Catoful Toyfriend

[Henna]

Protagonist Haelys

The Intellect Type Charoite was of course, not really expecting Haelys to take the help that he offered. Rhetorical questions, anyone? He stiffened a bit as his new companion began to inquire about the magical abilities that Celeste Cats held, and he closed his powdery colored eyes inhaling the bitter smell of herb-filled bowl of water that was before him. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, or whether or not he’d even respond.

The Sassy Innocent Type Verdite was caught completely off guard when Haelys chimed in, recognizing immediately that she was being taunted but sputtering when she had nothing to say back. I-I stands good! her already imperfect mindspeech stumbled, and the already fluffy fur around her neck seemed to fluff out even further. It was just the nerves! She couldn’t control the nerves. She allowed too many extra seconds of silence, because The Bad Boy Type Iolite was positively delighted by both Haelys’ chiming in and the Verdite’s inability. The green-eyed Celeste Cat leapt off her place, slinking off to the door before stepping outside of it, clearly not being forced back into the bar.

Poor thing, she. He purred, though his deep buckets of eyes did turn to Haelys then, because he just couldn’t resist now could he? Sees you holding yous own, mm? He jumped down for his place as well. He had heard her questions to the Chaorite, he could multitask, and he floated his own cup of mysteriously liquid down with him, giving her a wink (with one of his three eyes), before exiting the bar himself.

You’d like to know the extent of or powers, wouldn’t you. The Chaorite finally chimed in, pale eyes now trained on the queen. Just a bit of tekelinesis as you saw. And some other small things. He wasn’t entirely above showing off, but only when it suited him. And well this particularly moment…

He was there, and then he wasn’t, and if Haelys looked quickly enough, she’d catch his eyes again at the door he had teleported to, and watch as his tails were the last thing to leave the bar.

Protagonist Zebey

The Twin Brother Ammolite tilted his head, not quite impressed, not at first. He was clearly observant, yes, but that did not mean he was easily impressed. While The Twin Sister Ammolite’s interest had clearly been picqued, the brother’s attention was not fully capture until...His ears swiveled on his head, and all three of his eyes were trained, totally, on the singing Drow. His sister tilted her head, certainly interested but something for the brother. He was…

Moved.

Adventures! Pretty. They piped up, simultaneously, and their faces turned, with some degree of surprise, at how far apart that they were at that moment. The brother seemed to regain himself, and turned to Zebey suspiciously, the one who had created this small rift with his twin, but the sister took a quick look over at the bar. The water floated in front of her as her brother drank, and she teleported with a small poof onto the table, in front of Zebey.

Seeing you again soons, yes? she ventured, eyes round as full moons. Must leaving now, it closed. Without giving the Drow any other sensical answer at all, both brother and sister teleported again, popping over to the entrance, and exited the bar together.

Protagonist Wolfgang

The bartender was having a night, across multiple planes of existence in fact. He practically dragged his eyes upwards towards the new, err, hero of this story. As if The Rich and Vain Type Pyrite hadn’t been giving him enough trouble all night. ALL night.

“Just, just take the whole bottle and go.” He muttered under his breath, ducking into a cooling mechanism that they had built into the wall behind the bar and pulling out a bottle of, well it was wine okay? He could not bother trying to read the labels enough to read such a long string of letters together. Plus, he was pretty sure that Chardo...any? however you said it, was not something that they carried there anyway.

The wine was white, at least.

The Pyrite eyed Wolfgang with, well, blatant interest. Enjoying the fanciness drinks? he called out, short legs moving readily and easily on the bar. His shining eyes looked directly at Wolfgang, not really bothering with any concerns of freaking him out. His water bowl floated beside him and sloshed around, probably getting a sall bit of water pretty close to where Wolfgang sat.

We’ve runned out time, but finding me next, yes? He dropped the bowl onto the counter now, splashing most of its contents pretty much everywhere, and then he vanished, teleporting...halfway across the bar. He acted like that didn’t even happen, or maybe it was intentional, then trotted his cute self the rest of the way to the bar entrance to leave.

You could do it too if you put your mind to it! Wink!

Protagonist Boone

While the bar was winding down, the barkeep that Boone chose eyed him at first warily before relaxing at the easy request for whiskey. It wasn’t going to be like, fantastic whiskey or anything, but it would get the job done.

“Take your time, mate, but this’ll have to be your first and only. We’ll be closing up soon.” She turned to smile at The Jock Bestfriend Type Goethite, but their conversation was done. She grabbed a hold of a wet rag and began wiping down the bar, walking away to leave the peaceful man and the fairly respectful Celeste Cat.

Yous new rounding here? he chuckled, never afraid to start a conversation, though it was a little late to be starting any sort of conversation this late in the night. Hoping you settling in good. He didn’t disappear right away, not like the others. He’d finish up his bowl of water, and let Boone say anything if he wanted to.

Everyone

“Alright! Everyone out!” Each of the unknowing candidates would have noticed that bit by bit, people had been trickling out of the bar, and now it had turned into a bit more of a deluge. The Celeste Cats would wrap up their conversations and leave, in ones or twos, or even threes. After finally making it out, whether or not you paid for your drink(s) in the process, you’ll step out into the world and go by an...otherwise completely normal day. Weird, but not the weirdest thing you’ve encountered thus far, right?

Day Two

There are a few grey clouds in the sky, but otherwise, the day is breezy and absolutely chipper. No matter how your night went, or how your morning started, you’re here now, at something of a Weyrd Square. The cobblestone is surprisingly smooth, with a smoothstoned fountain at the center with a pile of stone Traiyo all spouting out tiny streams of water from their mouths.

With a cluster of tents on one end with flea market deals, and shops, restaurants, and stores surrounding the square in, ironically, a circular fashion, The Weyrd Square is a great gathering point, and gather these Celeste Cats have.

They’re kind of just sitting around, bunched up, some lazing and soaking up the bits of the sun and just...waiting. Waiting for the attention that they deserve, perhaps? There doesn’t seem to be anyone else to engage with.

The Jock Bestfriend Type Goethite is perched up on the edge of fountain, sitting rather neatly with his feet tucked in and his tails lashing out behind him. His black eyes are looking around, casually, though his attention is definitely captured by motion, action. He’d like to do something fun.

The Sarcastic Type Selenite lounges, leaning on her side, tails flopped against the fountain that she leans on. She’s in it for the shade here, even though laying cobblestone isn’t exactly the finest. But she can suck it up, because she’ll get some attention soon enough.

The Rich and Vain Type Pyrite seems to have found a copper coin of some sort that is stuck in the cracks and wedged between two stones. Copper coins are beneath him, but well. The coin is wiggling, like someone is trying to telepathically remove it.

The Intellect Type Charoite has some brochure or another opened up in front of him, and it’s kind of hard to discern what it is from a distance.

The Shy Type Morganite is also sitting in the shadow of the Goethite. It’s great that he’s so big, because she loves sitting in the shade. Yeah, that’s right. She’s not hiding.

The Jokester Type Iolite is eyeing the water with his bright eyes. They’re reflecting in it from how close he’s staring. He’s about to plop right in, and he’s heard of this humanoid thing called a “cannon ball”, not really taking into consideration that he’s not exactly humanoid-sized.

The Bad Boy Type Iolite is hissing at random strangers who get too close, scaring the crap out of them, then laughing hysterically after he does. He keeps popping in and out from around the fountain. Is it funny or just mean?

The Cat-Next-Door Type Verdite is sitting sweetly on the fountain as well, tails wrapped carefully around her legs and neatly over her paws. But she’s not looking out, no she’s looking directly up. The clouds in the clear blue sky are lovely today.

The Sassy Innocent Type Verdite is pacing on the fountain’s edge. Just pacing.

The Twin Sister Ammolite is laying on her back near the sitting Verdite, also enjoying the clouds with some wonder.

The Twin Brother Ammolite is sitting near his sister but not that near. He seems to be sulking, and she isn’t even noticing it. Which is clearly the worst part about it.

You know the drill, you can’t escape the square, and look who’s here again. What do you do and who do you do it with?
a. Join the group and lounge with them. Talk to a few of them, talk to all of them, whatever you want.
b. Try to pull any or all of the Celeste Cats away from where they sit, to stroll around the square.
c. It’s time for SHOPPING! Explore the fleat market or some of the stores with a companion or two, or three or…
d. Jump straight into the pool. That’s right. Power move. Splash or don’t splash if you want. Maybe another will get in.
e. Start some kind of group or individual activity. Mime? Juggle? Act? Something to catch their attention!
f. Maybe a quick bite to eat. Err, what do Celeste Cats eat anyway? There are a couple of food stands around.
g. You don’t need any of these Celeste Cats. Completely ignore them, THEY can come after YOU.

Ooc: New day, new location! :D Pick as many or as few of the CCs as you want to interact with! The objective of this part is to pick your one ~date~ for the firework festival! I’d like to keep the ~date~ to one CC per Whazzitinian, but as there are a few more CCs around than humanoids, don’t fret, some extras may crash your party! ;)

Anyone who is joining should start by picking prompts from this post! Joining will be closed after this day (which should go two or three rounds at least), can’t show up to the firework festival without getting a date first. :) It’s totally fine if you missed rounds and didn’t finish prompts, I understand that the way I’m running this will have some abrupt endings, so make it work as you wish. |D Also full desks should be up in the next couple of days, so feel free to send prefs if you want, though it’s not necessary! Fades will come last.

[Boone]

No worries, the getting the job done kind of whiskey was the only kind Boone was familiar with. He wouldn’t have known what to do with something that was carefully aged to perfection. Well, aside from drinking it, that is. That much was obvious.

The cowboy took off his hat and nodded in thanks at the drink. He wasn’t sure why a place like this was closing so early in the day, but the bartender looked tired and he didn’t want to press. Probably rented out for some kind of event or something, he mused not at all realizing that this was the event and he had somehow become part of it. Boone took a deep sip of the whiskey, clearly not trying to spend much time tasting it. A more expensive glass would’ve been wasted on him.

“How could you tell?” Boone answered the Goethite with his own question and a wry smile. He looked the Celeste Cat up and down and honestly, a talking cat was one of the least weird things he’d seen around these parts, “Name’s Boone. Wound up here just a few days ago. Though, I’m still not sure where here is exactly.”

“An’ thank you,” he paused to drain his glass, not wanting to be too much trouble for the bartender, “This place is nice, don’t get me wrong, but I’m just passin’ through.” Unfortunately for him, he didn’t know that was a lie. He left a handsome tip on the bar, got up, and walked out the door into a new day.

How he ended up in the town square was a bit fuzzy, as if the geography of this town was always changing, but Boone didn’t think too hard about it. It wasn’t worth it, especially since it looked like there was some kind of market set up in one corner of the square. And, oh look, there were those odd cats again. Boone tipped his hat in greeting to The Jock Best Friend Type Goethite, who he’d met the day before. Didn’t quite catch the fellow’s name, but he was a friendly feline face nonetheless.

You know the drill, you can’t escape the square, and look who’s here again. What do you do and who do you do it with?
-> a. Join the group and lounge with them. Talk to a few of them, talk to all of them, whatever you want.

However, it was The Intellect Type Charoite that caught the cowboy’s immediate attention. “Pardon me askin’ but what is it that you’re lookin’ at?” It could very well be a map. Even if it was just a map of this town, it probably had the name of the place on it and from there Boone could probably work out where he’d ended up.

[Haelys Celtaris]

Haelys enjoyed her wine, unfazed by the initial lack of response from the Charoite. Besides, she was plenty entertained by the antics of the Verdite and Iolite. She said no more to them, simply appreciating the scene before her. An eyebrow did raise, however, when a cup floated. There it was again. She couldn't help but crack a small smirk at the wink—the three eyes made it a little extra interesting.

Her gaze slid over to the Charoite, who finally had something further to say. She noted his sly way of hinting at multiple talents ('telekinesis' was a word she had never heard before). It seemed like a veil of humbleness that she suspected was more of a brag underneath it all. Fair enough, really. If Haelys had special powers, she'd show them off a little, too.

Her eyes widened at the teleportation, momentarily thrown off. Well, she really wasn't expecting that one. Fascinating. As much as she had originally wanted to leave this bar, it was now a bit of a shame that they had departed so soon. Luckily, she had the remainder of her bottle of wine to soothe her. The 'normal' day she ended up having was quite pleasantly clouded by her early-morning drinks... A couple of her shinies were mildly appalled.

Day Two

Originally, the first glance of sunlight had erupted a mild ache in Haelys's pretty head. She recovered quickly, refusing to admit to herself that age had lowered her wino resilience. She looked as put together as ever, hair pinned half-up, lips smeared with color, and wearing a thin white dress with a gentle silver sheen.

She moved through the Weyrd Square on her way to the nearby shops. Her pace slowed as she noted the assorted creatures, recognizing a couple of them from yesterday. She continued to move forward while distracted, debating whether or not to approach the brochure-reading—DEAR GODS! Although she didn't make a peep out loud, she leapt to the side, clutching her chest as if her heart just exploded. What the—

"Glad to see you're enjoying yourself." Sarcasm twirled within her words as she addressed The Bad Boy Type Iolite, standing back up straight and lowering her arm down. Her lips were mildly tense as she watched him laugh, waiting until he quieted down before continuing.

"I have a feeling you're good at bargaining. Would you like to join me? I'm sure there are plenty of things to entertain you in the shops." Her voice was a combination of serious and persuasive, though her expression hinted at a touch of humor.

She would have no objections if any of the other Celeste Cats overheard her and decided to join.

c. It is time for SHOPPING!

[Wolfgang]

“Um, okay,” Wolfgang frowned at the bartender, not sure where all this hostility was coming from. All he had done was point out the blatant health code violations that really could get this whole place shut down, I mean, come on. Serving drinks in filthy wooden barware?

This also wasn’t what he ordered. Wolfgang frowned harder, but thought it was best not to try and argue about. Mostly because the bartender was walking away and that cat thing was walking towards him— another health code violation, for the record. Yeah, okay, Wolfgang couldn’t actually hold it all in for that long, “This isn’t what I ordered, so I’m not paying for it.”

“I would be if they could read,” he turned back to the Celeste Cat, finding it easy to respond to the golden eyed creature with its floating dish of water. Which was weird. He didn’t want to dwell on it. “I mean, what is this even? Zhampagne? What’s a Zhampagne? Is that a typo?”

Before Wolfgang could get too deep into his rant, the feline was splashing water all over (“Ew.”) and telling him to meet him next, whatever that meant, and teleporting across the bar and disappearing out the door. And really, it was just a whole lot. Wolfgang didn’t want to be here anymore.

So he wasn’t.

It was like he blinked and suddenly it was a new day. He was in a different outfit anyway, and a different place for that matter. Those cat things were here again though and is this what it meant by next? Wolfgang scanned the square until he spotted the Pyrite, not that he knew it was Pyrite obviously, and he walked very quickly in that direction somehow still clutching the strange off-brand white wine.

You know the drill, you can’t escape the square, and look who’s here again. What do you do and who do you do it with?
c. It’s time for SHOPPING! Explore the fleat market or some of the stores with a companion or two, or three or…

“First of all,” Wolfgang started, “Do you really think you should be touching that? It’s clearly dirty. Second, what’s going on here? And third,” he took a deep breath, “What do you think they’re selling over there?” Shopping was definitely something he missed, despite only being in the weyrd a short time. And honestly, you could usually find some cute, kitschy things at street markets like this or organic, small batch self care products and he was going to need a very long self care day after this.

[Tuk-tuk]

(Un?)fortunately, Tuk-tuk was notoriously bad at recognizing danger unless it was physically maiming him in the moment, and merely interpreted the purring Selenite as a sincere admirer. Before he could concur that yes, he had been told before he was quite odd, and that the lord Azathoth would bless them all with untold strangeness, Tuk-tuk was challenged. To a weirding battle.

"BET!" shouted Tuk-Tuk, agreeing to the challenge and going first without any prompting.

Last call! said someone unimportant in the background.

"A small party is out in the woods when the druid faints, struggling to breathe and glazing over--"

"Everyone out!" the background insisted.

"-- and his friends panic. They use their telepathic bond to contact the priest in town. WHAT DO WE DO they want to know, and the priest says--"

O U T.

Oh. TukTuk blinked, realizing he was arse over head in the street. Hey!-- oh. There was no more bar behind him. Well.

Rude. He must've been kicked out because they knew he'd win. Sore losers.

----

The next day, Tuk-Tuk was out and about again, as if anyone thought he was the type to stay home and quietly knit or organize his sock collection. Did he even wear socks? Not the point right now. Tents attracted his attention immediately, hoping for a circus, frankly, but not disappointed to see all sorts of weird oddities on display for sale (or steal).

The Cats were back as well, and Tuk-tuk was delighted to see them again. The Jokester Iolite from before is immediately spotted, and he starts on a quick walking beeline for him. "HIIII!" he crows, because of course he does, "Watcha looking at in there?!" he then asks, peering over the edge of the fountain himself, beak nearly breaking the surface tension of the water.

He'd planned on... shopping, yes, shopping... but jumping straight in also looked like fun to splash the Iolite that had tried to escape him the day before. And by jumping we mean probably being pushed in like a chump, either on purpose or on accident by bumped by a passing stranger.

[Zebey]

Zebey remained silent for a while after she was done, still startled at herself for whatever the hell just came out of her. The two twins also had a moment of silence too but it didn’t last long. The sister was suddenly on the table in front of her. The drow lowered her drink as she spoke, nodding in response to her question. Then the two were gone again. She was able to catch them as their tails disappeared out the door. They were all being forced out now. Finishing off her drink in a swift gulp, leaving a coin on the table, Zebey drew up her hood and melted into the shadows.

The next morning, almost as if she had never left, Zebey stepped out of the shadows into the square. Pulling her hood down, her silver eyes swept the area. She saw the celeste cats in the separate areas. She noticed the twins were close by but not nearly the same as the night before. An eyebrow was quirked at that, but no matter. One cat in particular catches her eye. Stepping into the shadows once more, the drow takes the long way around, avoiding as many people as she can. She’s still not used to being mostly ignored- countless memories of fearful or disgusted glances and being given a wide berth were ingrained into her mind. Phantom hits from thrown rocks were felt across her back, but that wasn’t happening here. Still, she shuddered a little, and approached the Selenite.

”Do you know of any good places to eat around here?” the drow asked, resting a boot on the edge of the fountain. ”Care to join? My treat.”

f. Maybe a quick bite to eat. Err, what do Celeste Cats eat anyway? There are a couple of food stands around.

[Henna]

Protagonist Boone

A new day, a new hour. Boone’s approach to the group as a whole was met fairly neutrally, considering he didn’t make much of a fuss. Most of the Celeste Cats continued as they were, save The Intellect Type Charoite who did not look up from his reading, not for a moment anyway. However, with a little bit of patience, Boone would be met with the lovely trio of lavender eyes, focusing on him, and him alone. His paw adjusted its hold over the brochure, and after a beat of studying the newcomer, his brows furrowed pensively. I don’t know what value this has, to anyone. He stated, simply. He slid the brochure in Boone’s direction, acting as if he had no use for it anymore.

The front of the brochure was an ad for a theater of some sort, with a wooden stage and stereotypical red curtains on either side. Instead of being folded up three ways, the inked page was folded in such a way that it opened on either side, as if the curtains were being pulled to the side (but not really). Inside was three bursts of different shows, one with a woman draped dramatically in the arms of a large bird-creature, the one in the middle two men dramatically draped over one another, and the last page something goat-y standing by a pile of garbage. There were no words, just pictures.

Nearby the The Jock Bestfriend Type Goethite purred with amusement as he approached. Always finding oddnesses. he rumbled, peeking over the Charoite’s shoulder to glance at the images. It wasn’t like he could make heads or tails (or tails, or tails) of it either, but why bother with it in the first place?

The Shy Type Morganite is there too, sitting sort of behind them and hoping that she isn’t noticed. She’s probably not that successful now that her shadow is gone.

Indulge the Charoite’s questioning
a. Explain what theatre~~ is, maybe guess the plot of these movies and figure them out
b. Let’s go FIND it (with just the Charoite)
c. Hell if you know what this is, shrug and give it back and talk about something else
d. Let’s ALL go find it (with Chaorite + others)

The Goethite’s pretty chill too
a. Oddness is cool, dude! You know from experience
b. Ask him what exactly he is interested in that might be more normal?
c. Shrug noncommittally and don’t comment
d. Let’s ALL go find the theater (invite the Goethite to join)

And the Morganite!
a. Greet her, and hopefully don’t scare her off, try not to engage too much
b. Ask her if she enjoys any type of theater or viewing herself
c. Ignore her, it’s what she wants isn’t it?
d. Let’s ALL go find the theater (invite the Morganite to join)

Protagonist Haelys

To say that The Bad Boy Type Iolite wasn’t pleased as punch that his hissing had worked on Haelys would be a blatant lie. Not that he was above lying in any way. His dark colored eyes flashed up to Haelys, not exactly expecting the invitation.

Bargaining? Could says, maybe. he shrugged, a grin cracking over his kitty maw. What thingies exact? That wasn’t to say that he wasn’t following her, or going with her anyway, he was more of the trailing and making his own path type. But they wouldn’t exactly leave with some more company.

The Sassy Innocent Type Verdite leapt off the fountain, surprisingly gracefully, with a loud yowl. Hey! She remembered the light hair queen, distinctly, the heat of embarrassment already prickling at the corners of her chest. She didn’t even have anything to say, really, but scowled, resigned to follow them while she thought of a good comeback. A full day later.

Bargaining? Sound my thing. Not that The Sarcastic Type Selenite would be doing any on her own or anything. But if someone were to do a little something something for her, she wouldn’t object. Who in their right mind would?

Well, it looks like you have a nice gang here, where would you like to go first?
a. Well naturally if it was “bargaining” the Iolite and the Selenite are referring to, to the most expensive jewlery of course
b. Maybe the finest silks (and clothes) would suit the Selenite’s taste?
c. The Iolite does seem to eye the seafood stall, as well as some of th either foods they pass
d. There are some fascinating bits and bobs that the Verdite eyes, maybe something kind of magical?
e. Keep quiet and see where exactly they lead you

Protagonist Wolfgang

The Rich and Vain Type Pyrite was slightly startled by Wolfgang’s approach, direct and full of questions. He puckered up his face, not registering anything that was said besides “selling”. There was almost a twinkle in his golden eyes as he abandoned the copper coin (that was a lie, it wiggled once more) and stalked closer to Wolfgang, then passed him, towards the shops. He knew what was up. Well, wes should getsa-look. He purred.

If Woflgang hadn’t noticed, a second companion had sidled up alongside him. The light colors of The Cat-Next-Door Type Verdite would be in the corner of his vision, silent until she was noticed. No worries him. Nothings going, today a nice day. Her voice was light, and soothing, and she’d cooly back off if told to. But why not go along for the ride, especially because she knew what a handful the Pyrite could be. If he looked closely, too, she was clearly holding something in her mouth. She didn’t need her mouth to mindspeak.

It was only at the last moment as they left the group that The Sassy Innocent Type Verdite would come skittering after them, holding her head high as if she had any knowledge or information or even belonged there in the first place. She had none of those things, not really. And it was obvious because she didn’t say a single thing.

What’s typing you want? The Pyrite said as they approached the shops, ready to show his prowess and knowledge of the place. Not that he had the funds for anything at all.

Indulge the Pyrite, and yourself?
a. You are leading the show here, choose some shops! Clothes! Fineries!
b. Challenge the Pyrite, see if he actually knows his stuff
c. How are we paying for all of this??

Feel some relief with the kind Verdite?
a. Make some nice conversation with her, because she is a nice Celeste Cat
b. Or not, ask her to leave she was not invited
c. What the hell is she holding?

And what is this other Verdite doing here?
a. Ask her literally what she is doing here
b. Ask her if SHE knows the best places to go?
c. Pay her no mind

Protagonist Tuk-tuk

Well, who else would push Tuk-Tuk in? The Bad Boy Type Iolite couldn’t resist, not one bit, and The Jokester Type Iolite cackled like a mad cat, jumping in gracefully (not really causing much of a splash to be honest) right in after the bird-man.

Unfortunately The Twin Brother Ammolite was splashed by Tuk-Tuk’s clumsy splash, and the small Celeste Cat let out an ACK. of his own.

You getted gotted. The lighter eyed Iolite said loudly, splashing bits of water at Tuk-Tuk (getting the Ammolite splashed again in the process). The navy eyes of the Tuk-tuk’s pusher peered into the water, but turned his attention back to the crowd, for more hissing, more mischief. Which only meant that his back was to the crow-man.

Well, what do you do here?
a. Pull the bad boy in here with you, that asshole
b. Splash the jokester back, splashing is rude!!!
c. Pull the Ammolite in, because you too, are an asshole

Protagonist Zebey

Zebey knew exactly how to appeal to The Sarcastic Type Selenite, and her heavenly eyes turned and immediately locked onto the Drow. I woulds like a treated. She declared, not even bother to hide her words with pleasantries or the likes. She’d been approached first, she didn’t feel any real need for being nice. Whats exactly on mind?

The Twin Sister Ammolite took immediate notice of her friend, admiration flashing in her differently colored eyes, ignoring that her brother continued to sulk. Some things smelling good! She didn’t notice the annoyed look the Selenite threw at her. Noticing lotta folk in that one. one of her tails flicked out at the stall of dryed meats that had a particularly long line.

That one cost much. a soft voice sounded, coming from The Shy Type Morganite[/color] who did not move from her shaded spot next to the largest Celeste Cat of the bunch. She didn’t make any move to follow, she just wanted to comment.

Well, what do these folks want to eat?
a. Expensive is fine, take the Selenite and the Ammolite and the Morganite (or just one or two of them) to the smoked meat
b. That’s out of your budget, thanks to the Morganite for the warning, and ask her for a suggestion
c. Do some observing of your own and pick out a spot by yourself, even though the Ammolite’s suggestion was good
d. Well the Selenite should decide, shouldnt she?


ooc: Two slightly different formats here and going forward! For the ones with choices grouped together and not split up by cat, feel free to respond and chat however you'd like and pick one of the actions! I split it off for each CC where I felt it made sense. :3

[Haelys Celtaris]

What things? Well, Haelys enjoyed shopping for many different things. But, to be fair, she didn't exactly expect that her interests would align exactly with the Iolite's. She could help him find what he liked if he helped her bargain.

"Well, today I had been planning on browsing dresses, jewelry, and linens. But if there are other stores you are interested in, I would not be opposed to some detours." The woman spoke to the Iolite, willing to be a little flexible in exchange for his assistance.

"Ah, yes, I remember you as well." She gave a half-hearted smirk to the Verdite, waiting for something else to come out of her mouth (mind?), although nothing did. Well, perhaps that was for the best.

Her head then turned to the Selenite, who she had not yet met. And yet, this one seemed more into bargaining than even the Iolite. Perfect.

"Your thing?" Haelys was still learning what certain expressions meant, but she overall understood what was being said. Her slight smirk broadened into a more content closed-lip smile. "Very good then. Shall we be on our way?" Brushing long strands of wavy hair behind her shoulder, she began walking towards the shops, taking the lead with no hesitation. "Jewelry store first, then." If they were going to profit, it would be there, especially before any of these tricksy kitties disappeared on her. In fact, she bet they would be good thieves...

---


Well, it looks like you have a nice gang here, where would you like to go first?
a. Well naturally if it was “bargaining” the Iolite and the Selenite are referring to, to the most expensive jewelry of course

[Tuk-tuk]

ASHALDHSKDHEBFLEFHSHFSHFSHFSH!

Tuk-Tuk splashed wildly in an attempt to orient himself upright, shaking his head rather doggedly to clear his head (and clear the water from his eyes) before rapidly looking around for the culprit what shoved him.

At this point several options presented themselves, all of which were, quite frankly, extremely tempting and perfectly reasonable possibilities for the birdboy to pursue. It almost came down to eeny, meeny, miney...

mo.

"YOU'RE GONNA GET GOTTED NEXT" Tuk-tuk announced before slapping a wave of water back at the Jokester Iolite, doing absolutely nothing to prevent it from also splashing the Bad Boy, the Brother, or anyone else nearby.

[Boone]

“Oddness indeed,” Boone echoed the Goethite’s statement as he flipped the pamphlet over and back and over again. He wasn’t sure of its value either. The pictures on it were awfully strange. But, it had to be useful to someone. It looked very much like it was advertising some kind of performances. He’d certainly never had that sort of leisure time before, but if there were people here who did, well, they probably had time to give him directions out of here then.

“Probably useful to people who have time for things like the theater,” Boone refolded the pamphlet and offered it back to the Charoite, though he wasn’t sure the strange feline really wanted it back, “Now, I can’t be certain since I’ve never been myself, but I suppose if we go to the theater, they’ll have an explanation for you. That or, well, we’ll just find more oddness.”

“So, how about it?” Boone looked between the Charoite and the Goethite, and even back to the Morganite who’d silently joined in, and asked with a smile, “Why don’t we go see if we can find it? Might be fun.”

d. Let’s ALL go find it (with Chaorite + others)
d. Let’s ALL go find the theater (invite the Goethite to join)
d. Let’s ALL go find the theater (invite the Morganite to join)

[Wolfgang]

b. Challenge the Pyrite, see if he actually knows his stuff

“Well, I could use more moisturizer,” Wolfgang answered the Pyrite, rubbing his cheeks ruefully. He could also use cleanser, toner, exfoliant, eye cream, masques, literally everything other part of his skin care routine that he couldn’t live without. He was pretty sure this place was outside the delivery zone of every store he knew of, so.

c. What the hell is she holding?

“Wait,” he did a sort of delayed double-take toward the first Verdite that had joined them, wrinkling his nose, “What is in your mouth? Is that sanitary?”

And then another one showed up. Where were they all coming from?

a. Ask her literally what she is doing here

“Okay, what’s going on here?” Wolfgang sounded slightly panicked. He just wanted skincare products, was that so much to ask?

[Zebey]

Zebey grinned at the Selenite's agreement to her proposal. Her silver eyes scanned the food stands around them as she dwelled upon her question. There were many options. Most of the food smelled food here- much to her surprise- but before she could pick one over the other, a familiar voice spoke up. Her gaze instead turned to the Ammolite she had been with the night before.

She followed the Twin Sister's gaze to the stand she pointed out. The dried meats looked plentiful and good in quality- the line certainly reflected that too. And then another, quieter, voice spoke up. Surprised, the drow's gaze fell upon the Morgan item. How was she so lucky to get all three of their attentions? The elf nodded to her in thanks to the warning, but still lifted a heavy coin purse that had been hidden on her personal. "Luckily I brought enough. And its on me. Though," she asked with a grin, turning back to the Selenite, "I did ask you first. Where would you like to go? I'll leave the choice in your capable paws."

Zebey could be generous when she was enjoying herself. And when she was flirting? This might be flirting. Who knows anymore, with Whazzit.


d. Well the Selenite should decide, shouldnt she?

[Henna]

Protagonist Haelys

The Bad Boy Type Iolite was quite honestly surprised that the queen was willing to detour for them, but he plodded along behind, a slick kitty-smirk never leaving his face. Haelys certainly had fantastic instincts when she thought of thieving, because the Iolite led the Clowder-plus-queen to the most expensive jewlery store that he knew from wandering around the marketplace. How did he know that this store was the most expensive one? Well the gems were the biggest and the shiniest of course, emphasis on the shiny!

The Sarcastic Type Selenite immediately went to work, not needing the help of an Iolite, a Verdite, or a humanoid queen for that matter. She went straight and boldly to the front of the store where some pretty clear stones were set into various types of jewelry. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings, the likes. Her trio of eyes practically reflected the shininess of everything before her, and she glanced up at the jewler occasional, pretending to browse between each glance. It looked like, if Haelys looked close enough, that the largest stoned-necklace was starting to wriggle a bit, even though it wasn’t being touched…

The Iolite of course had his own plans, but operated more from the shadows. The large tent was being held up by a few poles, and with a single store owner there, it was very easy to be out of his view. He was, predictable, attracted to some of the bluer stones. One of his paws flickered forward, a claw looping through the thick circles of the gold chain that held a few flickering stones.

The Sassy Innocent Type Verdite was, well, not as good at this stuff. She looked immediately nervous, tail fluffing out. Her little rump and one of her tails slapped into a mirror that was nearby, causing it to wobble. The store owner caught notice of the small amount of commotion, looking up from the customer that he was currently assisting to watch as the mirror teetered forward. Look out!

What do you do? Pick one!
a. Catch the mirror and save the Verdite some embarrassment
b. Walk RIGHT up to the store owner and chat him up, distracting him completely from the Iolite’s antics
c. Call the store owner over, demand he come over so he doesn’t notice what the Selenite is up to
d. Fuck that, get the hell out of there screw them all!

Protagonist Tuk-tuk

The strange array of noises that came out of the bird-man was nothing short of a delight to all of the gathered mischief-kitties. Their reactions to being splashed, however, varied greatly. The Bad Boy Type Iolite could obviously dish it out more than he could take it, and he puffed up, less amused now that he had fallen victim to the antics as well. He would get his revenge, yes, and it might not be the fun kind (????).

The Twin Brother Ammolite who was already in a MOOD (™) seemed sullen at being wet. His poof of fur was droopy and clung to him now. He didn’t move however, because he would otherwise feel even more alone. How dramatic was that?

The Jokester Type Iolite meanwhile was having the time of his life. He swatted another splash of water in Tuk-tuk’s direction, with a paw, then two paws, then with the help of some of his tails. Lightens. he commented with an eyeroll to his fellow celeste cats. They no taking jokes There was only one way to remedy this.

What do you do? Pick one!
a. Cheer the Ammolite up! By doing something actually nice and uh, comforting or something like that
b. You cannot be intimidated, hiss at the bad boy back!
c. Play a joke on them with the jokester. That’s what he does, it’s in the name.
d. MORE HIJINX AGAINST THEM ALL

Protagonist Boone

All three celeste cats, none of whom could read a single thing, seemed game more or less to follow along with their new companion. The Jock Bestfriend Type Goethite walked confidently by Boone’s side, never straying a step beyond that while The Intellect Type Charoite followed demurely behind, determined not to show an ounce of excitement because he tried not to do excitement. The Shy Type Morganite was even MORE behind, not initially following along because she wasn’t sure she was even invited, but with the encouragement of the cowboy, she padded along, though at a really, really good distance. It’d be hard to tell she was part of the group, even.

The theatre that they arrived at, as they would have it, was in session, and was not designed very well if they wanted to like, actually make any money. The stage was open with performers acting right on it, with seats that people possibly had to pay for lined around it, with most of them taken. Extremely conveniently there were four seats in the very back that the small gang could take, if they so dared. There wasn’t a bouncer or anything, and people seemed quite enraptured by the interpretive dance that was currently happening.

Unfortunately, the celeste cats couldn’t see all that well even if they did see in the seats, though the Goethite did teleport in the air momentarily to get a good view before dropping down gracefully on all four feet. So what would the plan be here, exactly?

What do you do? Pick one!
a. Be innovative! You can stand, and stack two of the chairs on top of the other, the Chaorite and the others can squish on and watch!
b. Walk away from this entire thing, because eh, seems kinda weird anyway and the Goethite is inclined to agree. They can adventure elsewhere
c. Pick the sweet Morganite up so that she can get a good view from your arms. Hell, the other two can climb on there too if they want there’s room for everyone (not really but let’s go with it???)
d. Sit down and enjoy the show of course. They can see enough from there.

Protagonist Wolfgang

Luckily for Wolfgang, the group of Celeste Cats knew their way around the marketplace pretty well. While he was questioning the existance of all of the things and the happening of the rest, the sort of gestured him in the right direction. Unluckily for Wolfgang, Celeste Cats were furry and didn’t really need moisturizer or know what exactly it was. All besides on of them.

That one of them was not at all The Rich and Vain Type Pyrite, but he liked to talk, so talk he would. Well we finding best moistures for yous. The celeste cat sort of assumed that Wolfgang just wanted a lot of water or something, that was moist right? But luckily The Cat-Next-Door Type Verdite with her mouthful took charge, leading the group through the marketplace, into an alley that was not a tent but was an actual building. The alley was admittedly really narrow and sort of sketchy at the outside, but smelled delightfully of herbs and other nice, clean scents as you approached. She looked up at Wolfgang with her pretty green eyes, then stopped a few steps away from the door. She released the item then floated it up towards Wolfgang’s hand.

It was a wallet.

This be helpings with get moistures. She said, as if it was a simple fact and nothing more. She took the lead again and waltzed right into the place. The Sassy Innocent Type Verdite was NOT super all that into all of the smells coming from the place and eyed it through the corner of her gaze.

What do you do? Pick one!
a. Well fuck it. Take the wallet, take out all the moneys, and get a spendin’, much to the Pyrite’s delight
b. Question the wallet, look for an ID or something (there’s a chariot lisence in there) and tell the store owner that you’ve found this and were looking for the owner. The Cat-Next-Door will be impressed.
c. You know, this whole ass alley is pretty sketchy, let’s turn back and go somewhere out in the open, as the Sassy one agrees with
d. Nah, not any of this

Protagonist Zebey

Well if Zebey was offering, The Sarcastic Type Selenite was obviously going to take advantage of the whole offer. She led the way to the expensive stall, looking at the dried meats that were on sticks. She couldn’t read a single thing on the menu, but there were apparently four different items. There were four people with them, which was just perfect wasn’t it. Plus, she wanted to try them all.

Ones of all. There was something vaguely in the bovine family, something in the leporidae family, something from the sea, and something that looked vegan actually, but still good. The Shy Type Morganite seemed hesitant to even take the offer, shaking her head no thank you at the same time that The Twin Sister Ammolite chirped in delight Yes’m them all! She wasn’t really paying to the cost or anything, honestly, she just wanted to be adventurous. She’d noticed that there were stalls all around them and was eager to try multiple things.

The Selenite had taken notice of the other stalls as well. Can be trying many things, hmm?

What do you do? Pick one!
a. Buy one of each, and agree with the Selenite, might as well try multiple things. Hope you don’t mind sharing with some cats!
b. Get one of each, but split them up between them all, so that the Morganite can eat in peace
c. Get one of each yeah, but suggest doing something else interesting after that the Ammolite would be delighted by, instead of spending all your coin!
d. On second thought, you can all share one food item on a stick

Ooc, I’M ALIVE. This will probably go two more rounds, the next one, then the ~~final date~~. I will have full descriptions up in the next couple of days I PROMISE, so feel free to send me prefs, anti-prefs the whole shebang! There will likely be multibonds after all. :3 And fades will come, but not til the end! If I get no prefs from ya’ I assume that you are putting your faith in my hands, which is cool.[/b][/b]

[Tuk-tuk]

D. HIJINX HIJINX HIJINX

The grumpy, melodramatic, and schadenfreudean reactions of the boys around him only bolstered his own need to cause more mischief himself, and he had the perfect plan:

Double down.

There was no way of knowing if it would work before he tried, of course, but wasn't that true of anything? Summon Monster let him summon lots of monsters. Including a squid. This fountain? About to be a squid home. ALL the tentacles to help him drag everyone else into the water HAHAHAHA --

Nothing happened.

"Um--" Tuktuk started to question, and then suddenly was engulfed in a tangle of tentacles himself, beak muffled closed as he yelped in surprise. Behind him, an angry, unidentified cetacean glared at him and tried to hold him down in the water. He uh. He had water-breathing right? Guys? Maybe he needed a little help. Or maybe everyone else had better self-preservation skills than mister critical fail. We wouldn't blame anyone for staying out of range.

[Haelys Celtaris]

It wasn't just the Bad Boy Iolite that knew which store in the village had the most ~expensive~ and ~luxurious~ jewelry. The woman had been keeping her eye on this place for a while. It wasn't all that long ago that Haelys was a queen and jewelers would line up at the thought of making something brilliant enough for her to wear. Money had been no object and gems would feel graced just to rest upon her skin. And yet here she was now—in a crazy town with no ruler and not enough money to actually purchase this jewelry, let alone have someone grovel at her feet asking her to wear it.

She did kind of miss the groveling that people did.

She didn't dwell on the lifestyle change for long. After all, she could only make the best of the situation she was in. And by 'make the best', we mean climb the ranks. The only way to climb higher in society? Sport expensive things that showed other people that you were better than them. Yes, there were other ways, and she played plenty with the other ways. But this was truly an objective way to do it.

Haelys did not hesitate to march into the jewelry store like she belonged there. She moved along with the Selenite with confidence, browsing and pursing her lips and shooting a light smile to the jeweler. She moved seamlessly, trailing her fingers along as if imagining what the gems might look like on her hand. But then...a necklace was vibrating. At the sight of that, she took a pause before quickly directing her eyes elsewhere.

She wanted to draw attention up and away from the jewelry the Selenite was using her cool powers to manipulate. Therefore, she moved towards one of the paintings on the wall, a gasp being let out and a hand covering her mouth.

"Sir! What artist has painted this? I have the same exact piece in my castle and they promised me it was one-of-a-kind." Her searing eyes practically demanded that the store owner answer her quickly. Everything was going fine. The Selenite and Iolite were having their fun. She was in control of the situation.

And then...the Verdite. The Verdite and the mirror. Who had invited her again?

She did not even seem to flinch at the commotion with the mirror. Instead, her gaze was fixed upon the jeweler as if she could not care less if the object squashed the Celeste Cat. Whether he moved over to the Verdite or not, Haelys would quickly try and wrangle his attention back on her.

"Sir." Her voice had deepened with a certain seriousness. "Your help with this matter would be an obligation to high society. Your elite business and my original castle cannot be spoiled by a perfidious artist. We must sort this out." She was using the reputation of his store against him.

c. Call the store owner over, demand he come over so he doesn’t notice what the Selenite is up to

[Zebey]

Zebey followed the cats, gaze sweeping between them as the Selenite led the charge. The three cats were definitely all very different. As they arrived at the stall, the Selenite proclaimed her "order", and the drow observed as both the Morganite declined it and the Ammolite accepted it. After a moments thought, she told the vendor one of each; and she decided to split them up so all of them could try a piece of one.

As they ate, Zebey allowed her gaze to wander at the other stalls. There were lots of different things here; some crazy looking, almost intimdating food all the way to carefully crafted kawaii food. She was still hungry, could only assume that the felines were as well, and she liked being adventurous. "Where to next?" she inquired to the three of them, though her gaze lingered on the Morganite to see if she would feel comfortable enough to speak up.

What do you do? Pick one!
b. Get one of each, but split them up between them all, so that the Morganite can eat in peace
AND
a. Buy one of each, and agree with the Selenite, might as well try multiple things. Hope you don’t mind sharing with some cats!

ooc. I'll Loan Ur Wordz, Kawaii

[Boone]

Theater was a luxury he didn't get often. Well, ever really. And he didn't think he was going to try again soon because this was very weird but they were here now and there was totally room for all three of the Celeste Cats.

c. Pick the sweet Morganite up so that she can get a good view from your arms. Hell, the other two can climb on there too if they want there’s room for everyone (not really but let’s go with it???)

[Wolfgang]

Listen. Wolfgang liked free money as much as anyone else but since when did cats carry wallets? What was a chariot license? And really, a back alley Lush did not seem like the ideal place to get into this whole finders keepers fuckery.

b. Question the wallet, look for an ID or something (there’s a chariot lisence in there) and tell the store owner that you’ve found this and were looking for the owner. The Cat-Next-Door will be impressed.

[Henna]

Protagonist Tuk-Tuk

At least one of the gang was absolutely thrilled by the continuing of the hijinx, and if you guessed that to be The Twin Brother Ammolite, no, you were wrong, were you even paying attention? But he was the first to react to the large tentacle that had wrapped around Tuk-Tuk and dragged him underwater, and that reaction manifested itself into a gasp. That’s right, he gasped like hell, but uh, doing something against a giant tentacle? Not really his thing, no, he was little. He did reactionarily teleport off of the edge of the fountain, only a few feet away, but now he was definitely a few feet away from the fountain at least.

The two Iolites had a very different reaction from the Ammolite. The Jokester Type Iolite cackled, thinking that this was probably the greatest and most elaborate prank that he’d ever seen. He watched, and waited...and wondered if maybe this wasn’t a joke?? afterall??? On top of his less than stellar observation skills, he might have been lacking a bit in applicable problem solving skills, as his reaction to this debacle was by jumping into the water himself, and sort of getting up to Tuk-Tuk to poke him, if he wasn’t grabbed by a tentacle himself in that time.

The Bad Boy Type Iolite, in the meantime, was not about to be outdown but a giant squid-monster, even though he didn’t know what exactly it was. He leapt into the water as well, faster than the smaller Iolite, and after trying to figure out where it was coming from and what it was began to full on attempt to wrestle this giant tentacle. Whether or not he was successful, well, questionable.

But luckily for Tuk-Tuk and his non-water-breathing-ness, the PIF would interfere, as it did best, and whisk him away, until he’d find himself comfortable and at home, at night, with a flyer on his lap.

Protagonist Haelys

The Queen, entirely expectedly, really knew how to get a shopkeeper’s attention, especially when it came to upholding his desire to cater to high society. He went to her side immediately, her reputation did proceed her in some parts of the weyrd at this point, and he scurried over to her, putting on his cheesiest smile and ready to sell the hell out of each and every thing she asked for. At the mention of the copied painting he gasped, bringing a hand to his chest, and immediately began to go on some sort of explanation, insisting that everything that he had was absolutely authentic, and they he would be having stern words with his art dealer, when the mirror by The Sassy Innocent Type Verdite shattered.

The shopkeep apologized to Haelys, stomping over to the Verdite ready to shoo her out of the shop. Meanwhile The Sarcastic Type Selenite and The Bad Boy Type Iolite had both pilfered their goods, slinking out of the tent carefully while the man took his anger out on the poor Verdite. The Selenite, of course, had a more favorable haul. She was so bold, in fact, that she teleported out of the shop, deposited her jewels outside somewher, then slunk back in by Haley’ side.

Maybe wes be moving on?[/color][/b] Her eyes, though purely white, seemed to glint, and maybe the Queen would get what exactly she was talking about. The Verdite had long fled, but the Selenite and the Iolite were just getting started.

The two Celeste Cats would follow her as long as she wished, happy to steal as much as they could with the help of her acting abilities. They’d split the goods with her, of course (though how evenly the Selenite was splitting things was questionable especially), and along the way, towards the end of their day, the pretty gradient feline would also leave Haelys with a flyer.

Protagonist Zebey

The Sarcastic Type Selenite and The Twin Sister Ammolite devoured the pieces, while The Shy Type Morganite at hers a bit more carefully, almost surprised that she was offered any at all.

It good! The Ammolite called out in some delight, a fire in her mismatched eyes, and she licked her chops. The Selenite approved as well, though she was less keen to show that she was pleased. The Morganite did pass a meaningful glance to Zebey in appreciation but stayed silent as well, even when the Drow asked where they wanted to go to next.

I’m knowing the best places. The Selenite declared, as if anyone would have any doubt. She would be more than happy to lead the group around, as long as Zebey wanted to eat and also as long as she had the funds for it all. At the end of their day, the Morganite would say farewell to Zebey with by quietly passing her a flyer, her pink eyes looking up to the humanoid. If you’d like. She said softly, before they parted ways.

Protagonist Boone

The Shy Type Morganite let out a small squeak when Boone picked her up, but after a moment of getting comfortable, let out a small and short purr in appreciation. She didn’t want to interrupt the show, afterall! The Jock Bestfriend Type Goethite showed some athleticism, leapign up and hanging onto one of the cowboy’s shoulders with his front legs, peering up from this vantage point. Even The Intellect Type Charoite used a bit of his magic, teleporting with a tiny poof so that he also balanced (poorly) on Boone’s other shoulder (using a bit of his telekenisis to keep most of his weight up) before he eventually got bored (or tired) of this feat and went back to his chair.

None of the three made much noise, even the Goethite who was probably admittedly the least interested in the show, and would observe until the very end. A strange lack of mischief or antics, but with a group of three celeste cats, better to not complain about that much, eh?

Before Boone would depart, as the sun started to stretch down the sky and the Goethite and the Chaorite would part ways, the Morganite would shyly hand him a flyer with some telekenisis of her own, not really elabborating on what it is.

Protagonist Wolfgang

The Cat-Next-Door Type Verdite was in fact impressed with Wolfgang, not having really expected this small bit of honor he showed (she thought it as it was). The Rich and Vain Type Pyrite was certainly less impressed, staring up at the humanoid with narrowed eyes. Well hows we doing the shopped now? It was a fair question, but never you fret, Wolfgang. Both Verdites, in fact, knew a little something that they could do, if Wolfgang desired.

While The Sassy Innocent Type Verdite suggested some light window shopping (to the Pyrite’s dismay) her light-eyed counterpart could do her one better, a shop with free samples. It wouldn’t be much, but if Wolfgang was down to bring home a few packets of foundations, creams, and lotions, she certainly knew the correct places to go.

It honestly work. She declared, proudly, though first, she was keen to give him a particular flyer before they’d set off to do whichever he’d wanted to do.

Everyone

The flyer was pretty straight forward, a pretty picture of a night sky with fireworks being shot over the Weyrd. It was painting, not a photograph of course, and written across it in large white words was a simple “FIREWORKS”. Below it was a bit of elaboration. “Tomorrow. Free food and drink and raffle! Bring someone special.”

Free food and drink was appealing enough, the raffle wasn’t exactly specified (what stuff could there possibly be) but someone special? Who could that be?

The town center was cleared out, for the most part. There were tables with free Hors d'oeuvre, sandwiches, shrimp-ish cocktails, and other bits of finger food, as well as free (cheap) wine. Another table was giving out free (scratchy) blankets, for anyone who didn’t want to sit directly on the cobblestone or the fountain, and another set, across the way, had baskets that held boxes, perhaps, the raffle. It was evening at this point, the sky slowly bleeding into a nice purple as the sun made its way down past the buildings and the horizon. A midsized crowd had already gathered.

Maybe the Whazzitinians could show up in the square with one specific Celeste Cat in mind, and maybe, maybe a Celeste Cat (or three?) would show up.

ooc, 1,414 words

<33 to you all for sticking with me through this! Who is the celeste cat of your heart's desire?? Feel free to think of one, feel free to think of no one if you'd like to be surprised. Prefs are welcome, but if you don't want to that's cool too. :D

[Haelys Celtaris]

She was rather quiet as the shopkeeper spoke, listening to him with a slightly haughty air about her. The Selenite had perfect timing, for she appeared at Haelys's side as the conversation was wrapping up.

"Very well. We must be on our way." With a small, forced smile, the pair exited.

Haelys would never have imagined she would ever be in a position where she needed to steal items rather than purchase them. Money had always gotten her the vast majority of what she desired. She could not fathom being a petty criminal. And yet, this did not feel petty—this felt artful. In return for their partnership, the woman would join the Selenite and Iolite in a shop of their choice. After all, Haelys was willing to help those who helped her.

The day would be filled with trickery and socializing and greed. Who knew stealing could be so much fun? She wasn't planning on making this a habit. She preferred more straightforward investments and business practices. After all, while her moral compass easily handled treachery, her reputation could only be marred every so often while maintaining her standing. But, for the day, this experience had been satisfying.

Haelys arrived home with her bag absolutely filled to the brim with items. Some of her shinies gathered around, admiring all the sparkles and surprises. The woman came across the flyer among the spoils. She did not know what fireworks were, nor did any of her shinies who set eyes on the flyer. She also didn't know what a raffle was. So, naturally, she would go if only to learn and investigate.

She was special. She didn't need anyone else. Since this seemed like ~an event~, she arrived in a rather elaborate white gown. While she scanned the food and drink options, she decided that since it was free, it was probably too low in quality for her consumption. Though, really, she wasn't yet aware of one vital fact of life: sometimes cheap wine tasted just as good as expensive wine. She would get there one day.

Wandering through the square slowly, Haelys found herself glancing up at the sky every so often. Where were these fireworks that were painted in the sky on the flyer? Were they new shinies that would fly by? As she waited, she found her mind wandering to the day prior. She had had fun with both the Selenite and the Iolite. And, truthfully, fun was not something she usually sought out. In fact, it was rare that she felt she had met someone as skillful as she, but the Selenite had shown true tact yesterday.

[OOC: Henna, I really enjoyed the style of this bonding, and I 100% vote you do this again!]