Summer Festival [Closed]

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There were always places that thieves would go. People would gather and be prime targets for a good robbing. Festivals were one of the most popular places for such an act. The music, drink and overall cheerful demeanor made people lower their guards and leave their purses unguarded. As luck would have it, there didn't seem to be any other thieves at a local festival, at least quite yet.

Catia found it quite easy to blend in as well, not going for the usual 'black cloak and shadows' the thieves seemed to be painted into. Contrary, she wore a vivid, blue dress that seemed more fitting for attracting men than robbing them. However, this just made it all the easier. A sway of the hips, some batting of the eyelashes and pressing close would render most of the more simple men vulnerable to her hand which would free them of the weight of their coin.

It had only been a couple of hours but she already had quite a good haul and decided to get some downtime. The festival felt so happy and warm with the lights of torches seemingly dancing along with the music of the bards. Speaking of dancing, she would head to watch some of the live performers. It was always... peaceful to watch people dance, from the more exotic belly dancing to the clompy, upbeat group dances. Catia stopped by the outside of an open faced tent where musicians were performing something upbeat and people were dancing in a large space. Simple. Even at this time of rest, her eyes would scan the crowd, looking for her next victim.

[Sarria]

Sarria had been wandering Ilia's snowy lands for some time, meeting new people and listening to the native music. In general, Ilian music was heavier than what she found in Sacae, but the Ilians found it just as easy to dance to. Luckily for her, she came to this town just as a big festival was coming into full swing. She came to the large music area, where people were dancing, and observed them for a while, studying the movements before she decided to join in as well. She was still inexperienced at dancing, but the way that her body moved in time with the music was invigorating, it didn't matter if she needed practice.

Earlier, she had been wandering the festival, looking at everything in interest, but she didn't have any money to buy nice things with, like some good festival food. It was hard enough making scraps for her and Jewel to both eat as they traveled the world, and Ilia's harsher climate made it even harder to find food than usual. Regardless, the music kept her body moving even when she was weak. She decided that she would stick around after the festival at least, and offer peddlers help in cleaning up in exchange for some food. It felt a bit too much like begging, but she didn't have much choice.

For now though, Sarria let her body be wrapped in the music, and move freely. There were no worries out here while the music kept playing.

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As Catia looked over the crowd, she noticed there were quite a few she could easily rob. Those who were too drunk to care or notice her taking their money. However, her eyes were almost immediately drawn towards a dark haired girl who joined into the dancing. She wasn't dressed for the colder climate of Ilia. Then again, neither was Catia. She studied this girl closely. Clumsy, but not overly so. She appeared to catch onto the music easily and match the temp.

Catia waited until the song had finished and everybody was clapping before approaching this girl. "Good evening~ I couldn't help but notice you dancing." She says with a smile. Her eyes had done a quick scan of her body and she was a bit disappointed to find that the dark haired teen didn't seem to have anything of value on her. However, never one to judge a book by its cover, she would continue. There must be a reason she couldn't look away. "Have you eaten yet?" She asks, offering up a few gold coins to show she would be buying. If there was one thing she learned was that men were bought with alcohol and her looks while women leaned more towards the social interaction that came over sharing a meal. She had hoped for a quick response though as the rowdy crowd was already trying to incite the musicians into playing another song. She didn't want to get caught out in the middle of the dancing.

[Sarria]

Sarria was a little surprised to be approached by a stranger, especially a girl, to talk about her dancing. She blushed a little, "Oh, um... I'm still just practicing, I'm not a good dancer." she said quickly, even though it wasn't asked. It was still embarrassing to know that someone had been watching her dance. The girl talking to her didn't really look like the rest of the Ilians, her clothing was more similar to what she saw further south, although even then, her clothes were unique in a way.

"Have I eaten..?" It seemed an odd question to Sarria, a couple of guys paid for her meal once before, but she never usually was asked that by strangers. "No, I haven't..." she looked down at her thin stomach, "Is it that obvious?" Her stomach growled in response, making her want to shush it. She looked over at the band, about to start into another song, then back to the new girl. "I was thinking about taking a break anyways, I suppose. My name's Sarria, what's yours?" She smiled and held out her hand. It was always fun to make new friends anyways, and only hanging out with her horse Jewel all the time while travelling got boring very quickly. "Are you in town just for the festival too? I saw this place and knew that I just had to stick around for a while, at least long enough to dance I mean. That was a really good song in my opinion."

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"Ah well.. could have fooled me." Catia says with a smile, still looking over this girl in front of her. What a cute little thing she did when she blushed. "Are you not used to being watching you dance? Isn't the point of a dancer to be noticed?" She asked curiously.

"It was more of a conversation piece. Though by the sounds of it, I'd say it's been a little bit too long since you've had a proper meal." Catia observes. "Sarria... that's an interesting name." She says and gives a little bow, not wearing the type of clothing to give a curtsy. "I am Catia." She says and looks at the extended hand. Oh, right... a handshake. Been a while since she's done that but it was simple enough. After all, usually she was greeted by men... who were drunk and made it obvious just what part of her they were enjoying talking about. "Ah, you could say that, yes. I knew there would be one so I came to visit. It's always nice to come to a big festival like this." She says, starting to lead Sarria away from the dancing and towards a place to get some food. "I don't know much of Ilian music, but I will agree that it seemed... jovial?" She almost asks the word, not sure if she was using it correctly.

She quickly shifts to look at the options of food. "So what would you like? I don't mind paying for anything here. Usually merchants lower their prices during festivals, after all." Catia explains.

[Sarria]

Sarria scratched the back of her head nervously, "Oh no, I'm not a dancer at all, really. I'm just... practicing dancing." Catia seemed to be able to make her feel embarrassed, even though she wasn't usually. It was probably just the suddenness of the girl appearing.

"Thank you though, I don't really know what 'Sarria' means, but it's my name." She giggled a little and curtsied in return to the bow. "So you did know about this place? I wouldn't mind knowing when Ilia has their big festivals so I can come back again."

She felt her arm being pulled gently, and followed obliging. She did want to dance some more, but it could always wait, it was not as if the music would die without her. "Food? I don't know, something fruity I guess? I haven't really eaten anything Ilian before, I'm a little new to this whole adventuring business. Oh, I'm a healer I should say. But I don't really like healing, so I left my staff with my horse." She thought about it for a minute. "I guess that's more complicated than you'd care about hearing. I don't know, I just feel like I need to tell people about that just in case they need it." She sighed and tussled her hair idly, worrying whether or not she was saying too much or being annoying to her new friend. It was always hard to tell, but Catia seemed to be pretty nice at least. This festival should turn out well.

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"Practicing dancing... so you can become a dancer?" She asks, still curious. The blush was a cute look and she was rather enjoying causing it.

"I don't think all names need to have some sort of meaning. A name can be just as significant even though it doesn't mean something beyond what it is." She explains. At the subject of festivals, she resists the urge to just start listing them off. She clearly knew when festivals and gatherings would happen as that made the best time to be robbing people. "Well.. most places celebrate the coming of new seasons, at least. This one is for the tomato harvest though." She explains.

She would keep an ear listening to Sarria as she walked, heading towards the smell of food. At the mention of a horse, she slows down. "Oh? A troubadour then?" She had heard about them before... and where healers usually came from. "So you're from Etruria?" She tries to shift the conversation. Catia did eventually lead the two towards a place that seemed more geared towards fruits and the like. She personally preferred meat but could make do with this. Due to the harsher climates, they likely would have some of the sweeter fruits. Peaches, berries and grapes. She would order a mix for Sarria and peeked over before selecting a sweet cake. Fruits are nice but cake is better. She pays, using some of the gold she had stolen. "Does your horse need something to eat as well?" Catia asks.

[Sarria]

Sarria stopped when Catia asked if she was becoming a dancer, thinking about it. "I don't know, maybe. Now that you say that, I think I really do, but I'm not good enough at it yet." A dancer, huh? That sounded a lot more fun than being a healer, and it was something she actually enjoyed doing.

"Aw, that's too bad. If there were festivals more often than just changing seasons, I'd love to go to them for the music. It seems a bit odd to celebrate tomatoes though, I don't really like them personally." Whatever, about the tomatoes. Sarria didn't really care as long as they had good tomato-dancing music.

The smell of food quickly made Sarria no longer regret leaving the dance, instead she began to salivate a little, until Catia asked about her origins. "Huh? Oh, Etruria is where I learned, but I'm from the Islands. I guess that's a pretty easy mistake to make. In my opinion, Etruria is the most boring place I've ever been in." There wasn't much to it, the music was bad, the people were strange, and the teachers were vicious. The only real reason she went there was just because daddy wanted her to. Enough about that though, food was the important question here. "Jewel? I guess you can get her an apple if you want, but she's better at feeding herself than me. I turn my back for five seconds and the mare's found an apple tree's last apple or something."

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"Well.. practice does make perfect, after all. So just keep at it and hopefully it will start becoming more natural?" She suggests.

"The seasonal festivals are the really big ones. Villages have smaller ones for their own little reasons. There are also quite a few longer festivals that take place in the summer in Sacae." She starts to explain. "They are less celebrating the tomatoes themselves, and more that they had a successful harvest this year despite the cold weather. Most things don't grow here, after all." Catia says with a smile. The smile was more for the fact she knew that people were always willing to spend more after a good harvest.

Catia does listen closely as Sarria speaks. "Boring? Really? When I was there, it seemed like most non-nobles had quite a happy life. At least up until that whole hostile takeover business." She comments. It was a sour subject for her though and she was glad for the subject change. "Well... no real reason to go buy food if your horse is already plenty good at foraging." She teases before biting into her cake. So sweet! Almost too sweet, really. She had to pace herself and just took a little bite before getting some water. She more wanted to watch what the troubadour would do so she could see just how hungry the girl was. The mixed fruit bowl might not be enough if she hadn't eaten in a while. All the same, she was still looking over other patrons to see who needed some.. relief in the wallet area.

[Sarria]

Sarria smiled a little bit, "Yeah, that's what I'm hoping for at least, I need to find some people to practice with who know what they're doing, unlike me." Maybe even find a dancing school, but she didn't have the money to even suggest something like that.

"Oh, I see. It's a celebration for actually growing tomatoes right, not just the tomatoes themselves. Got it." She giggled at her joke, trying to let Catia know that she wasn't being serious. "Anyways, I guess I left Sacae too quickly, I should go back after I check out the rest of Ilia and see if there's any festivals around this time. Still, I guess I should enjoy myself while I'm still here."

"Well, I didn't see much of Etruria honestly, the magic school was where I lived there. Everybody there was just so... prissy and annoying. I couldn't make any friends, even if I had wanted to honestly. Whenever I was in the nearby towns, everybody there was always quiet, and just ignored the students. It just felt off in general. I don't know, Sacae and Ilia just feel more natural than Etruria did." Sarria happily dug into the bowl of fruit. She didn't eat much most of the time, so this was a fine amount. "How's your cake, Catia? I heard a rumor in Sacae that Ilian baked goods were really tasty." She really wanted to at least try a bite of the cake, but it was a bit rude to ask that of someone she just met.

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"I can't say that I'm much for any of that sort of dancing. I do know how to dance at a formal party, but that feels almost like a strain to me." Catia starts to explain. "And I definitely couldn't do it in these heels."

Catia let out a little smile as she listens to Sarria speak. "Well, unless if some sort of horrible catastrophe should fall upon Sacae, I highly doubt the festivals will be going anywhere any time soon. So no rush, yes?" She asks. She was studying this girl, trying to learn more about her without approaching the 'creepy' level of things. "I could never learn magic, honestly. It just seem a little too out of my reach."

At the mention of Etrurians being 'prissy', she felt a pang of guilt. She too, had been quite a stuck up Noble's daughter before so it was very much possible that she and her so called 'friends' had ignored Sarria in passing at some point. Catia tries to justify the age difference to explain why this likely never happened, at least to herself. She kept silent while listening to the dark haired girl speak, nodding along with it. She did agree that areas outside of Etruria were much less.. stuffy feeling. She did snap out of it when asked about her cake. She had only taken a bite of it and pushed the pastry over to Sarria. "Why don't you go ahead and try it? It's better to taste than try to describe it." Catia says, adding a smile. She felt she was way over thinking things.

[Sarria]

"Sure, I'll give it a try!" Sarria took a small piece of the cake and popped it in her mouth. "Mmm, yep, those rumors weren't wrong after all. It's a bit sweeter than what I'm used to though, so I'll stick with the fruit for now." She just continued to eat her food happily, thinking about everything they'd been talking about.

"Yeah, I guess I should be taking it easy, but... I don't really have anything to do. It's like, I don't know what to really do with my time. There's rumors of wars and stuff, but I don't want to get involved with any of it, and I don't have any source of income, so I can't just make money, get rich, and die happy. I don't really have any direction with my life."

She scratched the back of her head. "I guess you don't really need to hear my life story though, that's not very fair. What about you? You said that you know formal dancing, right? I'm guessing that you're probably a lot more interesting than I am then." She giggled to herself, but also quietly sighed. She began wondering if she really belonged out here, just travelling around. What her dad was probably thinking or doing at that moment. Poor guy was either really lonely for her to be so far away, or really relieved to not have a girl in the house anymore. He hadn't sent her to school just for her education clearly. Either way, she was feeling a little melancholic thinking about it.

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Catia seems to just be watching Sarria for now, staying silent to let her talk. She did seem to get a different look on her face at the mention of dancing again. Sure, she knew how, but it was a bitter reminder of Etruria and her family. Or lack thereof. She wasn't even sure about the state of her parents at this point. They must be worried about her.

"Oh, I highly doubt it. Just a wandering... merchant." She says, trying to think of a way to explain out having the sort of money she has. She hoped that the way she had dragged out to the word merchant might translate to something not quite so negative, yet however she thought of it, it might come out sounding bad. Catia didn't correct herself though, just letting Sarria take it however she wanted.

"I would like to say that anything can be a source of income if you're good enough at it, though. I've met a few girls who dance and get paid quite a bit for it. One is even in pretty high demand by the rich, lord-y types." She explains, trying to encourage the troubadour. Of course, her brain instantly went to thinking that her words could be taken in a perverse manner, like some sort of exotic dancer. Though, to be fair, the one she referenced being in high demand WAS an exotic dancer. "I'm sure there are other things you can do that can be used to earn money. Though I don't think many people would appreciate being charged for being healed."

[Sarria]

"A traveling merchant, huh?" Sarria smiled at that. "Think I can ride along with you then? I don't have anyone to travel with, and you're a pleasure to talk to. Maybe you could even use me to sell your wares, I don't mind as long as you feed me." She giggled again, waiting to see the girl's reaction. She seemed a bit lonely, and possibly needed a good friend. Just like Sarria did.

The sun started to set on the festival, even though it felt like it had only just started to Sarria. "Do you have a place to stay tonight? Cause I'll probably have to get back on the road if I can't find anything..." She felt out of place asking something like that, there just wasn't much that Sarria could do, so she was relying entirely on the kindness of a stranger. Maybe she would have to take up dancing as a job at some point, just so that she could fend for herself at least. "You said that you have known some paid dancers? I wonder if I could get a job like that... I wouldn't even know where to start with something like that." She sighed again, it felt like her mind was just spinning around in circles.

As for her healing, she definitely had no will to charge people for that. She hated doing it as it was, no need to guilt people into paying for her services as well. It seemed that if there was something she would do for money, it would have to be dancing.

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Catia wasn't much for helping people out at random, but she had a stroke of pity for Sarria. It seems a shame to force her to sleep out in the cold. She would instruct the girl to head to the inn later and there would be arranged lodging. Catia wasn't going to stick around though and shortly after paying for a room for Sarria for a week or so (with stolen coin, of course), she bailed from the town. It was for the best.

(I'm out of the thread now)