If Kazumi had to choose one thing she loved about the summer time, it was that most mornings were sunny and bright, continuing on to the rest of the day. Of course, such a thing was not always guaranteed, but when one wakes up to a beautiful blue sky, they tend to enjoy it while it lasts. Such a thing put Kazumi in good spirits upon waking up, so much so that she got up with no issue, ready to start the day and successfully defeating the urge to catch a few extra z’s, much like what had happened the night before. This tome Kazumi was the one to wake Kira up, gently poking the fiery fox until her eyes fluttered open. “Hey there Kira, let’s go on a new adventure today.” The tables were truly turned today, as Kira was the one to decide to go back to bed. Kazumi simply shrugged. “Alright, but don’t blame me if you miss your breakfast time.” She taunted as she stood back up, leaving to prepare both her own breakfast and Kira’s knowing that she would probably wake up for food. In fact, she was correct about this, as Kira was now sitting next to her food bowl, wagging all six of her tails. Kazumi laughed as she poured the pet food in. “That’s what I thought.”

As they ate and Kazu got dressed for the day, she made a suggestion to her vulpix. “So we weren’t able to find a request to do properly yesterday, so I’m thinking we go back to the guild hall again and retry. How does that sound?” Kira agreed with happy squees and hopped around, now done with her food. That was Kazu’s cue to finish up her own meal too, as well as finish getting dressed. “Alrighty then, let’s go.”

The breeze was refreshing as the duo stepped out of the Magnolia apartment complex. The weather was so perfect today, that Kazumi almost couldn't believe it. Just a few days ago, maybe a week, she had been caught in a storm with pouring rain. But now, the sky was Sunny without a cloud in the sky, and the cool wind helped to prevent the burdens of the summer heat. It made the whole city feel more alive. Although, upon thinking about it, the whole city really did feel more lively than usual. People everywhere were moving boxes and hanging streamers and the like. Not a single person around her had a frown on their face. It certainly was strange, though Kazumi had yet to consider it a bad thing. Still, she would have liked to know what was going on. For that, she decided it would be best to get to the guild. As the Magical representatives of the City of Magnolia, surely someone at Fairy Tail knew something about what was going on? Kazumi had only one way to find out, and that was to continue moving and make it to the guild hall.

Soon enough, Kazumi found her way to the doors of Fairy Tail and was amazed by what she saw. Many people there were putting up decorations too. Clearly she had missed something, because it seemed like everyone in all of Magnolia was preparing for some sort of party or festival. Kazumi had to get to the bottom of this. She walked up to a guild mate who was on top of a ladder trying to hang up some lights. Kazumi recognized him but they had never really talked before. He was Always just in the background somewhere. “Hey!” She shouted, hoping that she didn’t startle him into falling. Luckily, he didn’t jump at all and instead simply looked down to see who was calling him. “What’s going on in town today?” The male FT member climbed down as Kazumi asked her question. “Oh yeah, you’re fairly new to Magnolia, right? That means you might not know Lord Medias yet.”
“Lord Medias?” The name sounded familiar, but Kazumi did not know who this lord was. Some sort of noble, surely, but anything else was unclear. The man continued his explanation. “Yeah! Lord Medias is the best! He’s always looking for an excuse to hold a festival for the City. Everyone loves him. By far the best parties he throws are the Birthday parties for his son. That’s what everyone is setting up for now.” Kazumi nodded in understanding. “I see. Sounds fun! Anything I can help with?” He nodded, climbing back up the ladder to continue decorating. “I suggest going to Lord Medias himself. He’s always looking for help with the set up of everything. You should find him down the big central street.” Kazumi thanked her fellow guild member and turned to Kira, who also seemed to be grabbing the contagious excitement from all around her. “Well girl, I know what we’re gonna do today.”

The two walled down the street, admiring all of the decorations that people were working so hard to set up. Kazumi could not help but smile at their smiling faces. This Medias must have really been a great person if he could influence such an infectious emotion onto an entire city. Kazu actually could not wait to meet him. Fortunately, she would not have to wait too long because she eventually came across what seemed to be the bulk of the party set up. Among the commoners, there was one man who absolutely stood out, and Kazumi knew right away that yes, this was Lord Medias.

The crystal maker walked up to him, clearing her throat to get his attention. “Excuse me, Lord Medias? My name is Kazumi and this is my partner Kira. We’re somewhat new to this ton and have never experienced one of your festivals before. Do you need any help?” Medias smiled warmly “of course! The more the merrier! I’ll even pay for your troubles!” He picked up a small paper from the folding table in front of him and handed it to Kazu. “Here’s a list of things that need to be done. You can do any of them in any order you would like, we have tons of people helping out with all the same jobs. Welcome aboard!”

Kazumi decided that she would start with decorating, since that seemed to be the biggest undertaking. She figured that that was why so many people were helping out with it. She picked up a box of colorful streamers and lights, and began looking for a spot to start out with. However, this was probably the most difficult thing about this whole job. With so many people helping out. There was barely any place left to decorate, yet a lot of the decorating itself still needed to be done. It was an interesting Paradox, to say the least. In order to fix this problem, she enlisted the help of local decorators asking each one if they knew a spot that still needed streamers and lights. After asking a few people, one eventually pointed out an area that was still empty enough to be filled. Perfect. She thanked the kind citizen and set herself up at that spot. It was time to get this job done.

Kazu and Kira worked together as a tag team, with Kira getting things out pf the box and handing them to Kazumi, and Kazumi trying to put them up in a way that was aesthetically pleasing. That was the issue with having so many different decorators, everyone would have their own opinion of what looked nice. However, Kazumi was amazed to realize upon looking around that the combined efforts of nearly all of Magnolia actually looked really nice in a random and unorganized sort of way. She really liked it, that was for sure. It made her happy to be a part of it. Even though she was still unfamiliar with all of this stuff regarding Lord Medias, she was glad that he still let her help out. It was a good experience for her, and a way to help give back to the City that she had quickly grown to love.

As she and Kira continued to decorate the side of the building she stood next to, she was able to have a chat with the people around her. It was actually pretty fascinating how many different people were here helping out. A couple of people had called off of work for this, and some businesses closed entirely just for today. Men and women of all ages, old and young were here because clearly, that was just how much this all meant to them. Lord Medias really gave them something to look forward to every year. How generous of him.

Soon enough, Kazumi decided that she had done all of the decorating she could without making everything look like too much of a cluttered mess. When she stepped back and looked at it, she was actually pretty proud of herself. It had been a very long time since she had done something like this, and she found it to be very fun. Still, there was more work to be done. Kazu looked through the list to pick out what was next. “Hmm, how about food?”

Kazumi’s next task was to gather up food from the local businesses who had apparently offered their services, and then bring them to the tables at the center of the party. Kazu was glad for this because what kind of party wouldn’t want a snack bar? She decided to start with some cupcakes from Olly’s bakery and work her way down the street. Of course, she would have to make multiple trips, but that was the price one had to pay for only having two arms and a weight limit. Sure, Kira could carry some food on her back as they walked, but that was still pretty limiting.

In any case, the back and forth food delivery kept going on for a while, killing time until it was almost time for the party itself to begin. Everyone who helped out began to line up in order to receive their payment for setting up this massive party. Luckily for Kazumi, she did not end up too far in the back of the line, settling for the middle. She had been at the food bar puttings some meals down, and she immediately joined everyone once she realized there was a line going on.

Eventually it was Kazumi’s turn to receive her earnings for the day. “Ah yes, it was Kazumi, right” Kazumi nodded, amazed that he could remember so easily. This guy was the real deal, all right. Lord Medias, now joined by his son whom Kazu assumed was the birthday boy himself, held out a modest bag of jewels, dropping them into Kazumi’s hands. “Thank you for your help, Miss Kazumi. I sincerely hope that you enjoy the party that you all put together.”
“I should be thanking you. This has been a great experience and I can see why you are so beloved by Magnolia.” She walked away happy, but she didn’t leave. Oh no. Now it was party time. Who in their right mind would work so hard to set up a festival and then no partake in it themselves? That was not a question that could be answered, but Kazu could at least speak for herself in saying that she was going to this festival.

The party itself was very fun. Whenever a good song played, Both Kazumi and Kira would be found on the dance floor, dancing together. All the other times they did things like eat at the snack bar, which opened Kazu’s horizons in regards to what local eateries were around to walk into and have a meal. It was very educational. Kazumi would also mingle with other party goers, trying to get to know the people of magnolia. The whole event was pretty great. When all was said and done and Kazumi was too tired to keep partying, she went home even though the party would continue for who knew how long. Even so, Kazumi was glad that she was at least able to be there for as long as she was. Besides, she was tired out, who could blame her? Of course, one this was for sure; she was going to get an EXCELLENT sleep that night.

-exit-