Novalis, the Genius Magineer

"Say, how would you like a pair of shades for your eyes? I honestly wouldn't want to hide them, but I know how folks around here can be."

"Well, Mi- err, Avec, that would be appreciated. I already had one human run away from me today."

"Really? Do you know who it was?"

"Well, she was pink, very vibrantly... pink. She took one look at me and my partner, and dashed off without a word."

"Oh, you must be talking about ole Saturnalia. I wouldn't worry about her so much. She has this thing with new folks in town. She absolutely has to throw them a party."

Oh great. A party. A social event likely involving members of this society I haven't met yet.

"Wait a minute. I've seen your name before. You're on a plaque in Selene Castle. I probably would have said so earlier, but my mind is busy making sure things go well for the Princess."

"Oh yea, I was interviewed one day. Busybody bugger too, wouldn't let me just chill out and make my music, he had to keep asking questions."

"Well, it's an honor to meet you in person. But I must excuse myself now, as I still have other preparations to check on."

Avec nodded as she led me back to the front of her home, stopping only once to levitate a pair of sunglasses from a table in the hallway. She presented them to me, and I placed them over my eyes. Instantly the world darkened considerably, and I was amazed she could find her way around without tripping. I left her home with another farewell and a thanks for her time, making sure to not accidentally call her 'Miss' again.

I checked my map again, searching for the next closest name, which happened to be a human woman named Paloma Vesper, in charge of party refreshments. I turned towards her dot, following it slowly until I was almost on top of it, before looking up for her. I saw a small group of people gesturing and laughing, pointing at a slightly dark skinned woman with a vibrant rose colored hair, who was clearly tipsy. I checked my map again, and sure enough, the drunken girl was my target. Perfect...

Sighing, I made my way over to Miss Vesper, tapping her lightly on the shoulder to get her attention. She blearily raised her head and looked at me, before letting out a drunken laugh.

"Whatsh dish? Do you thinksh that jusht cuz I'm drunk I'm an easy target for a young lad shuch as yourshelf?"

"What? No! Miss Vesper, may I escort you home? You aren't fit for public right now."

"Ha! Public or private, you aren' gettin' aaany of thish."

"Huh? No, wait. That's not what I meant. Look, my name is Novalis, I'm here in town overseeing preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow. You're in charge of the beverages, correct?"

At the mention of the impending celebration, she seemed to sober up at a speed I've never heard of. She straightened up, her coordination returned, and her speech improved drastically.

"My apologies for the state I was in. Yes, my name is Paloma Vesper, and I was asked to provide drinks for the party some time ago."

Huh? What just happened? She sobered up quicker than... I don't really know what to compare it to.

"Umm, yes, well about that. Could you make sure not to put anything alcoholic out, at least not until the little boys and girls are away?"

"But of course! What type of woman do you think I am? I have a little baby girl of my own, after all."

Huh, that's a surprise.

"She's currently at a friend's house for the night."

Oh, that's why she was drinking.

"OK then, Miss Vesper, I thank you for your time then. I'll let you be on your way then."

"Wait! Why don't you come with me, and sample some of the drinks I already have on my list? None of them are alcoholic, so you can be assured you will be capable of continuing your business in town afterwards."

"That's actually a good idea. Although, I'm assuming that from your name and Brand, you deal primarily in fruit related drinks?"

"That's correct. Is there a problem with that?"

"Well, I'm allergic to rogberries. I am not able to judge anything with them in it."

"Rogberries? You must have important connections to have been able to drink anything using them. They're rare, you know. Unfortunately, I'm afraid you'll have to settle for lower class beverages today and tomorrow."

Oh yeah. Duh. Princess Lunara did mention how hard they were to come by. But I couldn't take the risk, either. I nodded my head and followed as Miss Vesper led me to her home. She led me through Starville, ignoring the looks of distaste from some of the citizens. I could tell that today wasn't the first day she walked through town hammered. The looks of dislike even passed over me, and I felt increasingly uneasy until we finally arrived at her home.

She lived in a small, two story home, red brick with light orange trim. Her garden and home were impeccably clean, which went against my first impressions of her. Apparently, based on the few trees I saw in her backyard as we were rounding the street to get to her house, she grew some of her ingredients right at her home. When we got inside, I noticed that everything was much tidier than expected. She was obviously a good mother, as nothing was in reach for a child that ought not to be. She was humming to herself as I followed her into her cellar, which was about twice the size of her home. She had various wines in all shapes and sizes, locked inside safety glass cases. In the center of the room was a long oak table, which already had a few drinks on it, along with notes about consistency, taste, and alcohol content. Impressive.

She proceeded to mix different concoctions of drinks, some sweet, some sour, some bitter, but they all had one thing in common. Perfection. These had to be some of the best drinks made from the basest ingredients I had ever tasted. I gave due compliments, bringing a slight blush to her cheeks. She told me to stop over exaggerating, to which I told her I was merely telling the truth. I discussed some of the more obscure combinations she had thought about, and found out that any new drink she thought of she tested on herself first. Thanks to her self testing process, however, new alcoholic drinks would often get her drunk, and so she suffered in silence when she needed new ingredients.

After going through a large quantity of these beverages, it was only natural when I needed to relieve myself. I excused myself and went upstairs, making my way into the bathroom at the end of the hall. Her bathroom was light pink with pale yellow accentuating it, a very light and comfortable room. After I was done, I made sure to clean up and left, almost bumping into Paloma on my way out. Looking at her, I noticed she was exhibiting very nervous signs, with her eyes looking left and right, and shuffling her hands.

"Miss Vesper, is something bothering you?"

"Umm. Well. My husband left awhile back, and Sangria, my daughter, doesn't have a father. You've been very sweet, and didn't try to hurt me today. I was wondering if you were in a relationship, or a person interested in single commitments?"

A relationship? I knew I liked the Princess, but I also knew my feelings were likely to be unrequited in the long run. I had even been invited to a polygamous relationship in school. But I didn't have interest in them right now. In my heart, there was only one woman. And she was more than enough to keep me interested until she herself rejected me.

"I'm sorry, Miss Vesper, but I'm afraid I currently only have one lady in my heart."

"I understand. She's very lucky to have you."

"Oh dear, no. I haven't made my intentions clear. And besides, it would be me lucky to have her, not the other way around."

"Why not confess? I'm sure you would make a great couple."

Yeah, right. Me with all my imperfections, with the Princess? Most certainly not a match made for the history books. I shook my head lightly, smiling at her. I excused myself again, as I still had a couple more folks to check on. I gave my sincerest thanks and lavished more praise on her drinks before making my way away from her home. I was almost on the road again when she called out to me.

"Well, thank you for your time, Novalis. And come on back anytime, I'm more than happy to have a friend like you around."

Celestina damnit! Another friend? I think avoiding friends in this town is harder than it should be. I sighed, turning around and waving a hand at her, with a large smile on my face. Then again, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. I could use some friends, if they're true.

Unknown POV:

"I don't know who this guy is, but look at that freakish horn. He looks like a human, so why does he have a filthy Celestial horn?"

"Eww, right? Like, is he some sort of filthy half breed? Grooossssss."

I could hear my girlfriend laughing derisively next to me. Looking over at her olive green eyes, I ran my hand through her orange hair.

"Don't worry, babe. I'll go teach him a lesson and make him leave this town. We already have enough Celestials breathing our air and making it muddy."

I looked over at my 'friend' and jerked my head towards the new guy. Time to go rough him up. Snow sighed, obviously unwilling to do my bidding again, but powerless to resist. 

Dusk Etherea's POV:

After being dragged around and made to try on all sorts of clothes, Fantasia finally let me out of her shop, satisfied with her work. Now I was wearing a ridiculous crop top and a mid length skirt, with knee high boots and I even somehow got roped into wearing a gaudy necklace. What's wrong with a t shirt and sweatpants? Fantasia practically fainted when I said that's all I needed...

I continued through town, eventually making it a bit outside while following one of my names on the map. Demura Shina. I had been warned that she was very shy, so I was going to make myself known as carefully as possible. As I was walking through a patch of woods on the outskirts of town, I came across a quaint yellow house with sky blue trim and white accents. Very soft looking home.

The sound of birdsong jolted me from examining the house, and I made my way around the side towards the song. Upon reaching the backyard, I found a light pink Celestial girl singing to some birds in a tree, who were singing a very pretty harmony. Well, with one exception. As I watched, the girl walked under the branches and lifted one of the birds.

"Oh, little one, we need less you and more we. Yes, you have a pretty little voice. No. No, you can't be the star. No, this is a team project. Yes, you can be the star next time."

She seemed to converse with the little bird, with her speech punctuated by little chirps and cheeps. When I approached though and softly greeted her, she jumped and squealed slightly before shakily turning to look at me. A few of her birds also flew away.

"Oh, I'm sorry for spooking you and your birds. I'm here on business from Soluna regarding the ceremony tomorrow. I was told you'd be in charge of the fanfare music. Is that true, Miss Demura?"

The girl before me nodded her head, part of her blonde hair masking one of her eyes. She looked almost ready to bolt and run from me with nary a breeze to spook her.

"Well, from what I heard, the birds will be lovely to hear during the ceremony. It's very pretty, without being too distracting."

The girl whimpered slightly, almost shrinking in on herself. I felt a rustling on my back, signifying Fangsly had woken up from my sleep spell earlier. When his head poked over my shoulder to give me a surly look, the girl in front of us suddenly perked up and rushed over!

"Ohmigoshisthatadragonbaby? Ohhe'ssocuteandpreciousandbaby!"

The girl began speaking at hypersonic speed and intensity, practically bowling me over as she rushed behind me to look at Fangsly up close. Wait, where was that shy girl?! 

"Umm, yes, it's a baby dragon. I had to hatch him for my school graduation. Or rather, try to. I just succeeded."

"Ooh, what does he eat, what does he do for fun, does he sleep a lot, does he breathe fire, where will he be during the party, do you need help with him, does he like bunnies as friends not food...?"

The questions rattled out of Demura's mouth at a slightly less intense rate than before, but still made me slightly dizzy to deal with.

"I'm sorry, he just woke up and we have more work to do today. I'll be on my way, but I promise you can play with him later if he's so inclined."

She looked down, obviously saddened, but I couldn't take too much time here. It was obvious that she had her job handled, and I still had to see to food preparation at a farm outside of town. I excused myself and bade her farewell before leaving. Whew, everyone in this town seemed to be a handful. I hoped Novalis wasn't having any trouble.