FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter six: festival

Diana got use to her grandfathers job rather quickly. It was not exactly demanding she realized. Most clients were locals. Coming to him for replacement power cores at a reduced cost to the item shop or just coming by to talk about the weather or this or that. Diana was not surprised in all the other beings coming or going as well. Every land has them and even some countries have them almost solely at their entire population. The land she was in was comprised of about thirty percent of the population of other species that herself. Most live day to day lives like any other. Only using their unique talents for their jobs or personal lives. There was some animosity but not a lot.

James also worked a simple life applying his trade. She never got a look into the workshop of his and he always only worked in there. Over the near two weeks she been living there he has not touched any of the things laying around on the first floor. As they were eating a lighter than normal meal Diana decides to finally ask. " I been here about two weeks now and I have not seen you work on anything that is up here. Why is that?"

James leans back and sips his coffee and chuckles at the thought. " I not even thought of any of the clutter around the place. I use to have everything that would seem to be my work downstairs. People kept breaking in and trying to steal anything of value. Usually nothing more than some loose seedz or a bit of food. One day I had the idea of leaving useless crap laying around that people would think is valuable because they think I work on it. I went to the junkyard and payed the man five hundred seedz there for any loose metal contraptions. I washed them up, scattered them around and never had anyone try to break into my workshop sense."

Diana became confused how that actually worked but strangely it did have logic to her. It also gave her a sense he was a very busy man. However half his days he plays with his pet wryvern or goes out for some drinking instead of doing anything that could be said was work. " So what is the plan for today? Grandfather said he will be watching the place today."

James looks at Kira and smiles. " It is the lake festival. I forgot about it was about time for it till I talked to the father at the church about a festival. Kira and I were going to go, but she like hanging around the fish stalls."

Kira chuckles a little and grabs his arm and pulls him close to her. " Master does not like fish so this is one of the few times I get to eat some."

Kira purrs some as she rubbed her cheek against his arm. " She likes fish more than being with me when she is in heat."

Kira's ears go flat on her head. " Master nothing is better than being with you. Fish just come very very close."

James laughs a little and notices Diana blushing some. " Anyways I was thinking. You want to go?"

Diana became almost shocked. " Oh, sure. Should I wear this or?"

James looks at her in her armor. " Wear what you are comfortable in. Also that reminds me. I got something for you before we leave on the journey."

Diana smiles a little to the thought.

Diana changed into her summer dress quickly in anticipation and James and Kira just got a pair of horses hitched to a wagon to pull them. It was little more than a hour ride to the lake where dozens of booths were set up. Already many were enjoying day games and Kira was already gone by the time they pulled into where the other wagons and horses were. James unhitched them and Diana was willing to wait and James joined her when he could. James lifted a small pouch humored when he got to her. " Spending money for me?"

James lightly shook his head. " Kira's spending money."

Diana smiled humored about that seeing Kira racing back and seeing the pouch. She only grabs it and runs away again. Her wrist rubbing her whiskers lightly as she did. " You really need to feed that girl more fish."

James shook his head. " I offered but she said that is what makes festivals so special for her. She gets to eat what she wants and enjoy everything like a normal person."

Diana pauses to think on that a moment having to remind herself Kira is a cat girl. Her life span is fifteen years on average and people normally treat her kind worse than slaves. " Not everyone would do that you know."

They move into the rows of booths and nearby Kira already had two fish on a stick in her mouth. " A person is a person to me. I guess as long as I am viewed as a person I view that person as a person as well."

James rubs the back of his head to think on that a moment. " I guess that is why I do not like going to the fortress. Those of my cast see me as competition and those over me see me nothing more than a tool."

Diana thought about that as James stops at a game booth with crossbows and point prize boxes. " Want to play?"

The tenant moves over to the two and see James. " Hello Tom, here with a pretty lass this time. That is a change."

James smiles amused. " Thanks Tom, my points still carry?" The tenant takes a moment to think on that. " Sorry Tom. I told you last year they do not carry over a year."

James raises his shoulders. " Oh well. I guess I got to earn them again. You still doing five shots for twenty?"

The tenant nods and Jamed puts a hundred seedz coin on the board. James takes a crossbow and aims with it and nails a twenty point box with the first shot. His next shot he hits a ten and after five shots he had seventy five points and the tenant resets the targets. On the last five targets he pauses seeing Diana bored and he hands it over to her. " You sure?"

James only nods and she takes it and nails the five hundred box barely bigger than the bolt she used to hit it with and with the last four shots hit the remaining large number boxes earning over one thousand points. James was as speechless as the tenant. " You got that prize I ordered from last year, Tom?"

The tenant takes a moment and resets the booth before going behind the tent and brings out a stuffed horse doll. " I do not know why you wanted something like this. But Tom it is what you wanted."

He starts to hand it to James and he takes it and looks at it a moment before looking at Diana. " Here, you can have it."

She looked at it puzzled before taking it with both hands. " So why give me a child toy?"

James rubs the back of his head. " Well where I am from a guy gives the girl he is with the prizes he gets at a festival. They are suppose to be mementos." Diana considers that and starts holding the doll in her arms between her breasts.

They start moving again and stopped a few more times and each time James is greeted and greets with Tom. Around mid day they stop by the lake and rent a few fishing poles and set empty hooks as they look over the lake. " I been wondering. Why do you keep calling people Tom and get called Tom back?"

James laughs a moment as he got a sandwich from a box lunch. " Well that is a long story. I guess to sum the story short it stems from the fact I kept messing peoples names up when I first came here. That and people kept calling me Tom. It means something so I started using it for others. That kind of evolved for Tom to mean friend or neighbor."

Diana grabs a sandwich as well. " So why did you not call me Tom when we met?"

James considers it a moment as he takes a bite. After a drink to follow it he comes up with an answer. " You asked for me by name. It seemed rude to not have proper introductions."

Diana remembers the encounter and realizes that was true. She smiled and blushed lightly as they ate the rest of their food in silence. After eating Diana leaned back on her back to watch the clouds as the royal dragon flew overhead followed by four smaller dragons. " It is a strange land here. In my homeland we hunt dragons."

James looks up to the family going past the fortress walls. " The land I was born dragons are only stories."

Diana looked at him surprised. " Really, it must be so strange your homeland."

James lays on his back as well. " Well we have our own beasts and problems. Honestly I like it out here. I rather not go back if given the choice, or have them come here."

Diana turned to look at James and strangely he had a cold look on his face. As if a dreadful thought reappeared to him again. For a moment she pretended not to notice but he soon relaxed and closed his eyes. She smiled seeing him at peace again and closed her eyes as well.