Just Passing Through

Abejourn was looking around in wonder and excitement as she took in the sights and sounds of the Festival of Death. She was obviously floored by the entire thing, having never been in a festival environment before. So many people, so many kukuris, so many games and food and activities! She took it all in with gusto as she darted about the festival grounds, taking a good look at everything before she left to go look at something else.

It was beautiful, it was awe inspiring, it was striking. Just…so many things were going on that she did not know where to start! She supposed she could start with the food, for food was always delicious. And that was what she did, going to stalls that contained food and generally snatching things from the stall owners before darting away to eat in peace. She never had candied apples before, or fried potatoes. And there was even corn on the cob too, slathered in butter. She ate and ate and ate until she was contentedly full and then began looking around the festival for more things to do.

Well there was a crowd gathering at the base of the mountain and, curious as to what was going on, made her way over to the crowd. She barked happily as she glanced around at everyone moving in and out, in and out, before diving right in to see what they were doing. Apparently people were paying their respects to Death through her statue, placing offerings at its feet before going on their way. She tilted her head and cooed in curiosity as she gazed upon the statue. It seemed to calm her down a bit for some reason, but she did not mind. Rather, it was almost welcoming, like she was being watched over. She stared at the statue for some time before turning her back onto it and moving on. She felt a lot better after seeing the statue and soon she was darting off into the thick of the festival again, looking for things to do.

The games there were mostly for humanoids, but there were some events that were for kukuris too. She watched as kukuris bolted down food as fast as lightning, the crowd around them cheering some on. She never knew that eating food was a sport. It looked interesting, and she would join it too if she was not so full from eating earlier. She simply watched until she looked away and began to survey the festival even more.

She found, to her surprise, that the festivities continued on even into the thick darkness that was night. Lights contained in orange lanterns lit up the scenery as people came and went, most of the ones active kukuris and other such nocturnal creatures. She was floored, just what would last even in the night, when it was usually time to rest? Here they were, celebrating in the night and having fun, while she looked around some more, in awe by the entire thing. It was amazing, to say the least, and she wanted to get more out of the festival before she had to leave.

And she did. She sang and danced and ate, played with other kukuris, meet other handlers, it was chaotic. And by the time she felt tired enough to hide herself underneath the shade of a tree, it was well into the night. But she had fun for the most part, this festival something so new and amazing to her that she wanted to experience it some more. She closed her eyes and began to snooze before drifting off into slumber, hearing the festivities from even where she was right at that moment.

When she awoke, the festival was still going. Figuring that she could get more out of it for at least one more day, she dived back in and played all day while eating the delicious food that was there. The sun was sinking into the sky before she began to move away from the festival. She had places to go, places to see, but she will always remember this merry time that enveloped everyone and made people happy. Because now, she knew what a festival was.