Sun and Moon (Masquerade Stall)

[Tashe]

( >3 I intend to get most of my charries done so bruhaha)

Kaegan and F'rah

She didn't much like going out in public now that her pregnancy was actually showing. It wasn't that her belly was horribly big (which is wasn't, it was more like she was getting pretty chubby only in her midsection), it was just the thought of people asking her about it. It had been very emotional when she had found out about it three months ago, she had always wanted a child, but not exactly through runlust. Weaving through the stalls, Kaegan stuck close to F'rah's side, having pretty much attached herself to him. Even though they were only ten years or so apart, she found herself looking to him as her father figure who would help her through her pregnancy. Plus, his cats weren't against her cuddling when she was feeling a little moody. And of course, it didn't help her mood that her pets had taken up an almost annoyingly defensive position after she had told Dash about the baby, who then in turn was able to communicate the baby to Azaran. Who was already protective over her.

She didn't know why she had agreed to come to the Gather, but now it was too late to change her mind. She was already there, and was being gently pulled toward a destination of which she had little knowledge of. But once they reached the stall, the Goldrider happily detached herself from his arm to wander through the many rows of Masks and costumes. She loved Masks, she thought they were so intriguing, the way the mask crafters made them so unique and pretty...

---

Once the Weyrwoman moved off from him, F'rah himself was free to browse the mask selections. Although he himself was one for festivities, the Brownrider was not attracted to most of the bright and colorful masks. He hadn't been feeling as cheerful as he normally did as of late, the loss of his Weyrmate still weighed rather heavily on his mind, despite the months that had passed since the incident. It had been getting easier to deal with his empty room as the days passed, but he still wasn't up to his old flamboyant jokes and silly ways yet.

He actually wasn't planning on attending the Masquerade later on, but plans were always subject to change. There was a small possibility that he would be up to joining the Dancers, it all depended on whether or not he felt like it. He hadn't gone to the last Gather Dance, so he felt a little left out. Plus, he'd be wearing a mask, so he might not be noticed as much... despite his height and bear like constitution that was easily recognizable... yeah.

[Avu]

“I don’t like my mask. Erieeeeennaaaaaaa…”
“But it’s pretty, Iana. It really is.”
“I don’t believe you,” the little girl insisted, crossing her arms and looking up at her older sister through the eye holes of a soft pastel silver-gray mask with dark swirls of green across it. It was a half-face mask, a snub of a noise and pouting lips exposed beneath it, so like her elder sister’s. The same chestnut hair, too, topped her head, but a simple runnertail had none of the elegance that Eriena’s hair had. Her dress was just as extravagantly-colored, though, a cheerful yellow rimmed with deep gold and orange, a sparkling sash tied around her waist. “I’m going to go ask – her. ‘Scuse me, bye, Erie! Look, look, there’s another customer, you go take care of him; I’ll take care of her. Go go go.” The little girl grabbed Eriena’s hand, pulling her off of the counter, and pushed her in F’rah’s direction before she took off (barefoot) to Kaegan, grabbing Handsome along the way and squeezing him to her chest; the blue uttered a loud squawk, though he had the presence of mind not to claw her out of pure instinct.

“Hi – I’m Iana,” the girl stated boldly to the Senior Weyrwoman (she couldn’t read knots yet and didn’t recognize the Weyrwoman by face). “I’m in charge of the shop. Me and Handsome” – here the firelizard was thrust upwards for Kaegan’s inspection – “and my sister. Can I help you? And can you tell me, really and honestly, do you like my mask? Eriena picked it out for me and I don’t know I like it. It doesn’t really go with my dress, does it?” Slightly chubby fingers shifted Handsome from one arm to the other and she reached up to shift the mask around indignantly before a sigh escaped her lips. “I don’t think it does,” she said petulantly, and then, in a mercurial mood shift, added, “What were you looking for, please?”

Eriena was rather subdued – a side effect of Iana being there – as she swept across the shop to F’rah and then leaned forward to examine the mask that he was looking at before her gaze flickered up to him curiously, and she smiled in greeting. “Hiiii…did you need any help? This is only like, a section of the masks we have, so if you don’t see anything you like, lemme know? Those are the more expensive ones, those, but these’re cheaper, too…” Her head cocked, and she added, “I’m Eriena, and I’ll be serving you todayyyy~” Okay, so that came a little late, but better late than never, right? One hand pushed her hair away from her face and mask, tucking it inelegantly behind one ear, and she locked her hands behind her back. “So?”

[Tashe]

"Oh!" Slightly startled from her entrancement with a blue mask with black and gold music notes, the Goldrider looked down at the girl, offering her a smile as she began chattering. "Hello..." Quietly listening to the young stall owner as she continued on, Kaegan let her eyes shift around the girl's face as she mentioned the mask, later taking in the dress she wore as well. She finally had the chance to respond at the very end of the girls rather bouncy and one-sided conversation. "I think it would match better if the green in the swirls," She motioned to the mask, "matched an article of your clothing. Maybe if you switched your sash to the same color?" Folding her arms loosely across her chest, the Weyrwoman smiled again as she remembered something. "I'm sorry, how rude of me. I'm Kaegan of Gold Millieth, my firelizard is off somewhere, but his name is Azaran. Its very nice to meet you both, and I would certainly love the help if you would like to." Shifting slightly as she tugged on one of her curls, the Redhead glanced around the shelves and shelves of masks. "My friend said I should be a Fairy. So my dress is gold and white... I suppose I should be looking for a Gold and white mask to match it..."

---

Cocking an eyebrow as a head appeared in his peripheral vision, the Brownrider turned to look at the woman, catching her gaze for a moment before dropping it as they both looked up from the silver mask he was holding. He watched her quietly as she spoke, nodding slightly at certain parts. "F'rah of Brown Styth, its a pleasure to meet you Eriena." Looking back down at the mask he was holding, the Brownrider placed it back on its stand. "I'm looking for a simple half faced mask, most likely a traditional solid Black." Glancing back to the young stall owner, he offered her a small smile. "Its not very complex, but sometimes I think, something simple can be very elegant." He intended to wear all black, not really deserving of the name fancy at all. "If you have one with a ribbon to tie it on, that would be very helpful. I'm not much of a fan of ones you must hold..."

[Avu]

Kaegan’s suggestion made Iana’s eyes fly wide open behind her mask, and the little girl raised pudgy fingers to touch her mask thoughtfully, tracing one of the elegantly-etched spirals with her finger before she bobbed her head excitedly. “That’d work, wouldn’t it? It would! I’ll do that right away – after, I mean, you find what you want.” She nodded again firmly, hugging Handsome to her so hard that the blue hissed and squirmed in her grasp. Iana didn’t acknowledge the firelizard’s discomfort, though – she was far too busy staring at Kaegan. “What – you’re – oh, I’m sorry! I’m so so so sorry, I didn’t know…” The girl broke herself off, and then stared at Kaegan a minute longer. “I can’t read knots yet. I didn’t know you were Senior Weyrwoman,” she commented, and then squirmed, tossing a dirty glance in Eriena’s direction (who was oblivious, pleasantly so). “I’ll make Erie teach me right away…umm, gold and white…? Oh, you’ll look wonderful, you really will, hang on. I know we’ve got gold and white, Erie adores gold, so there’re a lot of gold-and-‘nother-color masks around…” She scurried away, returning shortly with a mask dangling from each hand and one hanging from a peevish-looking Handsome.

“Like any of these? They’re all different styles. You didn’t specify,” Iana explained matter-of-factly. The first was a full-face mask, with a white base, rimmed in gold with golden spirals around the mouth and eyes, and a duller bronze kind of gold adding accents to the original gold. A plain creation, but beautiful enough. The second (the one dangling from Handsome, who was squirming rapidly, clearly unhappy with Iana) was a half-face mask, with gold-and-white checkered pattern covering the whole thing, and tied back with two strings. The third was a half-face as well; people seemed to prefer those – and was with a white base, edged in gold and with golden accents along it as well. “Like ‘em or do you wanna find more? There’re lots.”

The explanation of what he was looking for made Eriena nod rapidly, and the girl clasped her hands together thoughtfully, trying to remember where exactly those were. They weren’t prominently located; plain masks usually didn’t attract much attention, but if that was what F’rah of brown Styth wanted…“Hang on, I’ll be right back. We have them, but they’re just not out front with the more – the more colorful ones, y’know? Color usually attracts a lot more attention.” With which, she turned and darted off, returning not a minute later with two different masks. Both were half-face, tied back, and black, but one of them was simply that – a half face mask, while the other had one side that curled upwards in a curved kind of flame, and was made of a different material – the first was kind of matte, while the second had a distinctly metallic gleam. “Either of these do, sir?”

[Tashe]

She chuckled as she tucked a strand of hair behind one of her ears. "Its fine, really. I rather miss being addressed as a normal person." Kaegan watched as the girl excused herself to go look for masks, taking the alone time to release her mane of red hair from its binding. She was in the process of putting it back up when Iana returned, catching her with a few clips in her mouth. Quickly tying her hair back up, the Goldrider practically shoved the clips into her curls so she could respond to the girl. Lacing her fingers together as she looked at the masks that Iana had brought out, Kaegan bent forward slightly to get a better view. Both masks were pretty, but the goldrider found herself more attracted to the design on the first one. "Do you happen to have a half face mask with a design close to this one?" She motioned toward the full faced mask. "If you have one like that, it would be perfect."

She winced slightly as the loud pop her Flitter made, when he came out from the Between, sounded right next to her ear. He must have woken up only a few moments ago, for he yawned largely as he alighted on her shoulder.

---

He barely had time to pick up and inspect a grass green mask, when the young woman appeared once more with two masks. Replacing the flowery mask back on the table F'rah turned to face Eriena, his eyes traveling from one mask to the other. The first one she held up was a plain simple black, while the other had a unique shape on one side. Rubbing the side of his face, the Brownrider tilted his head slightly before looking up at the Stall Owner. "I like the first one, but the second one is rather interesting as well." He paused. "Which one do you think would suit my face better?" He made a broad gesture at the masks she held.

[Avu]

Iana was not a patient person. She squirmed slightly as she waited for Kaegan’s approval or dismissal of the masks, and then as the goldrider spoke, she leaned forward to examine the masks she held herself, gaze flickering over them and then back up to Kaegan thoughtfully. “Ummmmm. I think we d – oh, cute flitter. Bet Handsome wishes he was bronze. But, right – hang on, I think we do have one. Eriena made it; she likes gold a looooot.” Her eyes rolled expressively before Iana started off. Handsome, still clutched to her, offered a dour-tempered hiss at Azaran, making it very clear that he did not wish he was a bronze, the blue’s wings pinned awkwardly to his sides as he squirmed before giving up; Iana might be a little girl, but she was not easily coaxed to release something that she wanted to cling to. And at the moment, she very much insisted on carrying Handsome. The blue firelizard hissed again as she returned to Kaegan, this time holding (gingerly, as if it would break) the mask in question. Elegantly-shaped, with a soft white background and the same gold swirls and bronze-shaded accents, it was a half-face mask, two ribbons in the same bronze color as the accents allowing it to be tied behind one’s head.

“Two marks,” Iana informed Kaegan, scrunching up a freckle-covered nose. “Want to try it on? There’s a mirror over thhheerrreee.” She drew out the word as she spun (Handsome squawked indignantly) and then pointed at the mirror in question. “I can tie it for you if you like,” she added helpfully, lifting the mask up for inspection.

“I like this one,” Eriena stated, holding up the second mask, and then added frankly, “but I really like unique things – like, unique colors and stuff, so I guess my opinion probably isn’t exactly…y’know, perfect. But…you can try them on if you want? We have a mirror over there,” and she jabbed her finger in the direction of said mirror. “They’re both the same price, so it’s not like…you know, go with the cheapest or anything.”