The only thing that could have improved the Summer Solstice Festival for Skye would have been if it had been a Spring Festival. However, given the amount of fun Skye had every year at the festival it wasn't too hard for the faerie to forgive the town planners and simply enjoy herself. And she did enjoy herself. Having left the veterinary clinic earlier that day and finished any remaining homework, Skye could now be found participating in one of the many games that had popped up in the festival. The particular object of this game was to hit moving targets with a water pistol. It was a game that Skye wasn't particularly skilled at, but she was determined to conquer it because one of the prizes was a stuffed toy bear. Bears were some of her favourite animals, especially when they were fresh out of hibernation and still slightly dopey from their long sleep.
"Come on!" She said, biting her lip and sighting down the water pistol's length, this time the bear would be hers. The game began, flying targets shot across the area and Skye did her best to keep up. Her hand shook and she knew that her aim was off. Following the rules wasn't going to work, she would have to get creative. Skye blinked, throwing up an illusion in the time it took her eyelid to open. She continued to fire at the targets, but where they actually all missed her illusion created the impression that each hit its mark. It wasn't just a visual illusion, there was a splat sound every time her bullet of water hit the target. Finally the game came to an end and Skye, grinning from ear to ear, turned to the stall keeper, "Did you see that?" She asked, "If you hit all the targets you get a prize, right?"
The stall keeper nodded. "Which one do you want?' he asked pointing above his head to the various prizes available. Skye pointed to the bear and the man pulled it off the rack for her. Skye thanked him and took her prize. She hadn't lied, merely shown the man what she wanted him to see and let him come to his own conclusions. And if it was slightly on the mischievous side, well, she was a faerie. It was only to be expected.
Skye continued to explore the festival, taking the crowded streets slowly as she both dodged around people and paused to look at any interesting stalls. There was plenty to catch her attention, especially in the Magical lane. Her eyes scanned over one stall's collection of products, everything from a clear skin potion or a charm to make your hair gleam to a concoction that allegedly granted the user the temporary ability to turn invisible. Although Skye could use her glamour to effectively become invisible, she was toying with the idea of buying the potion anyway when her phone buzzed, indicating a text message from Mel.
"Anyone else looking for company?"
While Skye was quite capable of enjoying the festival alone, she had no doubt in her mind that with Mel, or in fact any of her friends, the festival would be so much better. So she wasted little time in replying,
To Mel
"Company is always welcome, let me know where to find you and I will come.
Skye."
"Company is always welcome, let me know where to find you and I will come.
Skye."
After hitting the send button Skye replaced her phone in her pocket. She assumed that Mel would have sent texts to a number of her friends, which meant that their party should be a decent size. Skye couldn't help but smile, she was certain that tonight would be very enjoyable. Skye took a last glance at the invisibility potion, memorizing where it was, before turning on her heel and beginning her search of the crowds for her friend.
The public library is an old building, it's walls thick and the windows double glazed to keep out the noise. Even so the sounds of the Summer Festival managed to filter through; the softened music of the bands, the shrieks of joyful children and so on. Noah found the disruption to the library's normal peaceful atmosphere irritating. It also made him somewhat nervous, after all he couldn't stay hiding amongst the rows of books forever and when he left it would be to crowds of town folk.
"Why don't you go enjoy the festival? While you're young enough to dance and flirt with girls." Mrs Long, the elderly librarian said, catching Noah staring off towards the festival for the third time. "I wish I'd spent more time enjoying myself. Now I can't go ten minutes before my feet are swollen and I need to sit down. You've got to live before you get old boy."
Noah simply shook his head and returned his attention to sorting through the recent returns. Mrs Long was a shapeshifter and apparently seemed to be unaware or to have forgotten that Noah, as a demon, had the potential to live past the normal life expectancy for a human. All he had to do was keep feeding on strong life forces, it not only made him physically stronger but lengthened his life.
However forgetful Mrs Long may or may not have been, she was at least determined to see Noah enjoying himself for once. Taking a pile of books she thrust them into his hands, "Put these back on the shelves and then you're leaving." She told him, her hands on her hips in an effort to look stern. "And none of this dallying about either, not when I know you can teleport."
Unwilling to argue with the old woman Noah did as he was told, turning on the spot and reappearing on the other side of the library. However once out of Mrs Long's sight he took his time returning the books to their proper spots, drawing out the time until he would have to leave the relative safety of the library. Eventually he couldn't find any more excuses and on placing the last book back in its proper place he teleported back to the front desk, making Mrs Long jump slightly in surprise.
"Are you sure you don't need me to stay?" Noah asked, still hesitant to leave, "I don't mind staying to help." Mrs Long shook her head and began to make shooing motions at Noah. "I'll see you tomorrow Noah." She added before returning to her work, a satisfied smile on her face.
Noah sighed and made his way out of the library, pausing in the doorway to ready himself for the inevitable. The noise on the street seemed to grow ridiculously loud once he was outside. Noah made to teleport back home, an expense of energy that he wouldn't have usually used on such a short trip, but he deemed it necessary to avoid the festival crowds. However he hesitated as he caught a few notes of music. It wasn't the loud, partying music that he despised so much, rather what sounded like an acoustic guitar. He weighed up the pros and cons of each path and finally, reluctantly decided to seek out the music. Noah flicked up the hood of his jacket and dug his hands into his pockets before sliding into the crowds. He did his best to avoid attention as he followed the faint music. Luckily for him his progress was relatively easy thanks to his ability to walk through solid objects. Whenever he came up against a barrier he simply stepped through it, saving both time and having to ask people to let him pass.
Eventually he found the source of the music, a local duo playing to a small crowd down from the larger music acts. It was Noah's sort of music; calming and real, not like what passed for music in the clubs these days. Noah found a place at the back of the crowd and settled in to listen to the band. Noah couldn't help but let a rare smile pass across his face as he sent a silent thank you to Mrs Long for pushing him outside. Without her interference he might never have known that the festival could actually be enjoyable.