[Adelie]

"I'm here! I'm here!" Ven called out as she rushed into the audition tent - then halted. Layers of dress floated down from her hands as she let go of the frills and ruffles she'd grabbed out of the way; her eyes looked over the long line, doubled-back for extra compactness, still standing in the audition tent.

She was here one minute before her audition, and yet it seemed she'd still arrived too early.

"Oh!" one of the staff members said, eying her name tag. "You're Gumiho, right? Scheduled for 12:30?"

"That's me," she said, dropping a bit of an awkward curtsy - the best she could do in her ruffled state. "Um... am I late?"

"No, no! You're fine," the staff member said, smiling broadly. "We've just been running late, that's all. Had a bit of a scuffle earlier, and we're still - well, you can see what our line looks like now. You'll probably be waiting for a while, I'm afraid..."

[Adelie]

"But if you want to help us out," the woman continued, a confidential air entering her voice. "With the rate we're going at, we won't get anywhere if we go one by one - in fact, we'll probably have to cut the auditions short if we don't want to delay the Golden Parade itself. But it's always been a two-part performance, you know?"

"There's the Seraph and the Dragon," Ven murmured, half to herself. She could see where this train of thought was going, now.

"Yep!" the woman said. "You catch on quick. So if you can find someone to partner up with, we can get through this much, much faster. There's a few people here who have partners already, but you know how picky artists are. A lot of these guys have just been waiting for the right person to show up."

"All right," she said, looking at the crowd. There were quite a few people dressed up in dragon costumes that she could recognize, and none of them look particularly menacing or weird - she was sure she could get along with any of them. "Then, thank you very much for the explanation. I'll talk to some of the other participants and see if I can find a partner."

[Adelie]

If anything, she was faced with a surfeit of options. At least that meant she had options - but at the same time, it made the choice much more difficult.

It was pretty easy to eliminate a few off aesthetics alone, at least. When she had designed this costume, she had relied heavily on the input of her friend, Versailles - and so, of course, his penchant for the rococo and the flamboyant had permeated deep into its design. Her interpretation of the Golden Seraph resembled more an old-fashioned princess than anything else.

...so that being the case, the guy who had fashioned his dragon costume out of cardboard boxes - even if it was quite impressively assembled - was out. And the girl with the cyberpunk interpretation - while certainly very cool - was also out. Still quite a few options, of course.

She was about to wonder if she should just try to strike up a conversation with one of them and test the waters when a man walked up to her. "Perhaps we could perform together?"

[Adelie]

She looked him up and down. Truth be told, she hadn't even taken him for a participant at first - she'd expected him to be a lounging staff member, what with the branded tee and cut-off shorts. Did this man even have a costume? Or was he planning to show up and just... perform like that?

Was he even taking on the role of the Golden Dragon? She really couldn't tell.

"Are you a participant for the Golden Parade?" she asked. If anything, she had to get that question out of the way first. No point in continuing this conversation if he wasn't even trying out for a slot.

"Why, yes," the man said. He had an odd look in his eyes - but his smile was rather reassuring. "It is a quaint little tradition, isn't it?"

Quaint? That was certainly one way to describe a festival that hundreds of thousands of people attended, that drew participants from all over the continent, that had corporate sponsorships and commercial partnerships from major companies all across the world. But if she really thought about it - well, at the heart of it all, a festival about eternal bonds was a little... quaint. "It's a fine tradition, if you ask me."

[Adelie]

"In any case, I came to perform as the... uh, 'dragon'." He stopped here for a moment, then, as if clarification were necessary, added, "The big gold one!" As if further clarification were necessary, he gesticulated the general 'bigness' of this dragon with his hands.

She couldn't help but laugh a little at that. Even if he seemed hopelessly naive - even if he didn't seem to be taking this anywhere near as seriously as she was - it was still rather endearing.

He must've misinterpreted her laughter, because he followed that up with a concerned "And are you, miss, here to perform the part of the Golden Seraph? Although, well, I hardly doubt the people here would take too badly to two dragons if you were going to dress up as one."

"It's no problem," she said, gesturing at her dress. "I'd make a pretty terrible dragon - not intimidating at all. I'm here to play the part of the Golden Seraph, of course."

"Excellent," the man said. "Then, should we become partners?"

[Adelie]

He didn't seem like a bad guy, at least. A little odd - his mannerisms were a little stilted, a little old-fashioned in a way that suggested he might be picking his words very carefully. Or, perhaps, that this simply wasn't his first language.

And he had something off about his gaze - but honestly, a lot of her friends were like that too. Chi always looked  like she was about to commit murder, whenever no one was looking. Nebula always looked like a reanimated corpse.

So all in all, nothing she could really object to. But still - she wasn't about to put her chances at a performance on the line for someone who didn't even seem to have a costume. "Say - what are you planning to do for your performance?"

"Well, I don't really have an act prepared," he mumbled. His tone did not engender confidence. "Sorta was just going to stomp around a bit, ehehe..." As if he'd noticed her disapproval, he added, "I can dance a bit, though! Singing, on the other hand... Really not my thing..."

[Adelie]

Well, that certainly didn't sound helpful. You didn't really have to dance for the Golden Parade, and you certainly didn't have to sing - although it was a nice touch if you could join in with one of the ballads - but you couldn't exactly just stomp around like he was suggesting, either.

And since he didn't seem to have a costume or anything prepared, it really did hinge on his ability to perform. "You're planning to go up there dressed like that?" she asked. Perhaps he had some change of clothes he wasn't too comfortable getting into right now, or perhaps he was going to pull a magical transformation act...

"Er, yes," the man said, looking a bit nervous. "I am... well, I am not very accustomed to the rules here, and I did not realize you were supposed to dress up for the part. I suppose... I suppose there are a few things I could do, but I am certainly not able to live up to the standards you are setting, young miss."

Perhaps not. At least he'd had the decency to compliment her costume while disappointing her, even if it was in quite the roundabout way. "Well, um," she started. She hated turning people down; she hated making them unhappy with her. It was so much simpler to just go with it - but Chi always said she let people walk all over her, and that she should stick up for herself when it was important, and this was important...

[Adelie]

Or maybe she didn't have to make this decision at all.

Just to confirm her train of thought, she pulled over one of the staff members and asked, quietly, "Hey - for the audition, will I be judged on my partner's performance? Or is it just my own?"

"It's just your own, of course," the staff member confirmed. She looked at Ven from top to bottom, and then added, "Honestly, with your outfit I'm pretty sure you're a shoo-in. The important part is getting a partner so the judges can actually see you - anyone will do."

"That's great," she said. So she could just take this guy along for the ride - she couldn't guarantee that he could make in into the Parade himself, but, well, maybe she could help him out a bit. Either way, he seemed nice, and making a group with him would be a win-win for the both of them.

"Say," she said, suddenly remembering basic manners. "I don't think we've actually introduced ourselves - I'm Gumiho. But you can call me Ven - everyone does, anyways."

"I'm Au - Auberon," the man said, stumbling over the name a bit. "It is nice to meet you."

[Adelie]

"And you as well, new partner," she said, putting on her best smile. Only fitting to greet a new friend, after all.

Since they had nothing to do now but wait, she decided to make small talk. "So, where are you from?" That seemed a bit personal, so she quickly amended her question. "I mean - are you a normal player, or are you just here for the festival activities?"

"Huh?" Her question seemed to have caught him a little off-guard - there was a genuine confusion in his 'huh?' unlike the normal affectation in his speech. "I - I am just here for the festival, really. Truth be told, I have always wanted to participate in Aldrect's Festival of the Golden Thread, but for various, um, reasons, I could never come in person. So I am very thankful for this virtual rendition for allowing me to finally experience it."

"Yeah, it's really cool, isn't it?" she said. "I've never been to Aldrect either. Always wanted to, but I don't live anywhere near there, and I'm busy with school and work and all that, too." It probably made sense for her to answer her own question, too, so she continued, "I've been playing this game for a long, long time. More than a few years, at least. This event isn't like anything we've ever had before, though - so I'm really excited about it."

[Adelie]

"The history of Aldrect is quite fascinating," the man continued. "I have always found the mythology behind the Festival of the Golden Thread entrancing, so it is quite the honor to participate in it. You know, some scholars think the Dragon wasn't a real dragon at all..."

She nodded, listening to him silently. He was clearly interested in the event only for its cultural value; he didn't seem to have any interest in the game portion of it. When she'd mentioned her name and how long she'd been playing, he hadn't reacted at all. It was... refreshing, she supposed.

She wasn't exactly famous within the community, but it wasn't like no one knew who she was, either. The staff member who'd greeted her, the first time around, had shown a bit of recognition at her name - but was clearly well-mannered enough not to comment on it. But when people talked about her, it was always in the context of her other friends, and then her - tacked on like an afterthought.

[Wild Pet Found]