Everything was set up, the treats were made, and it was all just perfect! Now all he had to do was wait for someone to come by.

He snuck himself a treat and fluffed up his feathers happily. It seemed to be a wonderful success, though there wasn't much you could go wrong with when it came to melting sugar and rolling them into delicious fruity cones. He was definitely making these again!

the harpy child had wandered, certainly. they dont often wander too far from arwen, but arwen was asleep for now, as far as they could tell. safe. they always knew where she was.

they wandered into polaris, the noise peaking their curiosity. the pure energy in polaris buzzed beneath their feet like insect wings. it was pleasant.

they look note to a specific creatures stand. one that was big, bigger than them... but also had feathers. feathers bright and colorful, different colors than theirs but.. like them. they also seemed to have some interesting stuff on display. the child walked over, wings fluffed up in almost anxiety.

"h...hello..?" they chirped, their voice buzzed in chorus. 'what is this?"

@James

Aran was lost - well, he knew how to get around for the most part. Vague shapes of the things around him didn't offer much in the ways of actually knowing which cave he was in, but he could use his other senses to figure that out if he was trying to get somewhere specific. He wasn't now, but the scent of something sweet caught his nose and the bustling sounds of other gembound, too.

Aran made his way over, the smell reminded him of the taste of the stuff he gave to Kimera - sweet and tasty smelling. But he couldn't exactly see who or what it was. So approaching would be the only other answer. Of course, he didn't feel the need to be cautious.

The form of someone approaching the smell was easy for him to spot through the shapes of the area around him, but the voice sounded shy. He would be listening to what the other gembound said before fully making his way over.

@James

James perked up and peered down at the little harpy, "Hello! These are 'fruit rolls'. They're made from fruit juice that I heated over a flame until it turned gooey. Then I spread it out over this slab and rolled them up! You can take one- or two, even, if you have a friend."

The stallion smiled warmly and fluffed up his feathers in a friendly manner, before his eyes caught a flash of green.

"Aran!", he said happily, "I didn't know you'd be here, how are you?"

They felt a little movement in his feathers and moved a wing to nose inside, snuffling at the grey feathered baby he hid within. He lowered his wings a bit so that he wasn't smothering Pegasus, before turning back to Aran and Redwood.

"You both can take a treat and a trinket," he said, gesturing to both, "I made the trinkets from my shed feathers!"

@Redwood @Aran @Pegasus

they watched as the other creatures came into view, getting more nervous, but trying to soothe themselves. this was obviously a place where public activity was encouraged. they weren't here to ambush them.

they perked at the words "fruit roll". the trinkets interested them greatly, but... arwen ate fruits sometimes. and she loved sweet things. arwen would love something like this, wouldn't she?

they nodded, taking 2 of the treats in their palms, aswell as 2 little trinkets. "f-for a friend, yes.. thank you, sir.. you are very kind" they twittered with a small smile. it was only polite.

they looked to the others, before running off. they didn't want to spend too much time away from arwen, and now they had presents! they just hoped arwen liked them.

exit redwood (sorry for entering and leaving so fast, they wouldnt have much reason to stay sjsjjd)

@James (for visibility) @Aran (also for visibility)

The child, at least what he assumed was one, took a couple of the sweets and left. Aran did hear the answer to his question, so he did end up approaching fully. Making sure to not bump into what the horse made, Aran didn't make any attempt to see better - he simply couldn't. It didn't matter, anyway, he would be fine soon enough.

The deer's ears pricked at the mention of feathers, though. Did James have feathers? Since when? Aran last saw the horse when he was still... well a horse. The blindness didn't bother him too much most days, but times like this was when he truly wished he could properly see things. To see the candies and trinkets James had made - did he take the knowledge of the scroll Aran showed up cycles ago?

"I didn't know i'd come here either." He admitted, tone of voice the usual.

"Could you describe the trinkets to me? It appears that i've gone blind and cannot see them."

His fogged-out eyes would give it away, surely. But it was good to mention it anyway. Aran didn't think he could explain why to the other gembound, though. Not here, at least. He didn't notice the kid that was bundled up in the gembound's feathers.

@James

James' eyes widened, "Oh no- what happened? Oh um- we can talk about it later."

He stepped forward and picked up one of the trinkets, "I grew wings since we last met. I fell off a cliff and was seriously injured, and when I came to again I emerged from my chrysalis and had these."

He brushed his feathers against Tahi and smiled gently, "I think they're pretty. They're brown like a hawk's, with the undersides colored white where the down is, and pink, purple, and blue at the ends, underneath my edge feathers. I made my shed feathers into things like earrings, bracelets, and necklaces."

James lifted one up and set it on Aran's antler, laughing gently.

"There, now you're decorated," he giggled, and picked up a fruit roll, "Have this, too! They're really good."

@Aran

When their parent asked them to join him in the festival, Pegasus had said yes and agreed to go. So much stuff was going on, too. Many gembound wandering around, setting things up, or just hanging out near the shops others made. It made them wonder what the point of all of this was, but it was fun so Pegasus didn't move away. Maybe they could ask james and Comet to explore with them. The areas seemed to have a lot of stuff to explore.

Plus Polaris just looked nice.

Pegasus didn't say anything just yet, wondering if the gembound with antlers was ignoring them or not.

James seemed startled at what Aran said. It was understandable, Tahi had been just as startled to find out, if anything more angry. He seemed to be okay with talking about it later, of which Aran was glad for, it would ruin the mood of this place to talk of something like that. Maybe James would get angry with him for it, though Aran didn't much care if other gembound disliked him.

The story made Aran wonder how James going into his chrysalis brought more good, while for Aran it brought bad. Maybe it was because the other gembound had good karma. Either way, the deer was somewhat glad the horse didn't get permanently damaged by getting hurt badly.

"They do sound pretty." He agreed.

Aran wished he could see them for himself, but maybe with time.

The feather necklace was placed on one of his antlers, and Aran wondered if he should find a way to move it later. To somewhere safer than on his antler, but the bag seemed fine, even if he needed to make a new one using what James taught him. That would come with time, too.

"Thank you." he replied, taking the fruit roll to munch on it. It was good, sweet like James had said. When he was done, he took to socializing, even though they could take the time to talk about things later.

How have you been" he asked.

@James

James perked up, "Wonderful! I've been wonderful. I even have someone for you to meet!"

He turned and nudged the soft mound of feathers resting between his wings, spreading out his wing so Pegasus could slide to the ground if he wanted to.

"Peggy~," he cooed softly, "Come say hi, baby."

Oh how he loved Pegasus. He loved him as much as he did Comet. His two perfect children, his entire world.

@Aran