maybe... maybe she wanted to enter the contest and needed a dragon! Ket started daydreaming instantly. A fantastic, shiny costume. A headdress, large webbed wing attachments... Draped in gold, accenting his pelt color. Really, he was made for this. He was the perfect dragon. He had the movements down-pat, and dare he say he was dreamlike. The smooth muscular movements...

"What are you doing?"

Ket stopped moving. Was he? Was he... Just... Doing that? Oh dear. That was not professional. "Nothing."

A soft, slow beeping was his only response. A maus's way of saying 'oh sure.' Ket just sped up to a long lope. He wanted to get to the city. This was too much, he could not handle anymore thoughts or commentary from his companion. Time to book it, and if he had an opportunity to daydream a little more well that was just a plus.

[Celtic]

Well here they were. They were at the marble city and it was glistening in the sunlight. Ket desperately needed a shower. He was covered in dirt, dust and sand. There was no way he could meet a client like this. He looked up at the sun, when was he supposed to meet the girl again?

"Time?"

"1400."

Good. They weren't in danger of missing anything yet. He should have enough time to book a room, shower, settle in and then go find the tent. Surely it wouldn't be that hard. Ket was weaving through the crowd, aiming for some remote place of town. One without huge crowds and off the beaten path. He was broke, so he needed to find an absolute shit-hole of a motel.

"Where should I go for lodging?" A steady beeping responded and the maus skittered to be perched on his neck, between the ears. Ket hated when he steered like this, but he didn't exactly have a choice. A tug on the left ear, he took the left alleyway. Ten minutes later, they had arrived in front of a slightly crumbling building and a smart little DING confirmed they had arrived. The maus retreated in the jacket as it wasn't a fan of talking to others.

Ket went in the doorway and was assaulted by darkness. He blinked hard trying to convince his eyes to adjust faster. There was a counter and a dingy looking human behind it. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, one room. Not sure how many nights." Ket made himself sound a little gruff. He didn't want to encourage conversation.

"Okay. Pay the fee every morning. It's on the board. You're in room 106." Ket looked up at the board and grabbed the key before heading to his room.

[Celtic]

The room was what he expected. It was dark like the rest of the place, there was a cot instead of a bed and a closet. Nowhere to really stash anything securely. The maus ran down his leg and up the leg of the cot, curling up securely in the center.

"Not so bad. Could be worse."

Ket sighed, "Yeah but we can only afford maybe two nights at best. Unless the girl decides to pay us early."

"We'll figure it out. Shower now, worry later." Ket pulled off the coat, releasing a cloud of dirt. That would surely need to be washed. He'd do that after he washed himself. Bathroom was presumably through the single other door in the room. As soon as he was through the entryway, Ket shifted to human. This seemed like a human thing, not a lucain thing. As sad as he was to leave behind his cain form for a few days, he was practical.

He looked in the mirror to see how he looked. Dark skinned, strangely blue eyes and salt and pepper hair. Not because he was old, but he assumed that's how the form accounted for the gray and blonde of his wingblades and coat. He ran his hands over the hair, releasing yet more dirt. Right, shower time.

[Celtic]

The water was lukewarm and had terrible pressure, but Xai're, it felt so good. There wasn't soap, but there was a washcloth and he just scrubbed as hard as he could. The water was most likely black coming off of him, but he couldn't see due to the persistent lack of lighting. Just as well, no one really needs to know just how dirty they were, as long as they're going to be clean.

He stepped out of the shower, grabbed an almost threadbare towel and dried off slightly. He hardly spent any time in this form, and he wasn't really sure what "looked good." It was so much easier to be covered in fur. He looked in the mirror. Was he supposed to fix his hair? Ket had heard people talk about doing just that. But... how? He rolled his eyes again and turned around to walk back into the room.

The maus was still on the cot, but somehow clothes were on the cot now too. "Uh, where did those come from?" A single beep. Ket sighed. They were certainly festive. Shiny gold with silver accents. He picked them up and was surprised at their quality. They were soft and very light, oh he could not wait to put them on.

Ket went back to the mirror to check himself out. The cut was simple but accentuated his (pretty decent) physique. "I don't know where you got these but oh they are lovely!" He called into the other room.

"Glad you like them, you needed to blend. Don't say those words again." Ket grinned. He fished through his bag and pulled out the letter he had received.

Keturah.

I am in need of assistance. Will pay travel + daily fees. Come to Aldrect, 6 days time.

Meet at sign-up tents. Ask anyone. I will have bouquet of lillies.

In hindsight, this was not really enough information but he was desperate. Also it was strange she knew he'd be able to make it. He was also assuming it was a girl as the handwriting was flowery and she would actually have flowers but that might've been sexist. Oh well, what's done is done. Ket shook his bag a few times before throwing it over his shoulder and extending a hand to the maus.

"Time to go, let's find our mystery."

[Celtic]

The note was accurate, he walked until he found a crowd and asked where the sign-up tent was, and wah-lah he had detailed directions. Along with a warning that sign-ups were about to close, so he had better hurry. Ket trotted along down the street, weaving through people and vendors. The tent came into view and he saw a number of people going the same way.

Ket started searching for the bouquet of white lillies, while a bit of hope bloomed inside him. Maybe he was going to enter the contest with her! That'd be a dream come true.

"Left side of tent, cloak and white lillies." The maus's little voice came through the noise of the crowd. Ket spotted her and made his way over.

This girl had on a dark cloak -- which was doing the opposite of what it was likely intended to do. She was standing out in a sea of gold like a sore thumb. As Ket got closer, he saw her porcelain skin and red hair and amber eyes.

"Miss? I'm Ket, very nice to meet you."

Even though he didn't sneak up on her, the girl jumped, dropping her flowers. "Oh thank goodness, we almost missed the sign-ups! Come on, let's get into the tent" Maus had crawled down Ket's body to the ground and began to pick up the flowers "Oh, please leave those-- he's with you right?"

The maus squeaked (like a mouse), "I'm not a he or a she. But yes. We're together."

"Oh, so sorry, please though let's go!" Maus jumped to Ket's leg and crawled up as the girl grabbed Ket's hand and almost ran to the tent, she grabbed the doorflap and was about to dive through (what an overzealous lady) when they heard the commotion.

"Please vacate this area citizens! This is sanctioned by the Lambastian Science Division, do not be alarmed, this is just a routine inspection."  The girl hesitated and looked towards the area. She froze right there and started to pull away from the tent.

"Something wrong?" Ket asked. It was just an inspection, they should keep moving. Why would she be so thrown off by this?

"Uh, that's just concerning..."

"Didn't you want to sign-up for this? Aren't we late already?"

"Yeah you're right it's nothing. Let's go." Holding hands, the two went into the tent to add their names to the sign-in sheet.

Join the contest.

[Celtic]

The girl was standing in front of him the whole conversation, didn't even bother once to look back at him for his opinion. What a haughty little brat. The second the host mentioned giving out the last participant slot, Ket's mood deflated. His eyes hardened and he was more than a little bit grumpy. He wanted to play the dragon, and there's no way he was going to go up there with this Auberon and both be dragons. At least he was getting paid for this nonsense.

The girl was gesturing at him, maybe he should be paying a little more attention, "-just met my companion here. Uh, sir? What do you think of this proposition?"

He gruffly shrugged and muttered a "Sure" while not entirely knowing what he just signed himself up for. Not like he cared anyways, he was just here to do his job.

She looked at him slightly disapprovingly, but shook it off and turned back to Auberon, "Alright, we'll perform. This should be fun, right Ket?"

[Celtic]

The use of his nickname jolted Ket a little bit. Clearly she knew him, but he had no idea from where. He studied her face before responding-- trying desperately to place her. But nothing came to mind. No half memories, no familiarity, nothing. He truly had no idea. He did not know this woman.

"Yeah. Fun." He finally muttered. His attitude was a far cry from the highly festive outfit he was wearing.

"Alright, Auberon let's get to work on our act. Ket, if you and your buddy could please help put together something for me to wear I'd really appreciate it."

"Here that, you're my 'buddy.'" He chuckled, talking to the maus.

"Ma'am I am not a buddy. I am a useful piece of technology. One that Keturah here would not succeed without." The little maus looked strangely indignant on top of Ket's shoulder as he spoke to the woman. He did not like his contributions being belittled. He was a very important maus.

"Oh of course not, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean anything by it darling." She patted the maus's head, and that seemed to solve everything. Ket noticed a slight accent creep through her voice that time. The vowels were elongated and there was a slight drawl when she said darling. Another piece to the puzzle. Still, Ket and the maus complied. They were after all being paid to be here, so might as well do what their employer asked. He wasn't too fussy really, just a bit grumpy.

[Celtic]

"Alright! Onto our act. So you're the dragon and you said you've got some dancing in you right?" She focused all her attention on Auberon, they were going to need to come up with something fast if they had any shot at winning.

Auberon nodded, "Yes, but before we get into all that, miss, what's your name?"

The woman laughed, "Oh my, so sorry. It's Aurelia! Kinda similar to yours, but you can just call me Lia. But back to the dancing! Can you show me a few steps? I'm thinking we come out, do a few steps together and then I'll back off, sing one of those festival songs while you get a bit more fancy with the steppin!"

"Nice to meet you Miss Lia. I'd reckon that sounds pretty good. Better than what little I'd come up with. Now uh, come on over here." He took both her hands and they stood parallel each other, both facing forward, arms crossed in front of them.

"Alright, now we go forward a couple steps and I'm gonna swing ya, just trust me and go with the flow of it." The dance had a feeling of an old style that was done in royal courts. It was simple, but there was a beauty in simplicity.

Lia giggled as she struggled to keep her feet under her. "Can we do that a few more times? I swear I'm not normally this bad. I'm just nervous about going up with so many people!" So they repeated the steps maybe four or five more times. It was starting to look passable.

"Okay, I think after this turn that's when I'll break away from you and start singing. You're fine to dance alone right?"

[Celtic]

"Uhm..." Auberon looked a bit nervous then, but Ket, as if someone had magically summoned him, appeared.

"Don't worry Aubie, I've got your back. I used to dance the dragon when I was little." Somehow his mood had improved? "I'll show you some of the snakey movements that were always a good go-to way back." Ket winked to Auberon and, to his credit, showed him a few 8-counts of 'dragon' movements.

Lia was staring, smiling at the two. It was a very awkward movement to watch being taught. Auberon was struggling, but to his credit getting better and Ket was strangely patient.

"What're you looking at? Shouldn't you be practicing?"

Lia straight up laughed, and still laughing coughed out "Why, is that anyway to talk to your employer?" Ket's eyes grew hard again and he grumbled, walking back to where he had been sewing and painting and tying fabrics together. He came back, threw the heap at Lia and went outside the tent.

"Sorry about him, I'm not really sure why he's so grumpy." Lia sat down next to Auberon. "Here though, I think this is for you." The lump of fabric unfolded in Auberon's hands to reveal a cape. It clipped around his neck and to his wrists, and moved with glamour. It shined and sparkled and was impressive for being made in such short amount of time. If you looked closely, you could see evidence of the rush job but they weren't going to be that close to the crowd- hardly anyone would notice. Auberon also had a headpiece. It wasn't grand, but it added to the glitz and shine of his cape.

[Celtic]

Lia had ducked behind a curtain to don her new outfit. It appeared to be a wrap piece. She had fashioned it so that it had one shoulder, wrapped around her body to reveal a slight cut-out on her left side and drape down. Over the whole piece was a glittering sheer silver fabric that moved easily with her, accentuating every step, every turn. Again, it was simple, but it fit the performance. A circlet of fabric around her head had a blanket of thread cascading down her back, interweaving with her hair.

Auberon clapped seeing her, "My oh my we could win! I was excited just to compete, but just look at you." Lia blushed and did a little twirl and a curtsy. They were actually going to do this! She ran outside the tent to find Ket.

"C'mon grumpy pants! At least see your hard work."

"This can't seriously be what you hired me for." Was the only response she got back. The dark tone stopped Lia in her tracks.

"No." She said softly, "I just thought you'd accept it more if you saw me again here, you're favorite place. I thought you might forgive me."

Auberon called from inside the tent again, indicating that the show was starting. Lia looked regretfully at Ket, "Please watch us, I'd like that." And she ran inside, leaving Ket thoroughly confused. His mind held so many questions, but the one that he focused on was, Who do I need to forgive?

But Lia had left, and she had asked one thing of him. She was still technically his employer, so he complied. Ket followed Lia to where she and Auberon were waiting to perform. He was going to watch from the sidelines, rather than from the crowd. It felt easier this way, he could think about what she had said and not worry about randoms and the hullabaloo of the festival.

[tl;dr- Lia joined up with Auberon and they're performing in the festival doing a dance + singing routine.!]