[-----ALONG THE BOARDWALK...-----]

The Festival of Lights is alive with both sight and sound on this evening, rounding out the last of its festivities as the days wind down to its end. To the northwest, the sounds of concert music can be heard blaring through the avenue, and in the immediate vicinity, people of all shape and race pass each other by in festive kimonos and yukatas, laughing and generally enjoying themselves, giving not a single care to the cold, chilly weather around them.

Kimen dashes about excitedly from stall to stall scoping out all the games and attractions in a purple kimono with tiny yellow flowers. "Fishies!" She exclaims pointing at a nearby stall and taking a bite out of her dumpling, a grain of rice clinging to the corner of her mouth. She barely takes the time to chew her food and swallow before the starts pointing out the next thing that caught her eye. "Oh! And a test your strength stall! Mr. Kent I bet you are strong! Can you win me a stuffed animal? Please? Pretty please?" Kimen bounces up and down excitedly, turning towards Kent with hope and excitement in her eyes.

Kent was running out of breath trying to keep up with the energetic child, Kimen. "I like fish..." he tries to comment as Kimen exclaims their excitement, but was caught short as the kid darted away to another stall, a larg strength tester. "Yeah, I bet I could..." He took a deep breath. Cold plus children made for a worn-out Kent. "Yeah, that thing."

(Audrianu) A man, dressed as festively hands down a stuffed unicorn to a sulking girl. "There! I told you this would be a fun time! Aren't you glad to be out of your room?" The girl looks back up at the man, well, glared back up at the man. "No! No I'm not! It's cold as hell, you won't let me cheat, and LOOK AROUND!" The girl franctically motions at the people around her, " There are people everywhere!". The man chuckles and noogies her head a little bit, much like an older brother.

Tealion was already at the Test your Strength stall, his turn was just ending as he wound up and delivered a strong right hook to the target. As he caught his breath, a Unicorn plush was handed over to him. " Only a lil' doll? Rats..." He complained as he took the plush into his shell, looking over his shoulder to see if a line was behind him before paying for another go.

Kimen looks at the prizes and watches as a girl is handed a giant goofy looking stuffed purple unicorn. Kimen covers his mouth, giggling, "Hey, that look kinda like the one you fought with, doesn't it Mr. Kent." He looked over all the prizes, taking a while to decide on which one was the best among them. The child didn't really care all that much. Everything seemed to be pretty cute... and full of possibilities. "Everyone seems to be getting that one though. Do you think you can too?"

Kent eyed the prizes, keeping an eye out for anything Kahleen might like. "Yeah, I think so." Kent approached the stall and rolled up his sleeves. He then rolled them right back down because it was freezing. When it was his turn, a target came up. As an reflex attack, Kent grabbed his fist and shoved his elbow with full force into the target.

The man running the stall happily gave Kent a plushie. The knight waled away satisfied. "THis what you wanted, kid?" Kent asked Kimen with a smile, handing the unicorn to Kimen.

(Audrianu) The man starts dragging the girl towards the concert and she begins, for lack of a better term. "freaking the fuck out" flailing, mostly hitting the man. "No no no no no no no! It's bad enough we're in this busy fairground filled with people who are probably going to kill me! We don't need to go to the loudest and most crowded place here. It's bad enough you dragged me up to the surface.." the girl switches to pleading." please?" The man sighs, "I'll be gone for a hour tops, Don't try to slink back to the hotel room, don't spaz out in the crowd of people and don't try to cheat the games." The man hugs the girl and heads off to the concert, leaving her to wearily glare the crowd on her own.

Tealion kicked some snow around, punching something that didn't punch back was starting to get old. He smiled at the knight's prowess. "Not bad, not bad at all."

Kimen cheers and quickly wraps her arms around the giant unicorn hugging it tightly."Thank you Mr. Kent! You are amazing!" the child quickly finishes off her dumpling and holds the plushie out away from her, examining it closely. "Hm... it needs a name." She says, her mouth still full of food. Realizing how awkward that came out, she covered her mouth and swallowed, "What should I name it?"

Kent scratches his beard and pulls his hood ever tighter around his ears as the kid talked. "Well for one, it's not going to be Twilight Sparkle. That's still a terrible name." Kent chuckled to himself. Scanning the area, he decided maybe he should offer a name like Kahleen did. "there's a... Stall... and an Inn ... We should name it Stalin."

Tealion chuckled lightly as he leaned against the stall. "How's about Aquila? That's a good name for something as swift and dangerous as a unicorn." He suggested Kimen with a smile, brushing some snow from his shell.

Waiting a few minutes for her caretaker to vanish from sight, Audrianu promptly turns and trys to leave back out of the festival and slips on a loose jingling bell left on the ground. Tripping onto the child of Chalk.

Kimen tilts the unicorn to one side, then to the other. Then the child tilts his head, making a face. Aquila? That was a terrible name for a goofy looking unicorn like this one. Before He could protest this matter though someone bumped into him knocking him down into a snowbank with a small yelp.

Audrianu lays on the ground quietly sobbing. This is stupid, all of this is stupid. Why did he even bring her here?

Tealion watched the two-man pileup, rubbing his nose before nudging the girl softly. "'Ey kid, you alright down there?" He asked, offering a hand to Kimen and Audrianu each.

Kent dashed over to help the two up from the snow and then turned his attention to the crying young girl. "Are you hurt, madame?" He offered his hand to the girl to help her up, "I'm Kent, it's the Holidays, a time to be gay." He smiled. "Do you need any help?"

Kimen sits up and takes the man's hand clinging tightly to her unicorn with her other as if she was afraid she'd lose it, "Yeah. I am fine, Thanks." The child answered with a grin, but the grin faded as she looked down at the girl who was being offered help up, "Are you alright?"

Audrianu takes the knight's hand, and starts pulling herself up. Looking him in the eyes before remembering where she was. Pulling her hand away as quickly as she can she shakily responds. "F-fine" she frowns as she remembers she knocked him over. "Are you okay?"

The knight could have sworn he saw the girl's eyes flash red at him, but he shook his head. Kent knew he was paranoid, Kimen had no trouble reminding him of that. It must have been something in the dumplings, they did taste a bit undercooked. Kent got back up to his feet and brushed some snow off of himself before going back to a cheery attitude.

Tealion looked at the trio before him. Yup, even during the holidays, Teal manages to merge in with the strangers groups in the Cleft. "Alright, yer both fine. That's all nice and established and ev-- Oh, hold on, Lassie." He handed over a small square of fabic to the girl, "You've got a little something on yer cheeks. Looks like some melted snow."

"Yep!" Kimen answered, dusting off the bits of snow clinging to the robes he was wearing. "The snowbank broke my fall pretty well. You sound a little shakey though, are you sure you are alright?" Kimen tilted her head to the side as he peered quizzically at the girl from over the top of the unicorns head.

Audrianu cringes as the koopa's hand comes towards her, then wipes her face off on her sleeve. "Yeah, I'm fine. R-really. I'm a bit gravity challenged, this is normal."

Tealion chuckled lightly. "Gravity challenged? You should try growing up with a contantly growing shell on your back. I spent most of my childhood on my back, I promise you that." He said, tucking the hankerchief back into his shell, "Name's Tealion, Lassie. 'Ere.." He pulled out the unicorn he recently won from the stall behind him. "I ain't got much use for it anyway, 'cides from a few bits of silver."

"Well, as long as you are alright then." Kimen said with a nod, briefly wondering if there was a spell out there that could help people like this girl and the koopa with their balance issues. Since The koopa introduced himself, Kimen thought she might as well do so as well and she offered out a hand to the girl, "I'm Kimen!" She exlaimed, then wiggled one of the purple unicorn's fore-legs, "And this is um... Periwinkles!"

Audrianu giggles at the child, " Anya, sorry for falling on you." She takes a moment to look around worried before giving a half hearted smile.

Kent chuckles at the name that Kimen decided to give it. "First you wear a dress, then you name your toy Periwinkles. Sometimes, Kimen, you confuse me." Kent wanders off to a random gift stall and talks to the person running it. The stall manager winks at him. "What'll it be, den?" Kent shuffles his feel awkwardly. "What do you reccomend for a... special someone, for the holidays?"

Tealion smiles heartly, "A pleasure to meet you both." He glanced back at Kent and his last-minute holiday shopping. "What's the deal with yer friend over there, Bucko?"

Kimen blinks at with confusion Kent as he walks off into one of the stalls. He looked between the stall and the plushie with a small pout. "What is wrong with Mr. Periwinkles?" He had thought it was a cute and very fitting name for a giant stuffed purple unicorn. He turned to the girl and smiled lightly. Whatever Kent had meant by that he didn't get it and probably wouldn't. "Its okay. People seem to bump into me or trip over me all the time." Then to the turtle Kimen leaned foward, keeping his voice in a low whisper as if it was some sort of secret, "Mr. Kent has a girlfriend. I think he is looking for something to give her."

Tealion nodded. " Ah. It's a lady friend. I can understand why he looks like his nerves are so shot then. You know what? I've got a few extra gold in my pouch, why don't I treat you kids to a round of games while Mr. Kent does his shopping?" Tealion offered, jingling the large amount of coins in his money pouch.

Winding in from the concert, Synesthesi walked beside Cerin down the avenue, her hand clutching his posessively, looking back towards the stage with a little disappointment, but she simply smiled at him after a moment "Is this better?

"No... no I don't have 7000 gold. What kind of person spends that kind of mony on a dress?" Kent's words could be heard from slightly off in the distance. "Yes, I'm sure it's a very pretty dress..." Kent was have a lot of trouble with shopping. He wasn't good at it. "What's she like? Well she's very umm... eccentric"

Cerin sighs and looks over at Synesthesi, then at his surroundings, nodding. "It's...preferable. Much quieter, less people. Well, quiet aside from that man over there," he says, pointing at Kent, "Sounds like he needs something. Maybe I'll get a job. OY, YOU, WITH THE PROBLEM!"

Kimen glanced between Anya and Tealion then to the stall where Kent had gone. Going to play games really did sound tempting but... "Mr. Kent!" Kimen called out to the stall where she heard kent's voice as loud as she could "Mr. Tealion is offering to treat us to some games, can I go?"

Kent called back out to Kimen. "Yeah, just don't let the turtle give you anything magical, you have enough of it!" With that, Kent continued to window show when a rather shady looking cloaked individual shouted at him. Kent turned and slowly lowered his hand toward the hilt of his sword. "Yeah, what do you need, stranger?"

Synesthesi reached over with her free hand to give Cerin a light shove accompanied by a chuckled, her hand never leaving his "Oh, lay off him, he's obviously tying to nab a present for a girlfriend or something." she smiled over at the warrior "But yeah, I wouldn't spend that much on a dress either."

Audrianu looks at the turtle. "" Is there a catch? just free games?" She looks over at kimen again, "K.. It's Kimen, Yeah, Kimen and I can just go play games for free?"

Tealion pulled out a handful of coins from his pouch. "Remind me to chuck a snowball at your friend later." He muttered, mostly to himself. "So. What do you kids wanna try out first?" He then asked, looking around at the stalls.

Cerin raises an eyebrow at Synesthesi, then looks over at Kent again. Noticing Kent's hand move down to a sword, he hides his own mechanical one under his cloak, grabbing a pistol lightly. "Well, I was going to offer to help you find that girl a present- For a price," he says, smirking, "A small one. Just a few gold."

Kent seemed to believe Tealion was safe, so Kimen nodded eagerly in answer to Tealions offer "I want to go see the fishies next!" He didn't know what kind of game you could play with fish, but the other children gathered around the stall seemed to be having a good time. Still, he wasn't alone, so he looked to Anya, "What about you? Do you want to see the fishies too?"

Kent backed away and tried to go back to his buissiness. "No, no I don't talk much with people who offer deals with that tone of voice." He sighed a little to himself. "Did enough of that this month."

Cerin shrugs and keeps his hand up. "I guess you don't want any help finding 'eccentric' gifts for an eccentric gal, eh?" he asks, looking at the others in the room, "Of course, my advice would just be to go win her something from the strong-man game. They have some pretty nice prizes."

Audrianu shrugs, "I don't mind. Adrien said I'm not allowed to play ring toss anymore... fish sound okay" Thinking things through, even if she did leave she'd just be locked outside of her hotel room.. alone, until Adrien came back. She was technically safer here with this random group of people. They didn't kill her yet after all.

"Alright then, let's get--" Tealion froze for a moment, an audible click was heard behind him. Swiftly he scooped up a ball of snow and slung in at a rising, cardboard snowman. When it made contact, a chunk of white cardboard flew off to the other side of the avenue. Teal just held his hands over his head nonchalantly, "Don't make cardboard like they used to." He said as he headed for the Koi pond. "The fish won't wait all night, Buckos."

Synesthesi let out a rolling sigh "Honestly, if you won't take his advice, then at least let me help you. Theres a special prizes shop nearby, but you'll probably need to win at more than a few games to get something good from it... Take a chance at earning her something amazing. Who knows, maybe she'll just enjoy it, no matter what it is, because its from you." she chuckles and releases Cerin's hand as she bends down to begin scooping snow into a ball.

With a cheer Kimen darted off towards the koi ponds, quickly finding a place among the other children and watching as the fish darted about in the water narrowly avoiding their nets. She looked back at the other two grinning, waiting for them to hurry on over so she could try her hand it.

Cerin looks down at Synesthesi, and blinks, beginning to dash off at the thought of the impending snowball. "You'll never hit me alive!" he shouts, running off who knows where.

A small smile creeps across Audrianu's face as she runs after Kimen. Their happy is infectious.... Will need to ask Adrien about how that works later.

Kent looked at the woman that was changing colors in an unnatural manor. Must have been a very fancy design of her holiday outfit, Kent might ask later. Very festive. "You seem to have the right idea." He turned to a different stall. "Just because it's from me. I'm a nice guy... I can... get... nice things." Kent looked at more price tags. Yeah. Nice things.

Tealion strolled over to the pond, handing the man in charge the appropriate amount of money for all three of them and grips his net firmly. "Alright, Koi. Prepare to be fished."

Synesthesi laughed and packed her snowball best as she could as she took off after Cerin "Hah! Wanna bet? I'll catch you yet!"

Kimen sets Periwinkle down at his feet as he takes the net and looks down into the water, watching as the little fish swam by below him. The gold ones didn't seem to be anywhere near him at the moment, but there was plenty of brown ones within reach, and nearby... A red! The child grinned. That one was worth 3 bells according to the stall keeper! Reaching out as far as he could towards it, Kimen dipped his net into the water carefully, trying not to startle it.

Tealion was reaching over to the far end of the pond, trying to catch a golden Koi. "Come on, now. Just a little closer.." He mumbled, trying hard to to climb over the edge of the pond.






[-----THAT SAME NIGHT, AT THE STAGING AREA...-----]

The event stage is the place to be tonight, on one of the last days of the Festival of Lights. A huge crowd has gathered in front of the stage itself, overflowing from the side-seating available on either ends of the platform. Currently, a concert is underway in full force, with a group of men currently entertaining the crowd with belting showtunes, creating a terrific display of music and entertainment!

In the background, behind the current performers and at the far back of the stage, Mollianne is seen conversing with Ambience, the former of which appears to be setting up something of her own. Their chatter can't be discerned due to volume expressed around them, but it probably isn't important anyway.

Synesthesi keeps a tight grip on Cerin's hand, which is covered in the shifting colors of her visible aura, as she weaves her way through the crowd "Of course we're attending! Its a concert! At a festival!" she was forced to shout back at him over the blaring music.

Even though it's a concert, off to one side... Vinyl Scratch - or as she's known on stage, DJ Pon-3 - is skillfully running her forehooves, metallic though they are, over the surface of her turntable, grinning widely all the while.

Cerin grumbles a little, and sighs, looking around at the croud. "I don't like crowds. Or loud music. Or public places," he mutters, keeping a grip on Synesthesi's hand, "This place is bound to get violent, and I'd prefer not to meet anyone who dislikes me while they're drunk."

Mogwai is up front, grinning like a maniac and jumping in excitement at the music. It's been ages since she's been to a real concert before.

Kalin found himself in an uncomfortable situation, watching the musicians play and listening to their songs. He enjoyed music in all forms, but he had sensitive hearing. In addition to that, there were plenty of unfamiliar faces around. While he has had time to adjust, something about large crowds made him uneasy. Still, he tried to pretend it didn't bother him, as such a gesture is insulting to a musician. It also didn't help that Mogwai insisted on front row seating, where she couldn't hear him complain anyway.

Julexa is sitting up front as well, her hands pressed against her ears as the music blares from onstage. Earlier on today, someone gave her a xccute little kimono and some barrettes, so, she's still wearing them because she's taking a liking to them. She wonders why front row seating was neccessary when it's loud enough to hear no matter where you sit..

Reila is standing up from her seat cheering on the band over the loud music. Her grin is wide as she continues shouting out random cheers, even though she had no idea who the band was or really cared.

Ambience scratches the side of his head lightly, looking past Mollianne at the band currently on stage, then at Vinyl nearby, and finally back at the winged girl with a nod, smiling somewhat. Mollianne smiles in return, reaching out and poking him in the nose (which he seems a little confused about), before going back to setting up whatever equipment she's preparing to use. The current group of men appear to be winding down their act, coming to a close in their song even as the crowd roars on, fighting with them in the battle of volumes.

Mogwai hugs Eevee close to her, sighing happily and utterly oblivious to his discomfort "Ah, wouldn't it be nice to learn to play an instrument. To be the one up there on the stage, entertaining hundreds of people?"

"Who's ready for some mad beats, courtesy of yours truly, DJ Pon-3?! Let's kick this thing into high gear!" Deftly, as she looks out over the crowd from behind her ruby-tinted goggles, Vinyl Scratch is working her usual equipment, bobbing her head with faint whirring in time to the decidedly loud rhythms of her turntable.

Julexa releases her ears, as ringing is heard within them. "Pichu...("Maybe for you, but it's giving me a splitting headache!") She cries out, as she sits back and looks up at the stage. Now, if only she could find some way to keep her eardrums from popping. Of course, nothing like that around, just a mob of people yelling.

Synesthesi laughs as she turns to look at Cerin again, easily dodging her way through the crowd as she winds her way to the front, dragging him behind her "Please, they've got security all over the place, and if need be, I can protect you." she chuckles and leans back to kiss his cheek.

Kalin had hoped for brief respite upon the closing of the song, but the cheering of the crowds denied him that. He smiled as Mogwai hugged him, he could see her playing a tuba or a harp or something silly like that. "Vee! (I guess! It does sound..nice!)" tried to say the Eevee against the crowd's cheering. He could hear Julexa making noise, but not anything she was saying. Oh, sis. You must be having a blast over there. Surely the noises you are making are delightful cheers working in unison with the joy of the crowd.

Reila feels a little bit different with the change in the music. She grined wildly and pretty much climbs ontop of the person standing in front of her by the shoulders to raise herself higher up. "Woooo!" she whistled and was a bit of a nusience for the person she was climbing on.

In short order, the group currently performing finishes their act, to the much-adored cheering and applause of the crowd gathered in front of the stage. "Thank you, Fa'diel! Everyone have a great night!" One of them shouts, almost unheard, against the cheering voices as the band begins removing their equipment and packing up; in the meantime, still "backstage", Mollianne places what can be assumed as a headset over her auburn bob-cut, poking at a couple of places on it in test. Ambience only looks on, holding his sheathed longsword tightly as he glances from person to person around the area with an ever-present look of uncertainty in his red eyes.

Mogwai looks over at Julexa "Hmm... maybe we could at least go someplace a little quie--eeyack!" she stumbles about as Reila climbs up on her shoulders, the girl's franting cheering making it difficult to keep her balance.

Even as her fellow performers leave, Vinyl Scratch flicks a switch on her turntable, deciding to join the crowd and pump them up from out in the open, instead of behind her equipment.

Julexa doesn't notice Eevee or Mogwai until it gets a little bit quieter around the stage, and her head stops pounding like a bass drum. When she hears Mogwai's voice, she looks up. "PICHU!!(Yes, that would be a good idea.." She says, at the top of her voice...which is almost screaming territory. "PICH--u.("My head is pounding and I'm getting lightheaded, I think we should leave!")" She says, in a lower tone since the band has stopped, and she didn't notice it before..

Eevee blinks a few times as he watches the girl climb on top of Mogwai. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. He knew Mogwai had some strange friends he didn't know about, but this was a new one. What could he do to ease her predicament, anyway? Shout 'Eevee! Eevee!' until the girl came down? No, despite Kalin's attempts to mimic Caleb's jokes on being a 'gentleman', he just sat there and watch.

Synesthesi begins to wind her way off to the side of the crowd, figuring it would be quicker to leave that way "I guess if you find it so uneasy... we could probably hear the music from over at the Koi ponds if we wanted. Come on." she continues to drag Cerin along behind her through the crowded event area.

The crowd begins to settle down as the band leaves the stage with their things, waving to the crowd off and on (and one of them to Mollianne in the back, as well) as a few of them continue to shout and cheer, but the majority are now waiting for the next act. Just as well, too! Over a large speaker at either side of the stage above, an announcer addresses the crowd! "Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to bring this next performance to you straight from Monstro Town itself! Introducing Fa'diel's own little starlet, known from north to south and all parts under the ephemeral night this side of the continent! Please welcome 'The Little Diva' ... Mollianne R'keth Nol!" More cheers erupt at the mention of this new performance coming on, and Mollianne herself is all smiles as she approaches the front of the stage, leaving Ambience behind to look on as he had been doing anyway. She waves to the vast majority of the crowd as she stands over them, taloned feet scratching the stone floor of the stage as she approaches. Whistles and catcalls are heard in a few select spots, but everyone seems to generally be pleased with Mollianne's presence.

Now that her turntable's been taken over, Vinyl Scratch settles in near the rest of her friends, mechanized joints whirring faintly as she takes a seat next to Kalin and Mogwai, with one forehoof going up to push the goggles up off her eyes. "Now THIS is goin' to be a CONCERT! And what's up, yo?"

As Kalin sensed the change in musicians, he turned his eyes toward the stage to see the familiar bird-lady that he wanted to try talking to some time ago. Suddenly oblivious to Mogwai's predicament, Eevee's tail starts to dart about excitedly as he leans forward, "Vee! (Hey! It's that lady from before! Do you think she's going to sing next?)"

Mogwai is momentarily distracted by the announcement, eager to see what kind of talent would come out of Monstro Town. Wasn't there something she was dealing with? Oh right, the frantic partier. She reaches up to try and push Reila off "Rggh, get off or I'll make you get off!"

Reila is shuffled slightly when the person below her tried to shrug her off. She glanced down and glared a little bit before hopping off the moogle. "Sorry." she said almost reluctantly.

Julexa turns her head to Eevee and shrugs. "Pi..("I don't know, but if she does, I hope it isn't as loud and ear-splitting as some of the other bands that we heard recently..")" She says with a sigh. However, she gets ready to cover her ears...juuust in case. Can't be too careful now..

Mollianne doesn't say a single word as she stands there in front of all those people, only smiling at everyone around as she patiently waits for the voices to calm and grow quiet, which they invariably do after a short time. Once she has a (relative) silence, she lifts one arm, delicatedly, until it is above her head... and snaps her fingers loudly. At this action, a wide black box-like object, adhered to the upper-center of the stage ceiling in view of everyone below, suddenly switches on! It appears to be a scrolling marquee box, and currently reads, in bright yellow letters, "...MUSOUKA - STANDBY...". Mollianne lowers her hand, and waits for another moment or two, as Ambience can be seen in the far back now, apparently fiddling with something unseen.

Julexa raises an eyebrow at this black box, as letters seem to scroll across it. She has no idea what it's for, as she gently rubs her ears with her hands to help them stop ringing. "Pi..?("What's that box thing, and what're those words that keep on scrolling across it?")" She asks, as she is seen squinting her eyes a bit to try and follow them, but, she seems to be confusing herself more as she scratches her head and resigns herself to waiting to see if she can figure it out.

With her voice decidedly - and surprisingly - hushed, Vinyl's leaning over to talk to Mogwai, making a note to keep from speaking too loud, so she doesn't overpower whatever might be planned. She is a DJ, after all, and even they know how to show respect to their fellow DJs.

Mogwai is a little gratefuly to not be shouldering someone else's burden anymore. She glances up at the marquee "...Musouka? Never heard of her..."

Kalin's previous curiousity of the siren had evolved into respect as she had single handedly silenced that which had been tormenting him. He almost wanted to stand up and cheer himself. As he watched on in anticipation, he finally noticed another familiar face next to him. He wanted to whisper 'Hey Val!', but he didn't want to miss a moment of the show. Even the preparation, somehow, excited him.

Looking over the crowd, the tallish human wound his way around the edge of the crowd, gone was his medium-length hair, and missing was his signature green cloak and "forest friendly" outfit; in its place, sleeveless black leather armor, crimson pants, and black boots. A set of crimson and black etched gloves stretched tight across his hands and almost seemed to become his skin somewhere well above his wrists. He wasn't here for business, he wasn't hiding. Demonicor was here to celebrate.

Reila looks over at the letterbox and read what scrolled across the screen. She wonders if that was the title of the song, it was a good way of saying it without breaking the mood of the silence. The blonde haired dragon, stood up on her tiptoes to get a better view not wanting to resort to flight and be annoying with her dragonic wings. She heard nothing but good things about this Mollianne girl, however this was her first concert to see the siren.

Mollianne seems to be focused where she is, apparently waiting on something. She doesn't wait long, however; through the same speakers that given out the previous announcer's voice suddenly comes a tribal-esque beat, composed almost entirely of clicking beats and drums! Mollianne doesn't miss a beat; as soon as the first drum hits, she drops into a crouch, closing her aqumarine eyes as her gorgeous, resonating voice fills the air, seemingly filling the space no girl her size could ever hope to cover in such a wide area!

Mollianne sings: (o/^) Kodomo no koro no yume wa - iroasenai rakugaki de! Omou mama kakisuberasete, egaku mirai e to... tsunagaru~~ (o/^)

The overhead marquee box scrolls out bright yellow, digital words: "...My childhood dreams are an unfading sketch; They came as freely as I wished, connecting to the future I now draw..."

Strangely... Despite being a mare, even if she's a cybernetic one, Vinyl Scratch isn't immune to the charm of the performance, and the DJ is pumping one forehoof in poorly concealed enthusiasm.

Mogwai closes her eyes and just listens to the music. It doesn't matter that she has no idea what the words mean, the melody and rhythym are all she cares about.

Reila smiled and stood listening to the melody of the siren's song. She closes her eyes and sways a little bit to the music, humming the tune to herself the best she can trying to predict the way the song goes.

Eevee smiled wildly as he listened to the siren's song. THIS was music. None of that fancy electric guitar screaming headbanging bird eating nonsense. Kalin felt very relieved that she didn't get tangled up in that Moltres mess. The enormous crowd seemed to feel the same way, which gave Kalin a sense of pride knowing that he had shared the presence of such a renowned singer.

Demonicor's eyes widened as he stared up at the stage, gasping as the siren's voice rolled over him. Powerful, beautiful, enchanting. Even without its usual charming influence, it still appeared to affect on him in some way.

The crowd has indeed gone quiet at this time, as though they, too, felt the energy behind Mollianne's voice and were collectively too afraid to even think about interrupting. A brief chorus of digitized string tones blend in with the clicking drums as the song officially starts following Mollianne's sung intro, combining the tribal beats with an oriental-sounding, far-east approach. Timing herself, Mollianne climbs slowly to her feet, keeping her eyes closed as she draws one arm to her chest, pouring out the first stanzas in the midst of subtle arm movements and well-choreographed side-steps, matching the flow of the song effortlessly.

Mollianne sings: (o/^) Sumiwataru sora... hateshinai hodo aoku; mujaki na kokoro ni... mitasare hikareteku~ (o/^)

The overhead marquee box scrolls out bright yellow, digital words: "...The sky above seemed as clear as it was endless and blue, and my heart, innocent and wild, could not escape its attraction..."

Mollianne sings: (o/^) Yagate jiyuu ni tobimawareru, hane o teni irete~... muku na hitomi wa, motometeku - sora no mukou e ikitai na~! (o/^)

The overhead marquee box scrolls out bright yellow, digital words: "...When I finally obtained these wings that let me fly freely, I have no choice but to go beyond the sky that lies within your eyes~!.."

As she keeps listening, Vinyl Scratch leans over to hug Mogwai with one foreleg, losing herself in the music and smiling as she bobs her head in time with the rhythm. 'Man, this beat is SO /WICKED/...! It's got me really pumped up...'

Mogwai rocks back and forth with the rhythym "Mmm, It's making me quite mellow personally." She idly scratches Eevee behind the ears, smiling at the little guy. He really seemed to be enjoying this song as well.

Curious to know how the others felt, Kalin glanced around briefly. Val seemed to be having a good time, as was Mogwai. Poor Julexa, on the other hand, must have tired herself out from all the cheering for the previous band. Before he could make his way over to her, Kalin was interrupted by the deadly ear scratch. Ohhgods, the ear scratch.

Mollianne spins gracefully upon her taloned feet, throwing both arms up in the air as her enormous wings suddenly spread wide! At the very top of the stage's canopy, three red flares suddenly shoot high into the sky, signaling the arrival of the song's chorus, which Mollianne delivers in full force, opening her eyes to show a fierce, almost beastial side as she performs!

Mollianne sings: (o/^) Tomedonai negai kara - hitotsu dake kanau no nara! Dare ni mo yuzuritaku wa nai; yume wo tsukamitai to omou yo~ (o/^)

The overhead marquee box scrolls out bright yellow, digital words: "...If I could choose one, only one wish, and make it come true, I have no desire to give it up to anyone; I just want to embrace my dream~..."

Mollianne sings: (o/^) Kodomo no koro no yume wa - iroasenai rakugaki de! Itsumade mo kaki tsudzukerareta! Negau mirai e to... tsunagaru~~ (o/^)

The overhead marquee box scrolls out bright yellow, digital words: "...The dreams from my childhood are an unfading sketch; I drew of them endlessly and on, connecting them to the future that I wish for..."

"Just... Wicked incredible, eh Moggers...? This is the kind of thing I live for, as DJ Pon-3..." With her optics exposed and glinting in the light, Vinyl Scratch keeps her foreleg wrapped around Mogwai's shoulders, listening intently to the music.

Demonicor let his eyes close and his other senses take over as the music washed over him, leaning back against the fence at the far back of the crowd.

Words cannot express the bliss that Eevee is in as the music flows through his ears and Mogwai's fingers.

Another interlude of oriental strings climb through the tribal beats, as Mollianne turns to one side and lowers her head, waiting for the brief section of music to run its course. She looks up, clenching one fist lightly again to her chest as she looks away from the audience, turning to face the back of the stage. Despite this, however, her voice still rings loud and true, as though it were coming from all areas of the stage, as opposed to just her throat. Her choreography is still finely-tuned, consisting of minute hand gestures and looks away and around, ranging in feature from that of forlorn to determination as her words drift about.

Mollianne sings: (o/^) Kane ga naru oto, tooku kara kikoete kuru~... Sunao na kokoro ni, todoite wa hibiiteru... (o/^)

The overhead marquee box scrolls out bright yellow, digital words: "...I hear the sound of a bell ringing distantly, somewhere far away; It echoes with my heart, bringing forth an honest yearning..."

Mollianne sings: (o/^) Hikari wa nanairo ni kawatte, ko wo egaite yuku~... Muku na hitomi wa, motometeku - niji no mukou e ikitai na~! (o/^)

The overhead marquee box scrolls out bright yellow, digital words: "...A child is drawn, born of the light of seven colors; She desires only to go beyond the rainbow that lies within your eyes~!.."

Mogwai starts to slowly dance to the music. Not the "rocks fall, everyone dies" or "drive people in to self-destructive behaviors" kind of dancing, but simply sheer simple enjoyment.

Despite her cybernetic body, Vinyl Scratch still yawns, edging away from Mogwai and the crowd to return to her temporary home in Truce. "Guess I'd better crash early... Peace, Moggers, and keep rockin' out."

Eevee closed his eyes as he listened to the tribal beats. Not since arriving in the cleft had he experienced music inducing familiar memories upon him. He could see himself sitting around the fire in the village, sitting next to Caleb and a few of his friends watching the dancers. He can even remember how Caleb foresaw one of the dancers falling ill the next day with the power of the dimensional scream.

And then Kalin stopped and opened his eyes, tuning out the music for a moment. 'What was that..? Caleb didn't have the scream, I did..yet how come that felt so..right..?' the Eevee thought to itself, remaning in a trance.

Mollianne swiftly turns around, bringing one arm swiping across the air in front of herself as there is a brief pause between the lines of song; as she does, a column of red and gold pyrotechnics come racing across the edge of the stage's fore, shooting sparks into the air and momentarily blotting her out of sight! Some of the closer members of the crowd gasp and edge backward to prevent being showered in the sparks, and more than just one or two offer encouraging whistles and cheered hooting! Mollianne's face appears in the midst of the sparks as they gradually subside, a sly grin present for only a moment as her song continues into the second chorus!

Mollianne sings: (o/^) Tomedonaku negau hodo - wasurenaide itai koto! Sasaete kureru hito ga ite~! Yume wo miru koto ga, dekiru kara~ (o/^)

The overhead marquee box scrolls out bright yellow, digital words: "..Countless wishes I have made, and never do I want to forget a single one; There is always someone to support me, as long as I can dream~..."

Mollianne sings: (o/^) Kodomo no koro no yume wa - iroasenai rakugaki de! Omou mama kakisuberasete, egaku mirai e to... tsunagaru~~ (o/^)

The overhead marquee box scrolls out bright yellow, digital words: "...My childhood dreams are an unfading sketch; They came as freely as I wished, connecting to the future I now draw..."

Demonicor let his eyes open, his eyes staring half-lidded at the stage, watching Mollianne in what could almost be described as a trance, self-imposed so the music could affect him more clearly, down below the limits of flesh to his very soul.

Mogwai recoils back at the fireworks, her face lit up in awe. As the song reaches its second chorus, she starts to sing wordlessly along

Kalin snapped out of his trance as he witnessed the pyrotechnics display. As he had never seen such a thing before, he instantly assumed the worst. He had managed to stand up and concentrate on Undine, but the display died down before he could take on her form. Was this all part of the show? The Eevee remained weary, but fascinated nonetheless.

Following this second chorus, the music suddenly quietens, but only to quickly build into a crescendo of those oriental strings, which suddenly take charge of the song, twing-twanging their way into an intricate melody that serves as the song's musical midpoint. In response to this, Mollianne pivots on one taloned foot, turning away from the crowd as the fireworks have given away completely, swaying her hips in a brief dance in accompaniment of the music being played. She looks over her shoulder partway through, peeking out beyond one of her wings and giving the crowd as a whole a rather suggestive wink; in so doing, one side of Mollianne's already-shoulderless kimono 'slips' down the length of her arm, falling to about her elbow. Amidst a few catcalls and more whistling, she still dances away, not facing the crowd as she does, but Ambience can be seen visibly looking away at the end of the stage, his face a bit redder than it was just before.

Mogwai joins in with the catcalls with a smirk. This was turning out to be quite a lively performance

Eevee watches in awe, but also cringes as the music gets louder. He supposed it couldn't be helped.

Reila didn't care much for the fan-service and sex appeal of the show which no doubt many of these people came to see in general. She let out a snicker when she noticed the boy up on the stage shyly looking away from the star.

As the musical interlude begins to falter and lead towards the remainder of the song, Mollianne turns back with a swift whirl, the speed of which catches the hanging portion of her garment and throws it back onto her shoulder, just in time; the action, however, leaves it at a considerably looser fit than it was beforehand, allowing for a bit of an eyeful otherwise, especially given the leaning and pivoting that was, by now, a staple of her choreography. She picks up in her voice quickly, waving a hand gently, delicately across the air in front of her, almost beckoningly.

Mollianne sings: (o/^) Yagate jiyuu ni tobimawareru, hane o teni irete~... muku na hitomi wa, motometeku - sora no mukou e ikitai na~! (o/^)

The overhead marquee box scrolls out bright yellow, digital words: "...When I finally obtained these wings that let me fly freely, I have no choice but to go beyond the sky that lies within your eyes~!.."

Mogwai is up front cheering with the rest of them, and also keeping a close eye for anything she might be able to incorporate into her own dances. Incorporate, never steal, of course not. A true diva is always original. But they may get inspiration here and there.

The song gradually fades out, even the clicking drum beats... Mollianne slowly lifts both arms, outstretched, at length to either side of her. The must abruptly comes crashing back as the song entires its final set of repeated stanzas, and as it does, a cascade of green sparks shoot off into the sky from directly in front of her, but the siren only closes her eyes, letting her voice flow serenely throughout the staging area.

Mollianne sings: (o/^) Tomedonai negai kara - hitotsu dake kanau no nara! Dare ni mo yuzuritaku wa nai; yume wo tsukamitai to omou yo~ (o/^)

The overhead marquee box scrolls out bright yellow, digital words: "...If I could choose one, only one wish, and make it come true, I have no desire to give it up to anyone; I just want to embrace my dream~..."

Mollianne clenches her right fist suddenly, and a cascade of red sparks shoot off toward the right side of the stage, high into the air!

Mollianne sings: (o/^) Tomedonaku negau hodo - wasurenaide itai koto! Sasaete kureru hito ga ite~! Yume wo miru koto ga, dekiru kara~ (o/^)

The overhead marquee box scrolls out bright yellow, digital words: "...Countless wishes I have made, and never do I want to forget a single one; There is always someone to support me, as long as I can dream~..."

Mollianne clenches her left fist suddenly, and a cascade of blue sparks shoot off toward the left side of the stage, high into the air!

Mollianne sings: (o/^) Kodomo no koro no yume wa - iroasenai rakugaki de! Omou mama kakisuberasete, egaku mirai e to... tsunagaru~~ (o/^)

The overhead marquee box scrolls out bright yellow, digital words: "...My childhood dreams are an unfading sketch; They came as freely as I wished, connecting to the future I now draw..."

Kalin's tail wagged back and forth vigorously as he observed the finale. He wanted to cheer or something, but wasn't quite sure how to go about doing so without looking awkward.

The oriental strings rise up in a third and final repeat of its between-stanza melody, but at the end this time, it just gradually fades out, with the song entirely, on a reverberating echo... and as this happens, Mollianne turns quietly, bringing both hands together in front of her as a swirl of flower petals erupt from her palms, swirling out on an apparently-conjured gust of wind and showering the audience nicely as they flutter out into the crowd. It is at this point that the crowd erupts into its own chorus of cheers, hoots, catcalls, and calls for encore (which fortunately won't be happening tonight). Mollianne only stands there, pushing the microphone portion of her headset up and out of the way of her face, with a quiet smile.

Reila cheers and applauds the show giving a little whistle herself for once. She enjoyed this show a bit more then she thought she would, the song was good and the singer was beautiful. It was a great way to finish off her week at the festival.

Demonicor felt the song wind down, blinking his eyes as the music faded out, a small blush rose along his cheeks as the meaning behind his sight caught up to his brain. He gave a quiet chuckle and joined in with the applauding crowd.

Mogwai claps for the performance, adding her cheers to the crowd's. All in all, a show well worth staying up for.

Not wanting to feel left out of the applauding, Eevee tried to clap his paws together but they yielded no sound, not one that he could hear anyways. He instead decided to howl for some reason.

Mollianne approaches the edge of the stage, offering a very low (and possibly very intended, given the looseness of her kimono's holdings at this time) curtsey to the audience, before straightening and waving to them brightly, heading back toward the far end of the stage where Ambience was apparently waiting, a little less lost-looking, but only replacing it with a sort of childish nervousness. Mollianne can be seen giggling ruthlessly at him as she gets close, and the announcer's voice blares over the speaker at this time: "Ladies and gentlemen, we will be taking a brief period of rest at this time, please attend to whatever business you may need during this time, and hurry back to catch the rest of the performances!"

Mogwai taps her chin in thought "Now... back to what I was considering before that show... I wonder if we could teach you how to play the harmonica, Eevee."

Upon watching others rise up and depart, Kalin stood up and stretched his legs. He blinked a couple of times towards Mogwai, "Vee? (What's a harmonica?)" he asked, clueless but willing to do anything for Mogwai all the same.

As much as Kalin enjoyed the show, the memory brought forth by the siren's song troubled him. He had to find some kind of resolution. "Vee! (Hey, Mogwai..before we go back to Guardia..there's someone I want to see again. In fact, I'd like you to meet him too. We can bring Julexa, but she'll probably get bored..)"

Mogwai chuckles "It's a little instrument, you blow into parts of it to make music. And sure, who is it?"

Mollianne eventually takes Ambience by the hand after a brief exchange between them (a small amount of which included Ambience's insistence that she fix her robe), and pulls him along toward the stairs leading down along the sides of the stage, waving to a few people who've moved in closer to see her as she departs. A couple of security members step in to ensure that nothing gets out of hand, but even they maintain their distance so as not to appear too imposing.

Mollianne tugs on Ambience's hand, grinning at him through her tiny fangs. "Come on, we still have a few games we need to try before the place closes for the night! We gotta hurry!"

"Whoa geez, okay.. I have legs, you know, I can walk!" Ambience is pulled along, though his demeanor doesn't really seem as stressed as his words might make it seem. The two of them eventually disappear into the crowd, going elsewhere to further enjoy the festivities.

"Eevee. (Hypno, the one who wrote that letter for me. I want to see him again, but I also want to ask him something. He lives in a little place in the Beast Kingdom, not far north of here. We'd better not take your bus, though..I don't think Kar'ra and Gryff would like that very much.)" said Kalin. He had actually ran into Kar'ra multiple times during his stay, but he never did get along with Gryff.

Mogwai nods "Sure, it could be fun, and I'm in no hurry to get back. Heck, might be fun to explore Fa'diel a little more. Place certainly has a different atmosphere."

Demonicor found himself drawn towards the stage, making his way to it even in the absence of music or performers, glancing around the empty stage deep in contemplation.

Eevee smiles, "Vee! (Great! He's a really smart guy, though..I guess that's not saying much compared to me..)" said Kalin with a depressing look. He then turned his gaze back towards the stage, satisfied with the time he spent here. "Eevee. (Remember when said it would be nice to be one of them, entertaining hundreds of people?)" asked Kalin as he turned back towards Mogwai.

"Vee! (I agree. Maybe someday we can be like her and help others to remember the good times in their lives.)" Kalin was then interrupted with a growl from his stomache. "..Eevee. (..I'm hungry. Think we can go back to the koi pond?)"

Mogwai gets a sudden blank look on her face "Umm... no. Not the koi pond. We can never go back there. But I've got a real fishing spot I could show you."

"Vee! (Great! But this time, you should let me catch one. Your display was pretty dismal last time.)" grinned Kalin as he leapt off of his seat and waited for Mogwai to lead to him to their destination.