Salem lay on the ground waking up from his nap. The battle was so hard for no reason. People lay on the ground in a way that can only be described as a hellscape. Salem looked on the bright side and was glad the fight was won in their favor. It was a really tough battle. A couple of times not he even thought he was gonna die. The man was not expecting a dragon transformation to happen. The dragon slayer was ridiculous. If it was not for the fact that Salem could eat Nature magic. Things would have gone from bad to worse.

He got to the camp pot and used his magic to call for some water. The water he made was easier on the body and great for all kinds of things. It held the life force of nature without the dysentery. Since he was nice and did not want to do that to people. The water he made could be used for a variety of purposes. It was just draining on his mana, and Salem did not want to be known as the moving water tank. The only reason he did not go around doing it often.

Looking out upon the land as clean up was underway. Salem was feeling a lot better. The bodies would get buried, becoming great fertilizer. The place was going to become beautiful in some time. It would just take some time but the world would return. Salem loved the entire thought of how the place would return.

“Saturn! Where are you?”

Salem started walking around and looking for him and his pet. He believed they got separated at the end of the battle. The place being only so big they should be able to find each other if they were alive. A feeling of sadness started to pervade him as he looked. He would feel bad if the Rune Knight was dead. Not that he cared for the organization. He cared for his furry friend. Salem wanted to put him in a collar and ride him into the sunset. If he was dead it would definitely never happen.

WC:358

Saturn’s first conscious breath was one of hurt, he’d wheeze and sit up. Grunting as he could feel pain flare up across his body. He was missing that neck cloth that he ussualyl was wearing and a good chunk of his body felt like it was bruised. He’d look about for a moment and noted that he was by himself in some kind of hole.

Everything from the fight was blurry; he couldn’t remember much of it since he had spent a great deal of time in it just trying to heal people and keep them up. There were a few people he recalled not being able to save and that made him incredibly sad. He knew that salem had told him that you couldn’t fix death; but it still was frustrating. Climbing out of the deep gash in the ground he found himself amidst a field of people milling about. Some looking lost; some just dazed and a couple trudging about collecting the people that were wandering.

”Oh! Saturn! There you are!”

Saturn felt his leg get practically ran into as echo hugged his tall friend. The demi-god winced a bit and reached down to pick up his mindrache companion. Returning the hug with one arm as he looked around.

”What happened Echo?”

”I think we won is what happened. I got knocked out a little bit after you did.”

”I remember… some kind of… lizard slamming into me and that’s about it.”

”Yeah you got creamed by someones mount I think.”

Saturn sighed a bit and started to walk back towards where he remembered the camp being; somewhat tired but grateful. There were a few soldiers he’d have to heal here or there. But when his music sputtered and eventually one of his songs failed he’d just shake his head. He spent most if not all of his essence trying to heal people during the battle.

A familiar voice reached out from the camp and he couldn’t help but recognize that it was salem that was calling for him. Setting echo on his shoulder the demi-god hurried to try to find his friend. They were in short supply to be honest which he always found as a little strange.

”Salem?”

Saturn was a little bewildered that the man was looking for him; then again they had spent much of this conflict in one another's company. So maybe it was less bewildering and more… just actual concern. They might have thought that he was dead. Which if it wasn’t for his position in that pit… might have been the case. It wasn’t long before he’d find his friend and they both definitely looked worse for wear.

”There you are.”

[450/4000]

The sound of an every so familiar voice was a relief. It was the same feeling one would get as they wrestle their dog from the jaws of an alligator. A bit euphoric with a lot of adrenaline. Salem was feeling so good he could not stop the laugh from escaping him.

“Bububububu” It took him a few moments to collect himself. “My bad. Just happy to see the both of you, one piece and not in a grave. I thought we were not gonna make it for a second. I thought we were all gonna be goners.”

Salem applied a bit of water to his hair. He had started to notice how dirty he looked when the joy of finding the others dimmed a bit. The fae was particular about his appearance and felt the need to take a bath. He was glad he was not among the only ones to think that. One of the earlier things that got built while he was unconscious was a bathhouse. Salem neglected to head over because he was too busy searching.

“You two wanna come with me for a bath and some food first? Near death makes me hungry and we are a bit messed up. We can continue the work when we are in a better headspace.”

If the two accepted. Salem would make his way over to the bathhouse with them. The water there did take some of the stuff he made from the tank. It was soothing and had a luxuriant smell to it. Salem would have to ignore the rumbling building up in his stomach. The inconvenience of the human body never ceasing to amaze him, as he paid their way in. It was his treat to a happy survival to the trio.

The place was nice to say the least. He made his way to the men's side and got to work. Stripping out of his armor and gear, he placed it in the temporarily issued waterproof storage ring. Splashing his head, Salem grabbed the towel and performed the pre-bathing ritual accustomed to the country. He found the need to make oneself clean before they soaked in the water to be weird on multiple levels, but when in Joyan he would do as they did. This could be called the first decent bath he had taken since he got to this country. He cleaned really well before stepping into the warm waters of the tub. Releasing a groan from how good it felt.

“Are the two of you planning on helping with the reconstruction?”

Salem would ask the two of them if and when they got in the water. He held a soaked towel on his head. Looking more like a stereotype of a local. The tub was large and built to even accommodate a vice captain who was said to be a giant. So it had levels and was really more like a swimming pool with steps. People could go in the water as deeply or as shallow as they wanted. They would simply have to walk a few feet to do so. Salem was more on an edge so the water was up to his neck. His face could be seen while his blue hair cascaded into the water and floated about.


WC: 548 TWC:906 /4,000

Saturn wasn’t expecting to hear the laugh that escaped from salem; the other must have been worried just like he was. Though likely varying degrees as it was hard to tell the emotions of people still. Something that he was trying to understand; just like the languages he was trying to learn this was just another one.

”I will be honest, I wasn’t expecting to find myself where I did. Nor was I expecting to hurt all over like this. I am glad that we made it though.”

Saturn didn’t seem to understand the implications of what ‘making it’ meant. Though he spoke with the certain innocence that someone unaware of the dangers of life would entail. A certain level of rose tinted glasses that only someone that truly didn’t understand death even after all of it around him.

”I think most of the luck on our part was cause the fighting was heavier elsewhere.”

Echo seemed like he was all right, though there were a few welts that were certainly making themselves known. He had taken quite a beating compared to saturn who looked mostly fine although he lacked the top portion of his outfit it was clear that didn’t bother him. When salem asked if they’d like to go bathe and get some food? Saturn couldn’t help but nod and echo seemed to melt at the mention of the bath.

”That sounds like a good time.”

”After all of that? Yeah…”

Unlike echo or salem, saturn wasn’t entirely informed on what the joyans did when they bathed. But he did know that he needed to take off the clothing that was still on him in order to do so. Kind of like going swimming in the ocean. You took off your garb for that too. The washing part that you needed to do before stepping in was lost on him; he’d stare at salem for a few brief instances realizing that before going into the bath proper he’d need to do the same. Rinsing off took a little longer for him, given that there was just… so much of saturn to wash.

Saturn would take a seat in the mid range of the bath, sinking in and letting the water slowly seep into him. Feeling the stress practically melt out of his body he’d sigh softly, noting what salem was doing with the towel on his head the demi-god would do the same. Placing it there and letting himself slide down till he could practically blow bubbles in the water.

”I think staying and helping the people rebuild would be nice, they’ve suffered for a while from what I’ve heard so seeing people from all around coming to help them would also help them be at ease.”

”yeah; though saturn is gonna probably do some heavy lifting with his healing and how much he can lift I’ll probably see if I can run messages and stuff like that. Free up some bodies cause I’m so faaaaaaaaaaaaaast”

Echo felt himself sliding into the water and rather than sit in it like the other two he would just float around slowly. A towelette covering his eyes as he did. He looked in a state of bliss but was still managing to talk. Saturn would have to make sure he didn’t float away or something and bump into others if they joined them.

”I don’t know how long I’ll be staying though; I know if the rune knights send for me I can’t just ignore it.”

”Well when they sent you here I think they knew what they were doing saturn.”

”Yeah…”

Saturn sighed softly and just let the water soak into him; if they did summon him it would be too soon. He still wanted to learn about the culture of this place after all. Saturn pondered for a few moments and then asked what he felt was right.

”What about you Salem? Are you going to stay or do you have other plans?”

[1,114/4000]

Salem dipped his head underneath the water before coming back up. He did it quickly so he could listen as Saturn spoke.

“I plan on sticking around a bit. I have to help with some agricultural stuff. From surveying to helping some of the other odds and ends when it comes to farming.There is a ton of stuff that needs to get done. If you want to give healing people a break. You can try your hand at a different kind of healing. The healing of the land. It normally pays people back a lot more than people.”

The work was often simplified because of magic anyway, it was a tool that worked like the best of men. One spell could water a field or complete a week's worth of plowing in an hour.
Salem was adept at making sure land was suitable for people to live on, as well as making sure it stayed that way. The restoration of the natural environment was the main reason Salem bothered to stay. That and the stellar paycheck. If it involved getting paid it always made his life easier.

“Not to mention that at the end of today. They are going to try and throw a large celebration. It should be something to look forward to.”

The sentence was spoken like an open ended invitation. Salem was trying to invite Saturn along, without being the one to do it himself. He wanted to be the one that got asked instead. Salem believed himself to be a stunning specimen of Faehood. Anyone would be blessed to be attracted to him. It was just not often that he found someone that was his type. Salem took on the human form for convenience but he even preferred a more furry appearance. Even more so if they gave him dog vibes.

Salem got up a bit. He laid flat on his back and just started floating on the water. He enjoyed the sensation of doing so. It would be harder for some others to do it as easily as he did. Salem, being beloved by water, swam as if it was breathing. A simple float on top of the water was the same as standing in place to him.

If he was invited to the celebration he would be sure to accept. He had no reason to turn down the big lug. If he was not invited then he would just try harder till there was a clear sign of rejection. Most Fae could always be patient to get what they wanted. Salem was one of them.

“Before getting out. Would you like me to wash your back?”

Salem kept his tone polite and light. He also made sure he was not drooling and kept a level look. He was trying his hardest to make sure he was not looking creepy with the way he asked. He would wait to move based on what Saturn would say in response.


WC: 494 TWC:1400 /4,000

The water was very relaxing and saturn was certainly enjoying it, it washed away his worries and he could feel himself sinking in further into it. His ears flicked a bit as the other spoke about helping with agricultural stuff. Growing plants and tending to the land was something he wasn’t very familiar and the behemoth sheepishly rubbed at his neck; though the motion was a little sluggish due to how he was feeling mixed with the water tugging at his form.

”I’m not familiar with healing the land; I imagine that taking a lot of energy to do so. But if that’s something that would help the people I’d probably try my hand at it.”

He’d sigh softly; he liked the idea of helping people. More so than the fighting; he wasn’t much good at that if at all. Echo was better at it; he had a little bit of training compared to saturn he thought. Hearing that there was going to be a large celebration saturn hummed thoughtfully.

”That sounds like something I wouldn’t mind attending. Are you going?”

He was curious if salem was going to go; but if they weren’t he probably would feel a little awkward not knowing anyone there. Large crowds also had a habit of gathering around him. Saturn exhaled slowly and felt echo bump into him. He’d gently pat the mindrache before noticing that they had fallen asleep in the water. Making sure to keep an eye on the little guy as he floated along eventually Salem offered to wash his back. Something that was difficult to do on your own. Not seeing the harm in it Saturn adjusted in his seat enough to where his back was open.

”Sure, I’ve had a rough time trying to get that before getting in so… if you need me to I can get yours as well.”

He didn’t seem to get the implications or understand what salem was thinking about. Even if there was some sort of desire there saturn wasn’t the sort to pick up on context clues. Fellow was absolutely clueless!

”I’ll have to see if I can find another outfit to wear to the celebration. What I had earlier is practically in tatters and if it’s a celebration people won’t want to see that.”

Saturn crossed his arms; uncertain of what he could wear to a place like this; or a celebration like this. There was so little time to get ready. He had never been to a large gathering like this and that was fine too. But he wanted to make sure he was doing it right the first time. Not because that he wanted to do so, but for the people to see that sort of thing without worry.

[1,574/4000]

The blue one gave a head shake in affirmation. To him it counted as Saturn inviting him. Salem was putting in work to bag a knight in shiny fur.

“I would not bring it up if I had no intention of going.” Salem felt his pulse lightly quicken when Saturn offered to scrub his back for him in return. “It would be much appreciated if you do. Let me just get started.”

Salem lightly skipped over. Grabbing the needed washing supplies and equipment. Most people would not bath inside the large shared area, but Salem could clean it with his magic so he was not worried. He scooted closer like a little spider monkey on the big lugs back and made a nice lather.

“Here I come.”

He gave a warning before putting his hands to work. Salem was grinning like a fox in a hen house. He considered Saturn to be flirting back or at least giving out some signals. It was why he was making sure to be extra gentle as he scrubbed. Feeling the soft fur underneath his wandering fingertips.

“Please. People would be happy to have such a hard working guy come. Besides I am sure you can pull off most fashion with ease. Especially if you ever come and visit Desierto. We wear open face vests as shirts often and the pants are loose. The golden sand against your golden fur would look amazing. I gotta say. Your fur is actually really soft. Magic or do you have a specific brand of products you enjoy using?”

Salem was making sure to put his back into it. He was talking while he put in the work. Making sure to remove any grime around. Off of the body with the bubbles, and with the rinse he would shoot the water out of the area. Then replace it with a little more to keep the levels the same. A nifty little party trick. He would listen to any response about products before finishing.

“I am about done back here unless you want me to wash your whole body. They even have brushes for hair if you need some help.”

The water fae named Salem still had his smile. His tone would indicate that it was just a friendly thing he offered to everyone. Not knowing it was just him with an angle and a good impression. If Salem was apathetic and not a fan. He would have already drowned him. It is not like it would have been the first time he ever did such a thing.

WC: 429 TWC:1829 /4,000

Seeing the nod from Salem made saturn wonder if the other had been to large celebrations like this before. If he hadn’t any intention the larger being would have been very confused. But he wasn’t about to argue with the other if they had said that. Many people were friendly and with the other skipping over to get started on him the demi-god pondered somewhat.

”I suppose that makes sense. Sometimes… I’m not sure. Conversations sometimes are not the easiest for me. Since I still don’t understand intent in words.”

Saturn admitted fairly bluntly and sat there as he felt the other get into his fur; he was an honest demi-god and he wasn’t going to say that he knew his way in and out of things. With the sensation of those fingers in his fur he’d sigh softly. The softness of his fur was certainly a surprise; he kept good care of it. Usually by just bathing and using his healing magic to make sure his fur was well groomed.

”I’ve never been to Desertio. Only places I have been were fiore, sin and now Joya. So different in each place. They wear that kind of thing? Must be very comfortable. Golden sand huh?”

There was a brief moment of pause; how do you explain what you do to your fur? The demi-god was thankful that the other was helping him and eventually he’d manage to figure out an answer to the others question.

”I use healing magic on the fur so that it keeps its luster, sometimes I can’t bathe the same way as this so… have to make due. Seems to work just fine.”

Seeing that salem was cleaning out the area after rinsing his fur saturn’s brows would furrow a little bit. Maybe that was something worth learning how to do too, cleaning water for the future. He’d have to ask salem about that. Hearing that the other was just about done with saturn’s back and then offered [or at least the felt that he offered?] to wash more of him.

”I can reach most of me, but the tail is kinda hard to work with sometimes. If you’d like to? Then I can return the favor on your back.”

Saturn said somewhat cheerfully; he was an innocent soul so had no idea of the things salem was capable of doing. Even less sure of the dark things he could do. He was very unfamiliar of that to be honest. He’d ponder for a moment and then consider what else he could ask.

”If that’s the sort of outfits that they were in desertio whats the chances of finding them here in joya? Or is it better to just ‘shop local’ as some call it?”

[2,033/4000]

“That’s a surprise. That would mean you did not notice I was flirting with you the entire day. Not that it makes much difference or you should think too hard about it. I wonder what I should do about that.”

Salem said this softly under his breath in Desiertian, after Saturn made a comment about not understanding intent. He did not want to make the situation weird for everyone. He also did not think Saturn would notice since he moved on in the conversation.

“Sure. It is no problem. You will need to move out of the water if you need me to go lower. Then you can do me. With or without the towel if it makes it easier for you to stick your tail out.”

Salem would give him a moment to follow him out. It was a little drain by the bath to allow for better washing. Buckets were also provided to scoop out water. It could be used to rinse as well as a bucket to make soap with. When Saturn would get out he would get to work. Grabbing the tail firmly, before stroking and applying a good lather.

“Good thing you did not take too much time in the water. Your fur could have started coming off.”

He repeated a rumor about fur and feathers as he started to get to work. It did not take much for Salem to make sure he got it clean. It was a much smaller surface area compared to the entirety of Saturn’s back. He did not even need magic to get the dirt out and make sure it was clean. It all happened in the span of about two minutes. Salem made sure to fill Saturn in about some aspects of his culture. He was a proud Desiertian and would not cease to talk about the place. He stood up, changing out the buckets, and putting up his hair.

“I guess it is your turn to wash me if you wish. You can hit up my back.”

He added a thought about Saturn being able to wash anywhere of him. Long as the man made sure to do it with his own body. His skin was smooth and flawless. It had the trademark Desiertian golden color that looked like the sun kissed earth, as well as a glaring scar on his back. The scar was long and looked like it would connect to his heart, if whatever caused it went deep enough. Too other fae it would look like a bad blemish about how negligent he could be. Allowing himself to get scared like that without being a monster was a tough notion.


WC: 446 TWC:2,275 /4,000

Whatever salem said under his breath wasn’t anything that saturn picked up on; if he had he wouldn’t have understood the words anyways. Given that he was largely learning fiorian in and out before trying to learn other languages. The demi-god let out a little hum as he continued to talk regarding the idea of going lower. So he’d have to adjust by standing up, allowing the other to get at the rather bushy tail with the rings. There was a ton of fur in one place; very thick and most of the tail was pretty much like that. Compared to the rest of saturn’s body where the fur was fairly short.

”Like- ah! That yes. Hah. Fur comes off in the water?”

Saturn seemed a bit surprised at hearing that fur could come off in the water; he had never had that issue once. Maybe it was due to the way he kept treating his fur with magic. Would that mean that humans had the same thing happen to them over time? That would have been annoying too.

”Hmm.. Maybe the reason it hasn’t had that issue is that I keep healing it with my music…”

The demi-god pondered a little bit as the other told him of the culture from his heritage. When they were finished with both his tail and back the large demi god smiled warmly and moved to start washing the other’s back.

”This is the first time I’ve ever done something like this, so just let me know if I miss a spot.”

Seeing the scar on the others back as he started to work on getting a lather going saturn couldn’t help but wonder how it happened. But given that many people hid scars or avoided talking about them saturn deigned not to. He remembered asking why someone had been wearing an eyepatch and got quite a rude jab. Though he doubted salem would do that he’d likely talk about it if he wanted to.

”Each culture is so fascinating. I’m glad that I’ve been able to study the few that I’ve been to a little bit so far. Though there’s so many I don’t know when or where to stop.”

Saturn let out a bemused chuckle as echo floated by; he was still clonked out. Definitely looking like the pinnacle of comfort. The little guys wings didn’t provide flight but they definitely helped him stay afloat. Saturn flicked an ear and had a thought that he wanted to bring up.

”Earlier you said something about healing the land. How do you go about that?”

[2,465/4000]

The feel of fingers on his skin and the warm dampness in the air. Salem was floating on cloud nine and feeling great. He was the type that enjoyed getting pampered and taken care of. The fingers did an excellent job on his body. He was really relaxed and feeling good. The kind of moment he did not want to end.

“Healing the land is just agricultural work. Which I would not recommend we do now. Seeing as how we got all clean. It would be counterproductive to get back dirty. Unless you can do it with magic as well. Then we can avoid getting dirty.”

When it was finished Salem was feeling refreshed. He was cleaner than he had been sent to this country. No sand in odd places, no odd smelling water, and a great area to make sure he was clean.

“If the two of you are done we can head out. If you want to come with me for agricultural work you can. If not, I can see you at the celebration tonight.”

Salem grabbed his stuff and got dressed. He looked in the mirror to make sure his hair was set, as well as the needed stuff for his next job. Salem looked at himself in the mirror and was sure he was going to be the most eye catching man on the field. Salem was feeling really lucky for his Faeness.

Moving along to the work. Salem found himself at a very wide field. It was full of growing things and a bunch of workers bustling about. The smell of the ground was good; it was an earthy scent that had a dash of rain to it. It was a good earth that was full of nutrients. It was a shame that the place was destroyed before but the bright side was the fact that the place was going to grow a whole lot better. He found the man in charge and asked him what needed to be done.

“You have three options. You can pick, plant, or check. You can go to the fields and pick the stuff we have labeled for harvesting. It is all magically grown so it ripens really fast. You can check on the plants that are growing. I recommend you have some knowledge of botany for that, or you can simply plant the seeds and crops in some of the other fields. It is the part that does not need you to know a lot in the way of plants. It is the easiest job we have around.”

Salem contemplated before choosing the check job. He was better with water based aquatic plants but as a Fae and attuned to nature. He had a better chance of being able to tell what he was looking at compared to some of the other workers. It should have been an easy job for him to do without a lot of stress. Compared to getting himself back sweaty planting or picking.

“Mulderberry Saffron”

The first plan in the field that he looked at was easy for him to identify. It was a semi aquatic plant that was known to be used as a great spice. It had a lot of flavor in it that was really easy on the body to digest. Salem remembered growing some before not too far from him. The plant could survive in a variety of climates but it was heavily dependent on getting water. If it was not watered enough it would start to wilt. Which is what the specific one he was looking at was doing.

Salem summoned a small spigot of water over them. His highly nutritious water would do the plants some good. Increase growth, yield, as well as filling the hydration requirements for the finicky plants. It took not even minutes of his care and affection. The plants had picked up as if they had been young and vibrant the entire time. It was good to see the resilience of nature.

The next plant on his less was a little vine type. Salem had to stare at it for a minute before he recognized it. He had seen them in the Gardens of Crocus. They were infinity grapes. The grapes were named so because they have been a magic staple fruit for years. They grew fast and needed little care. Which was why they were called infinity grapes. Even now the ones he was looking at were almost ripe enough to pick. The ones in crocus grew so quickly that if they were ripe, anyone that could make it into the garden was allowed to eat some of the ripe ones. It kept the fruits from falling off and rotting, making it a win-win for everyone. Salem ignored the plant and moved onto the next one.

The plant in question this time was a vegetable. The mana potatoes. Salem was shocked to see them here. They were a rapidly growing plant and made a decent vegetable to eat. The problem was the fact that they are mana crazily. If put in non-mana rich environments they would survive by killing and destroying the other plants in the vicinity. They were not a plant that people just used. Checking it out, Salem could see the mana potatoes fighting it out. The ambient mana in the air made some grow better than others. The smaller ones were weak and looking like they were going to go out.

Salem stepped into the little area of the potatoes. He could feel vines and such grow around him rapidly. It would have been a dangerous thing for someone with less mana to do. The plants started taking the mana that they needed from his body quickly. Salem did not visibly show any changes. He looked the same as always. The glow in his eyes did dim down a bit. The excess mana that made up his spirit was getting drained. If Salem did not have enough of it he would have been in dire straights. The potatoes took their sweet time draining him and growing. In about nine minutes they were done. They looked plump and ready for harvest.

One of the farming overseers saw how well Salem was taking care of the fields. He had a smile on his face that looked impressed to say the least. He nodded his head and went about his way letting Salem get back to his work. He was actually sure the man knew what he was doing when he saw how he handled the potatoes alone.

“SunShine Flowers”

Salem had a weird look on his face. The plant was similar to the mana potatoes. They also loved mana, their seeds were a good staple packed with energy. The issue was the fact that SunShine Flowers only thrived on mana that could be considered fire or light based. It could get away with neutral mana and even some nature infused mana. The issue was the fact that Salem was water with his nature. Water was the opposite of what the Sunshine Flowers needed, that and mana that was dark in nature. If he stepped into the field to try and take care of them. They would wilt away in a heartbeat. They simply could not survive based on what Salem had to offer.

“Excuse me. Are there any mages proficient in fire based magic?”

The overseer came back and received the explanation from Salem. He had a frown on his face as mages working in the field were a bit uncommon. The fact that one such as Salem had no issues with working in the field did not apply to everyone else. They could try and find some but who knew how long it would take. Not to mention Sunshine Flowers had to be harvested before the sun went down, at night the flowers were no good to anyone.

“You can move on to the next patch. I will see if I can get something or someone for this one. Thank you.”

Salem did not have to be asked twice. He moved on. There were a lot of flowers, vegetables, and fruits he had made his way through. It was a pretty tough job compared to what he was expecting. His body even had a small sheen of sweat on it from the work he had put in. By the time he finished the job he asked for his pay and to be dismissed. The sun was getting ready to go down. He wanted to get that shower in before he headed to the festival.

About an hour later Salem could be found waiting at the festival entrance. He was wearing a blue kimono with a picture of a dragon on it. He left his staff and the rest of the gear at the hotel he had managed to find. He wanted to look his best and the dingy farm hand look did not cut it. This was supposed to be a fun time for everyone. That meant trying his best to dress and impress, as well as a chance to take the kimono off at some point. It was wishful thinking on his part.

“What is taking you so long? As a knight I thought your type was trained in all manners of being punctual.”

Salem was a patient type, untill he was excited. He was looking forward to this and did not really want to wait too long for his companion to show. Salem was aware he could win some games and stuff by himself. It would just be hollow and annoying to do it alone. If he wanted to do that he would have showed up without even asking Saturn to come alone.

If and when Sautrn would show. Salem would go into the festival and have a good time. It was a great experience to taste the Joyan food and see what the place had to offer. It was better with the place having one less warlord. If Saturn did not show he would still go to the festival. He would meet a fun little worker in a swimming outfit and discover the dunk tank. When that guy got off. Salem would travel around the place with him and have a good time. He would put Saturn to the back of his head and not really think about him that much.


WC: 1,734 TWC:4,009 /4,000

[Exit]

Saturn was taking it slow, making sure to get into the grooves and clean as well as he could really. He was glad that he could help out salem; getting your back during ashes was very annoying especially in the crook of your back. That took ages to get everything right after all. The explanation of what actually healing the land meant wasn’t lost on him and the fact that they’d be dirty from it meant that this was likely something that they’d handle later.

”To my knowledge the music I use can’t heal the land that way, maybe if it was nature orientated I could.”

Saturn admitted somewhat frustratedly; it didn’t take him too long to help the other get clean. Probably because of the size of his hands helping out with that. That and Salem was just smooth? Were most like this at least? He’d have to check that out sometime. His ears would perk at what salem had to say.

”I think I’m done yeah, think that echo needs to wake up eventually.”

Saturn chuckled a bit and picked echo out of the water, the latter of which mumbled softly before saturn would gently pat the mindrache’s head. Echo would open his eyes all lethargic like and would just hang off of saturn’s shoulder when the demi-god started to get dressed near to where he had taken his clothing off. He’d run his hands across his fur to make sure that it was mostly dry before doing so though. Damp clothing on fur was annoying and vice versa.

Saturn’s attire was pretty useful in just about most social and work settings. It hardly got in the way and even though that it didn’t cover a ton it still was well handled threads or metal. Saturn stretched and felt one of his shoulders pop. Prompting him to let out a soft sigh. It was time to get to work…

Which ended up being as he thought a field of some kind, it was wide and there were tons of things growing here already. Some workers were present and as he followed salem he could feel echo still on his shoulder. The mindrache was more or less content to watch this part. His hands were exactly made for toiling in the field but he would hold stuff for saturn the best he could.

Saturn and echo both overheard what the man had to say and the both of them considered what they could do for this. Probably just planting compared to picking or checking. Saturn didn’t really know what went into any of the three but he felt like that was the right choice. So he was given a basket and a few bundles of seeds to plan. He’d set about going through the field, watching the workers near him to get a general gist of what he had to do with the seeds. Dig a little hole and then drop the seed in before putting the dirt over it.

He felt as though he could do better though. Setting his hand down he’d let his healing magic pour into the seed and sooner rather than later a little sprout would come out of it. The honeyed magic was good for the little roots it seemed. Saturn would do this to each seed that he planted; it didn’t seem to take much out of him providing the little guys with a little boost. Occasionally he’d see what salem was doing; he seemed to be focusing a lot on the water portion of things. This type of music was actually very interesting to him. Water was the lifeblood of the world and the fact the fae was capable of manipulating that was intriguing.

Saturn’s planting motions had gotten some attention from one of the other workers who would raise his brows seeing that everything that had already sprouted. Saturn going above and beyond wasn’t a bad thing but he’d have to make mention to the overseer that there was a string that’d likely need to get harvested first. He’d show saturn how to plant a little more quickly and saturn would adjust his planting style to plan for that. Echo holding the basket was actually more helpful than either of them really realized since they could just keep moving. A two man team more or less.

Saturn’s ears flicked a little bit at hearing someone ask for a mage proficient in fire based magic. To his knowledge neither saturn or salem could use it; even echo was a light based musician. Saturn would shake his head slowly; there were a few more rows of planting that he had to finish here before he could move on. Maybe about thirty or so minutes later he’d end up finally getting out of the fields. There wasn’t much left for him to plant and he had met the quota that the farmer overseer wanted. So he went to help the other groups; smiling warmly as he did so.

Once he was done he’d leave the field to freshen up, getting himself sorted out and talking with a few different people to get himself an outfit he could wear to the festival portion of things. Eventually however he’d get to the festival. Seeing Salem he’d wave and head over; the tall fellow was wearing a rather large sized kimono. It was a soft golden color much like him with all manners of flowers and such as a pattern. He looked quite festive. Chuckling a bit at salems comment about being punctual…

”In my defense they didn’t have a kimono in my size and had to rush one for me. They were very nice.”

Saturn would enjoy the festival with the other, there were plenty of games they could play and plenty of food that they could get into. He hadn’t tried many of the foods and there was much of what they could work through together. At some point or another echo would join them. The little guy was wearing his own little outfit though it was closer to what you’d expect kids to wear to these sorts of events. He looked positively charmed by the coloration though so that was fine!

The longer they stayed at the festival the more saturn wanted to explore each and every store, each and every game. He wanted to see everything that there was to see. Eventually there would be a time where he was sitting on one of the roofs. Watching the sky as there were all sorts of fireworks going off. He was enchanted by them as he had never seen anything like it. Ranging from just your usually colourful explosion there were shapes, dances and all sorts of other acts going on. One of his favorites was seeing a dragon take shape in the sky and eventually turn into a giant tree.

There were also instances of the culture in them. Shapes and things he didn’t recognize that echo or salem would have to explain to him. Which was fine; he liked that a lot to be honest. Getting to know more about this culture through this festival was great. The length of the festival went deep into the night and saturn felt as though he was approaching what some would call ‘the wind down period’ of parties. But he still wanted to see so much more.

Echo would be asleep on his shoulder as he walked through the streets. It was so late in the event that he had lost track of many people that he had seen and enjoyed some of the games with along with salem. The latter of which was still about; though it seemed as though they were enjoying the company of someone else too. Which to be honest was fine. He’d wave at the man before going to another stall of food. The two of them had a good bout here; he learned a lot about this culture and another one through the man. He would have to ask him about desertio more when he got the chance.

The festival eventually winded down to the point of where the streets were clearing out, parties were becoming more private and the massive demi-god was at the edge of the city. Sitting there and softly humming to himself. A tune that he had picked up wandering through the city; it was the emotions that were stirring here, the song of the people that were finally free. It was liberating and he was happy that he got to hear it. Echo seemed enchanted by it and eventually the little guy would fall asleep on saturn’s lap.

Leaving the demi-god alone at the end of the night; he’d turn his eyes to the stars and the silence would stretch on. He’d reach his hand out to the stars, as though he was trying to grasp them and would smile warmly to the thought of them being in the palm of his hand. He had a long way to go and a lot of things that he still needed to do before… He’d place that hand to his head and push that thought out of his mind.

”When one chapter ends… another begins.”

[4005/4000]

[exit]