The festival part 1

Amy, Aniello, and Joseph stepped down off the boat and onto the worn dock. A customer at the pub had offered to give them a ride in exchange for five free drinks but Joseph simply took five drinks worth off their tab.

They had arrived at a market island covered in small buildings and stalls selling fruits from across the world, spices only found in three countries, fish thought to be extinct, nuts from trees that grow on the remotest of islands, gems as clear as glass, and much, much more. Joseph lead the way through the stalls stopping to taste test a few alcohols from vendors he seemed to be a regular customer for and to say hello to some other people who gave him free samples which he put in a backpack. Finally, the three of them arrived at a small row of decrepit buildings with smashed windows and metal bars over the intact ones. The front door was splintered and Joseph used his foot to gently push it open due to it's lack of a handle.

Inside however, the interior was very fancy with smells of vanilla and lavender floating around a nicely lit room with beautiful, flowery wallpaper. Hung of the walls and on racks in the middle of the room were possibly hundreds of suits and dresses in all kinds of colours and styles. Amy and Aniello turned to look at Joseph in slight shock and confusion but he simply smiled.

"An old friend owns the place and has quite a large tab left unpaid. Go and find a dress or suit you want and don't worry too much about the price as the tab can definitely cover it." explained Joseph and he waved his hand for them to go and search.

Aniello walked over to a rack of suits that seemed to be his size and flicked through their multiple designs. There was a pink suit, grey suit, chequered suit, blue suits ranging from light to navy, black suits... Aniello caught Amy shuffling behind a corner with a sign above pointing to the changing rooms. Amy was hiding the dress she had picked behind her back hoping to make it a surprise. Aniello was shocked to suddenly feel a hand on his shoulder and turned to find Joseph looking a little worried.

"What's the matter?" asked Aniello.

"It's about Demitri. He's going to be at the festival." said Joseph quietly.

"Wh-" Aniello was cut off from exclaiming by Joseph's hand over his mouth and a finger over his own signalling from Aniello to stay quiet. The two of them crouched down behind the rack of suits for a bit of privacy.

"Don't worry Aniello. I've got a plan." Joseph removed his hand from Aniello's mouth. "I have everything under control but I... I just want you, no matter what happens to me, to just enjoy the festival. Both of you."

A sharp clearing of the throat from across the room prompted Aniello and Joseph to stand up and look over the suits. Aniello's mouth fell open slightly in awe at Amy wearing a pale yellow dress with a short sleeves and a small skirt the stopped below the knees. Joseph gestured to an employee who been sat behind a counter in the corner of the room the whole time who looked up and grabbed something from under the counter. They walked over to Amy asking 'May I?' gesturing to her hair. Amy allowed them and they began to bunch and swirl her hair behind her head leaving a few strips of hair to drape down the sides of her head while a short, wooden skewer with a small bunch of flowers on the end was inserted to hold the twisted hair up in place.

"You look amazing Amy!" said Joseph giving her a quiet round of applause while he slowly kicked Aniello's ankles to prompt a response.

"Yeah! You look very nice." Aniello finally said. There was a short moment of silence before Aniello hastily took one of the grey suits over the racks and went into the changing rooms.

Joseph walked over to Amy grabbing a grey fedora along the way.

"So, do you like that one?" he asked. Amy made a bit on an unsure face and sighed.

"Is it too much? I mean, is it too formal of a festival?" she asked.

"Don't worry. I went to this festival a few years ago and you'd be surprised at how formal everything becomes when it come to the dance. It's supposed to be a tribute to the gods of the island so you'll fit right in with that dress."

Aniello walked out of the changing room wear the grey suit and did a little spin. He was temporarily blinded by the grey fedora Joseph placed on his head but a short adjustment later allowed it to really complete the look.

"Perfect. So are you both happy with your choices? Go change back in the changing rooms while I sort out payments." said Joseph. Amy and Aniello entered changing rooms on opposite sides while Joseph pulled the backpack off his shoulders and placed it on the counter. He pulled out five rectangular cartridges and placed them down.

"The boss says he wants six instead." said the employee.

"What!? No! The deal was a suit and a dress for five!" argued Joseph.

"The boss says the hat and hair bring the price up a bit. Six or nothing. And don't bother trying to trick us, we know you brought extra... You always bring extra."

"Fine!" Joseph pulled another cartridge out and placed it with the other five on the counter. The employee took one and pushed it into something under the counter with a loud click. A smile and a thank you finished the deal. The employee put the rest of the cartridges under the counter and Joseph put the backpack back on his back.

Amy and Aniello exited their changing rooms holding their new clothes in plain bags. They thanked the employee and left the shop ahead of Joseph who lean back staring at the employee. They made eye contact and Joseph's eye flashed with blue flames causing the employee to scramble backwards and fall over. Joseph smiled and left the shop.

Once they were back on the island, the three of them finished up their packing from the day before. They had enough clothes to last them the three days the festival went on for while they stayed in a hotel on site. A large ferry arrived at the dock of the island almost already full of people from other islands and the three of them boarded as Demitri's craft activated it's cloaking system and began to follow the ferry from above