Memory Bonds

Harmoni and Fleck went to the room where people were making lanterns. It was a large room with a curved window stretching across the outer wall, letting a lot of the day’s sunlight in.

One of the people inside was scared to see Fleck at first, might have overreacted a little bit. But no one thought Harmoni was strange. One even helped her do up her hair as a braid along her head, with a tasteful leaf or two placed in there. She still wasn't sure how she felt about having her ears on display, but it wasn't like she could hide the elf traits that easily anymore. And in here it didn't seem too bad.

The people working on the lanterns asked Harmoni about school when she first stepped in. And where her home was, if she had any siblings. They seemed friendly enough about it, but Harmoni had to admit, she felt a little overwhelmed, all the smiling people pressing their attention in on her.

But they pulled away after a few of Harmoni’s stammering replies.

Fleck was pretty sure they’d caught on to her discomfort, were trying to be nice.

They talked amongst themselves instead. About family, or how their trees were doing, or what pattern they were making on their paper lanterns. Apparently, while the people in here were making a lot of the lanterns, they wouldn’t be the only ones doing it. Usually, each household made at least one.

“But the more there are, the better,” one of the elves said.

Harmoni wasn’t very good to start with, kept it basic, like making squares or moons. But with a bit more practice, she got a bit more ambitious, even trying to cut a pattern in the shape of Fleck.

Fleck tried to help a bit. While he was good at cutting patterns into paper, he was pretty bad at making lanterns. His talons were sharp. So were his teeth. He couldn’t grip these things without poking holes in them.

Fleck seemed like he was doing just fine to Harmoni. One of the elves even decided he must be a wise and powerful creature.

‘You saying I’m not that?’

The elf brought him some pillows to comfortably rest on, a large bucket of water, and even got some meat for him from somewhere. Well, she and the other elves she’d wrangled into this.

Fleck . . . certainly didn’t mind being waited on hand and foot.

Harmoni tried not to laugh at how much he was enjoying this, and how different he probably was from how he was being perceived.

The elves also sang at some point, using it to make the work pass faster. Harmoni enjoyed it, but really didn’t know the words. (Plus it was in Elvish. She understood the language well enough, but it was harder to follow along with songs.)

When they were done, Harmoni and Fleck went out into the streets to enjoy the festivities. The sun was setting. It reminded Harmoni a bit of the magic symposium on Xentron.

There was a musician playing and people dancing by him. At some point, the musician swapped out. (Harmoni didn't know when, she hadn't brought a watch.) Most of the musicians throughout the night played the beautiful, slightly slow, songs people might think of when you mentioned elves. But at one point a gnome did come up and sing rock music. According to the people dancing she hadn't even come here for the festival. She lived here.

There were items to buy. Harmoni walked along the tables even though she didn't have any currency. Someone was selling robes. Another enhancers. Harmoni once again tried to get a feel for them, and once again, none called to her.

Someone was selling leaves a bit like the ones in Harmoni's hair, but they were a thin metal instead of real. You could have them forever.

There was a man who sold framed art, but his seemed to be made entirely out of rocks, instead of painted or drawn. Harmoni couldn't help but slow down for that one. It was neat, but more than that, those were elaborate. He created some detailed images using rocks of different sizes. And he wasn't the only one who created detailed art. The woman selling paintings, well, Harmoni didn't think you could make a single painting that detailed in a human's lifetime, and she was selling more than one. Harmoni stared at the paintings, and stared at the woman. She didn't think it was a rude stare, for once. She was more in awe. The woman smiled serenely back. She looked like she was still in her twenties.

But they didn't hang around the sale stalls all night. It was a holiday, and there were a few free items. Harmoni ended up with a sort of necklace of fall leaves around her.

Fleck got one too. The younger elf at the stall, who Fleck was pretty sure went to the school actually, used magic to unclip a necklace, and then wrap it around Fleck's neck. Different from Harmoni, who'd just had one dropped over her head, but Fleck's head was a bit different.

A bit of the food was free too. One place was making cider, of the thickly pressed, non-alcoholic variety. You could get it hot or cold, and with various additions. When Harmoni came over, the rock musician was standing on a stool, ordering a cider with strawberries, sprinkles, and ginger. Harmoni wasn't sure how that combo worked, but OK. She stuck to cinnamon for her own.

For food she got something much simpler. It tasted like a bagel, but there was no hole in the middle. Instead, it was stuffed with a filling. She could easily eat it and walk at the same time.

Fleck didn't get anything to eat, and he knew Harmoni felt a bit bad about that, but he'd been given food earlier.

'Remember?'

Besides, he did try the cider. He could point to additions with his nose, aiming for the spicy side with his, and the elf had served him his order in a bowl that was easy to drink from. Hadn't even needed Harmoni as translator.

Harmoni climbed to the treetop area next, getting to watch the small figures below here and the stars above. There were flickering lights lining the paths up here, possibly so no one accidentally fell off. And there were less people up here, creating a nice ambiance. Except for one area. The path seemed to lead to nowhere, and there wasn't a railing where it ended.

Someone chuckled. "You're confused, I can tell," the elf who'd snuck up behind her said. "Here, let me show you. This is pretty cool, actually."

He walked past her, and kept walking, right off the ledge. Harmoni gasped and reached out her hand, but she was still hesitant, still didn't quiet reach his arm. And as it turned out, that was a good thing. The man didn't fall, he continued to walk as if there was still a path beneath him. He turned back to her, walking backwards.

"I told you it was cool, didn't I? This area's been magically enchanted. Come on. Try it."

Harmoni did want to try. She was also still nervous. Her body naturally resisted the action of walking off a ledge, instead urging her to at least crawl.

Fleck tried to urge her to walk. He could fly, and was big enough to carry her on land. If she fell, he'd catch her.

Harmoni wasn't sure he was actually big enough to fly with her. But then she didn't want to insult him, and that gave her the last metaphorical push to step forward. (Thankfully, no literal pushing.) And there she was. Nothing below her if she looked down, except people moving about the stalls, but her feet where obviously on something. It wasn't like gravity stopped working, it was just like there was an invisible floor. It was still definitely cool. And she let the elf come up to her and pull her into a dance with the music below.

The sky grew darker. The music stopped. People were less spread out.

"It's starting soon," the man she was dancing with said. "Come on."

He led her back to the wooden walkways, and then down the stairs. He was holding her hand, but it was a very gentle grip. She could pull away if she wanted.

Or Fleck could bite him.

'Excessive.'

When they were down by everyone else, he let go.

Then, the lanterns were released. Harmoni wasn’t sure how it was done, but they were all released at the same time, sending thousands of glowing lights, all with their own pattern, into the sky.

Harmoni watched them with a faint smile on her face. In fact, she stood and watched the sky for longer than about half the crowd, vaguely aware of people going home around her.

She didn’t get any stares during the festivities, though Fleck got a few. She wasn’t the only one here who wasn’t an elf. It had been happy. Light.

She sighed.

All wistfully.

It had been a nice evening.

And the lantern makers earlier had assured her and Fleck that the lanterns were made of degradable materials. They were designed to break down into natural components. They'd shared this for environmental reasons, but it also meant they wouldn't be going around picking up lanterns tomorrow morning, when it was time to clean.

But now the place was dark and quiet. Everyone had either gone home, or were still watching the sky in silence. And while Harmoni could certainly keep doing that, she and Fleck should get back to the school. They needed to get some rest, so they could help out in the morning.

‘Ryo said we could stay here,’ Fleck pointed out.

‘I don’t want to impose.’

‘Of course you don’t.’

But he was laughing, as he said it.