A Recognition of Shadows

[Rikugurl]

Riku blinked for a moment before his hair frizzed out as a blush ran over his face. "W-what about Sora!?" He yelped, only hearing Terra burst into laughter.


"Ah!" A bright smile seemed to lighten the evening sky as Ventus looked up at the house that had yet to be repaired today. He had not even heard the sound of a hammer but he would not let it bother him. Reno made his own life and he wasn't his mother to tell him what he should do. He quickly got up and rushed over to the porch, hugging his brother tightly. "You're alright! I was worried all day..." He gave his brother a big pout. "But come on! Aqua is making us food!" He smiled suddenly, grabbing Roxas's arm and pulling him down the stairs. As he pulled his brother across the grass, he paused when he heard some odd noises behind him and glanced over his shoulder, seeing Axel... LIMP down the stairs.

"Axel? Are you alright?" The air master asked in concern but he only got a growl. "Your brother STABBED me in the thigh, of course I'm walking weird!" The redhead snapped but in the corner of Ventus's eye, he could see Roxas grin as if it was something more than that. They walked slower so Axel could keep up with them, only chuckling when the redhead pointed out how short they were and Ven could only reply that they weren't short, he was just really tall.... but Aqua disagreed.

"Man... I can't believe I won't be in the festival this year. Every eyar since I've lived here I've had an act but... guess not this year." Axel sighed some as he poked at his food, once again not eating very much.
Soran was the first to apologize but the firebender shook his head. "Don't worry, Avatar. There are more important things than wasting my strength on a show. You need training and maybe... I can enjoy the festival like everyone else besides sleeping through it all after my dance."
"Dance?" Ventus replied, his head tilting some as he sucked at his chopsticks.
"Yea... I did a fire dance every year. It's a dance that I learned when I was really young from the Sun Warriors and I brought it here to share with the Fire Nation. I add some every year and people see to enjoy it a lot... but it takes a lot out of me since I use a lot of energy."

He took some more berries and put them in his mouth before humming, swallowing them down. "Guess I'll be spending the Festival with you guys."
"Ah, you don't mind?" Ventus smiled, liking the sound of Axel staying with their group.
"Naw... you guys are alright I guess." He grinned but blinked as he felt a cool hand on his forehead and looked over at Aqua who seemed to be checking his temperature for fever because he certainly wasn't acting himself.

[Reno]

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” Aqua said, only partially teasing as she felt the red-head’s forehead. The red-head blinked, pushing her arm away and asking her what she meant. She grinned slightly but it wasn’t her that answered.

“Axel’s starting to like us!” Sora said in a happy tone, cuddling Invidia to his chest. The canine only gave a slight bark of protest at this, easily able to get her paws onto her ‘master’s’ bowl and chomp into it without his notice. “This is gonna be a lot of fun! Axel you’ve got to show us all the fun things to do!” The red-head had to, of course, remind Sora it would sort of be his first festival too. “Yeah but you’ll still know more about it then all of us! It’ll be so much fun!”

Roxas chuckled some at the Air bender’s enthusiasm – it was sometimes hard to remember he was the Avatar and not just some kid! He couldn’t help but feel a little excited as well though. It had been a long time since he just… did anything fun! He glanced at his brother, sharing a secret smile with him; and it would be the first thing they’d really get to do together. They were making memories already.

The five continued to eat their meal – except Sora who had to cry out in surprise when he found his bowl licked clean! – while Invidia sat and washed herself up. She paused, her ears perking up though and she looked up towards the sky and barked.
“What is it Vi?” Sora asked before looking up as well, seeing a single bird flying through the sky, before it whirled around them and then dived, landing easily on Axel’s shoulder. Yellow eyes blinked at the group, before nipping at some of Axel’s hair.
“Hey what’s with him?” Roxas asked, confused, but blinked, seeing Axel’s look of shock as he announced… it was his missing dragon-hawk! Ven exclaimed happily that Terra and Riku must have found it!

This was proven further when Axel found a message in the letter-holder strapped to the dragon-hawk’s back, addressed by Terra.

‘Who’s the idiot now?’ It said, before continuing, ‘We found him yesterday. We’ll talk about it later. Decided to send him home. He’s quite hungry so make sure to feed him. That is, if you’re still alive to do so, ha!’ Axel had to scoff, before continuing to read the letter, ‘We’ll meet you up with you guys tomorrow for the festival. We’ll be at the training spot.
Dearest Regards,
Terra.
P.S. I miss you Ven~ Oh! And Riku misses ---a‘
The last bit was smudged out, as if someone had found out and had in a fit of embarrassment, erased out the word. It would explain why the paper was somewhat crinkled. Axel however looked a bit befuddled as he looked up, wondering why Terra said such a thing.
"Heh, your little argument did more good than you thought." Aqua filled him in, nudging the blonde next to her teasingly. "When Terra admitted his feelings, Ven here apparently returned them."
Axel raised an eyebrow, then rolled his eyes, mumbling how much of a sap the brunette was.
“Ah, I think it’s kind of cute.” Sora said, noticing Ven’s blush but happy expression.
"Hmph, MY question is is who Riku was missing." Roxas said, snatching up the letter and looking at it. "All I can make out is the 'a' at the end... there's only one person with an 'a' as their last letter." He grinned at Aqua. "Looks like your snake guardian has the hots for you."
"W-What?! No!" She called, waving her hands in embarrassment. "Come on now, Riku and I have known each other since we were little kids and he certainly doesn't like me! Terra was probably just trying to annoy Axel."

Ignoring the procession as if it didn't bother him, Soran spoke up, quickly changing the subject. “Though… I do wonder why Terra didn’t tell us where he found the dragon-hawk?”
“Because Terra knows some things are better not put on paper.” Aqua said, her eyes troubled.
“So what does that mean?” Roxas asked, frowning.
Aqua shared a glance with Axel, before sighing. “It could be anything; but whatever it is, it isn’t good news. We won’t know until we talk to them. For now… you better go feed him Axel. He does look a little thin.”
And that rose questions all on its own...


That night, Aqua, Ven and Soran slept under the stars while Roxas and Axel headed back inside. The two airbenders didn’t think much of it, but Aqua had to raise an eyebrow about it, finding it strange since she knew firsthand there were only two bedrooms. In the morning, the group made a quick, light breakfast before they set out Aqua leading Ila with Ven while Axel rode Shesha with Roxas and Sora. It wasn’t too surprising that Axel would bring her to the festival – the red-head reassured them that much of the Fire Days Festival had contributions to the dragons; like him, she had never missed even one. The brunette’s eyes actually sparkled when he heard the dragon’s favorite part was the dragon dances and even Roxas perked up at the word ‘dance’.

They left the two at town’s edge for the time being though, knowing the festival hadn’t yet gotten into full swing, and they found their way to the spot where Riku and Roxas had their practice session. But instead of finding Terra and Riku there, there were two men, dressed in Fire Nation clothes, conversing happily over a pot of tea. The team hesitated, a bit unsure… that was until Sora spotted a slithering creature running over one of the man’s arms and going up under his sleeve as he poured his companion another cup. Yue!
“Riku?!” He called in surprise, hurrying forward. His call drew both of their attentions of… it was true! It was Riku and Terra!
“Hey you guys made it.” Terra chuckled as he stood. He was really quite eye-catching in red. He wore a sleeveless vest coloring a dark burgundy with lapels over the shoulders in a more vibrant red, wearing long pants to match and dark red boots. Two slim black bands wrapped around his upper arms clashing nicely with his tanned skin.
Of course, Sora didn’t notice as he was too busy staring at Riku. “Wow… Ri you look great!”
“Hey, what about me?!” Terra said, crossing his arms and giving Ven a smile. “I look great too, right?” The blonde, blushing, stuttered out a near intelligible response that just made the brunette chuckle fondly and drop a kiss on his lips. “Why thank you~”
“Alright lovebirds, enough.” Aqua said, with a roll of her eyes but she smiled. “Though, I am wondering what is up with the getups.”
“Well, it is a Fire nation ceremony right? We gotta dress the part!” Terra laughed but his words made the four untraditionally dressed members of the group glance at their own clothes and wonder why they hadn’t thought of that as well.

[Rikugurl]

"Yeaa... v-veraa.....NICE!" Ventus blushed, unable to get anything out as he looked up at the man his heart beat for and only blushed more when he was kissed a few times in front of everyone. His legs felt weak but he managed to stand (if with a little help from wing at his back).
"Thank you." Riku smiled softly, his skin actually having some pigment on it thanks to the hot sun of the Fire Nation. He chuckled when he saw the others look at their clothes but bent over and grabbed a neat pile of clothing at his side. "We already thought of that."

He blushed some as Soran spoke highly of him and Terra for finding the missing hawk AND thinking about everyone for the festival. It really showed that they had their heads on their shoulders! "Well, it seems like you all brought back the wildfire so you didn't do too bad yourself." The guardian praised before handing him a neatly folded outfit and Soran was quick to rush into the forest to put it on. That same wildfire was next in line, his green eyes mischievous. "What?" Riku frowned some as he looked up into the unnerving green. "You missed Sora, huh?" He asked, making everyone blink and look over as if they were shocked Axel was the one who figured out the mystery. That was right! Riku had called Soran 'Sora'.

"WHAT!? N-no! What are you talking about!?" Again, Riku's hair fizzled in an unnatural way as his face turned a bright red.
"You missed an 'a' at the end of the letter~ And I have my own outfit, thanks~" Axel grinned, patting Riku on the head as he walked off to go get changed himself.
........."What are you all staring at!?" The guardian cried as all eyes were still on him. "Come get your outfits..."

[Reno]

Terra gave an absolutely wicked grin as he heard Axel, chuckling quite innocently. He couldn't help it; it wasn't like shy Riku was gonna say a word.
Roxas shook his head with a small smile but walked over, taking his and Ven's; they suspiciously seemed to match. "Come on Ven!" He grabbed his shaky brother's hand and tugged him off into yet another part of the forest.
"Sora huh?" Aqua chuckled, seeing Riku blush more while he handed her her clothes. "Well, I never would of guessed!" The other burst out that she didn't need to guess because there was nothing to guess about and she needed to go get dressed now!! The princess chuckled and walked off as well.

And one by one - or in one case, in twos - they returned. Sora was first, his clothes so quickly put on they were in a disarray on his person. A little too eager it seemed. "Tah-dah!" He said striking a pose of victory. Riku chuckled but applauded him before walking over and, with a blush, helped to straighten him out. His uniform had quite a bit of yellow and black on it, going well with the reds. "Haha, thanks Riku!"

Next came the twins, their outfits indeed matching with black undershirts and jackets of red over them and comfortable pants. If it wasn't for the fact Ven was near-bald, they would be impossible to tell apart. It didn't seem to mind the two of them too much; it had been so long since they wore matching clothes it was... kind of nice. Nostalgic.
Terra only had eyes for Ven as he spoke about how nice 'they' looked and even when Roxas waved his hand in front of his eyes, Terra's were glued to Ven's. He gave a sigh, before turning around... and his jaw dropped. "A-Axel!"

Everyone looked back to see the red-head coming from the forest. And he was a sight as well. Of course, even though he already had so much red hair, it actually matched him well to wear more - and lots of black with that. The blonde stepped up to him, looking him up and down. "You... you look... wow..."
Before Roxas could gush too much or anything though...
"So, how do I look?"

Everyone's head turned to look at Aqua.

And stared.

She was in a long, red flowing skirt, and red, open-toed heels that shaped her feet well. Her shirt was like folds of clothes that was tied around the back of her neck, was sleeveless and short, so that her mid-section was revealed. She looked at them and grinned, placing his hands on her hips and winking. "Boys, stop drooling."

Sora chuckled, smiling to her. "You look beautiful." He commented and the princess nodded, smiling gratefully for it. He looked around at them all, then crossed his arms, pouting now. "But something does seem missing."
'Like what?' His guardian asked a bit confused.
"I dunno..." He tapped his chin - but it was Riku who chuckled and said Invidia wasn't 'dressed' yet as he handed the brunette something he bought specially for her at the market. "Yes that's it! Oh Riku you did?!" The group had to hide chuckled as Sora threw his arms around the silverette in a tight hug, the brunette the only one seeming to miss how Riku swooned. "You're the best!" He chirped as he took the item and knelt down in front of Invidia putting it on her.

It was a burgandy collar, with little circle red gems equally spaces out around the length of it - made of glass rather than actually gems - and in the middle of it, falling to his breastbone, was a pretty gold metal charm of a flame. "Look at you Vi! It's perfect!"
The fox tilted her head, before puffing out her chest and barking, giving a smile. She liked it!

[Rikugurl]

Riku blushed more as he watched Soran dress up the fox-rabbit happily. It really did look nice on her and he was glad it worked. He had been very picky about it when he chose it and only rolled his eyes when Terra called him a female for taking so long with clothes... but he really did a great job. For someone that sat in a cave all day, he did know a thing or two about beauty.

"Well now that we're all done gawking at one another, we should really be heading into the city. Right now is the best time to buy trinkets and treats because when the fireworks starts, you don't want to be were all the lanterns are." Axel spoke but his voice was a bit muffled and when everyone looked at him, they could see why. The redhead had placed on a wooden mask that mimicked... a fox's face. Instantly, from the red hair in the back, some of them instantly thought of the female raptor lion Roxas had saved. "Participants all wear masks and since I always was, I always wore this. Since I can firebend, if someone would like a trick I would be glad to give it to them."

A smile ran over his lips, making Aqua raise another eyebrow at his strange behavior but they headed off towards the city. Two paused however as one placed his hand into the others and spiraling blue eyes looked at each other. Ventus gave a soft giggle as he tightened his grip and continued on.

This was going to be the best day ever!

[Reno]

And a great day it already was! Sora, being who he was, had a million questions that only poor Axel - and occasionally Terra - could answer. The first place they went was to the snacks!

Fire Nation tastes were varied, and for Ven and Sora they had to grimace every time they saw some sort of skewer with meat on it. Though the others had no problem eating them all up. Terra took pity on the poor blonde, pulling off the meat on one of his skewers to eat himself before giving the vegetables and fruit to the other.
They sat at one of the tables for a short time, drinking 'sunrise tea' which wasn't actually tea but hot apple cider, somewhat spicy in taste but pleasant. Terra told them it was because they tea was made with golden-red apples and the brewing if somewhat similar as tea.
As they were, Sora joined them, carrying a little bag of food.
"What's that?" Terra asked.
"I'm not sure. They're called fire gummies." Sora smiled. "I'm pretty sure they're candy though because they're were a bunch of kids at the table."
"As if you need anymore sugar." Aqua laughed as Sora took one out - a little red squishy candy shaped like a dragonhead. He ate it...
"HOOOT!"
The table laughter as the poor Avatar waved his hand at his tongue, the cinnamon candy getting to him. That was until... "Don't laugh! Why don't you guys try it?!" One by one, the table tried one and found out they indeed quite spicy. Poor Ven's eyes watered, Aqua used her water bending to ice her tongue, Riku drew a few breathes around his teeth to create a cool current. Even Terra had to race for his drink to wash it down with. And Axel well... he tipped back his mask, with a grin that definitely told everyone he had had these before, ate one...
Before tipping back his head and blew out fire into the air yelling 'HOOOOT!' They whole table burst into laughter.
"Well, I think they're delicious." Roxas said with a smile, chomping them down like they as sweet as peach!


Next they ended up down an alley of booths that children were frequenting. It was with a glimmer of happiness that Sora, Ven and even Roxas realized... it was a game area! It didn't take long for the group to lose all three of them, either where they tried to catch baby tiger kois or at an archery range where you had to hit the target juuuust right, or even at a little one where you had to show your strength by hitting a mallet and ringing the bell at the top. Terra, for Ven's amusement, played the last one... and hit it so hard the bell came right off!!

"Come one, come all! Win the race against my fine Cheetah-hound, Tumai, and win the prize! Fifty copper coins!!"
Sora paused, looking at the large, gated area where a man was standing and preaching his game's measures to some kids. He looked down at Invidia and smiled. what do you think?"
She looked up at him and grinned.

"Alright kid, it's easy. Your pet needs to go through this obstacle course here, and collect the nine rings before mine does. If you capture more rings than mine, you win!"
"Alright, sounds easy." Sora said with a smile, looking down at Invidia as she got to the starting line, standing next to the bigger feline with gray fur. "Ready Vi?"
She looked up at him and barked before her wings twittered.
"Ready... GO!"

A commotion of kids cheering drew the attention of almost everyone around, a group growing around the booth. "Hey what's happening?" Aqua called, squeezing through until she found the others.
"Heh, look!" Terra pointed, and the princess did - only for her eyes to widen, seeing what it was all about. Beside the brunette, Ven was cheering 'Go Sora! Go Invidia!'
"They've each got three rings! Sora just needs to get two more to win."

"Hey, Go Vi, go!!" Sora was saying, watching as his pet bounding up a slope of logs tied together effortlessly. They seemed to roll anytime anything pressed against them, trying to create a 'log-rolling' act but Vi, with her powerful rabbit's legs, had no trouble whole her competitor was struggling to keep his balance. With one last jump she pounced and caught the hanging red ring and pulled it free from it's string and tossed her head, Sora catching it.
Just as the rabbit-fox landed though, another form burst above her and raced over, jumping down into a circular slide that brought her back to ground level. The fox gave a bark of alarm and followed, but the sprinter was faster and got his teeth around the ring at the bottom and tossed it. Four and four...

Tumai gave a look back, a grin on his face as Invidia was just rolling out of the slide, before he took off. The rabbit-fox gave a growl and rushed after. The last ring was up a small incline of wood, hanging in the middle... of a hoop of fire!
The fox growled and bounded up into the air and her wings opened, giving herself a little boost but it wouldn't be enough. she grinned instead and dived... landing on Tumai's back!
The cheetah-hound growled but kept on, not able to see as Invidia nonchalant pulled a feather from her wings and leaned over... tickling it against his nose!
His large nose twitched a couple times before suddenly -"AH CHOO!" The feline slid to a halt and Invidia vaulted right off his back! She drew in her wings to become more stream-lined as she sailed for the hoop of fire and and opened her mouth... and burst out of the other side, wings flapped are she cartwheeled to the ground triumphantly, a red ring in her teeth!
"INVIDIA YOU DID IT!" Sora cheered as she came trotting over handing it to him happily. The brunettte turned to the cheering ground, holding up the five rings with a wide grin before bowing to them. And, jumping onto his bent back, Invidia fluttered out her wings and bowed as well.
"Ah, it's alright Tumai." The ringmaster said, petting his downtrodden friend. "You'll get the next one. He turned to Sora, saying in his booming voice, "Well now, what a race! This kid's won himself fifty copper coins!"


The bazaar was quite a place to enter. It was Axel who told them the bazaar was a place you could either buy - or more appropriately, trade - things for. It was where the common people brought their goods to be given away for other trinkets of purpose. Axel said to trade on this day was said to bring you a year of good luck at your home because it was symbolical of rebirth - the 'burning away' and 'recreating' of something.

The group spent some time there, exploring all the things they couldn't take with them on their journey. Most of them had things they couldn't trade off. Roxas wandered down the many tables, looking about, when he heard an exclamation and turned his head, blinking as he saw Sora and Ven crowded one table. He tilted his head and wandered over. "What is it?"
"Oh look!" Sora chirped, holding up some silver chains for necklaces. The links were large and heavy-looking but they were bare. "She said these necklaces were used at her daughter's wedding but haven't been worn since." He said, indicating the woman at the booth. "She said it would bring good fortune for your love life!"
Roxas crossed his arms and rose an eyebrow. "They don't have any pendants." Not to mention necklaces were for girls.
"Yeah... that's true..." Sora pouted, looking down at them with a clear desire to get them anyways.

[Rikugurl]

The group split up when they reached the Bazaar since there was so much to see and everyone had their own tastes. Axel seemed to know where he was headed and left the group first before some fanned out toegether. Ventus went with Soran and Riku went with the princess as Roxas and Terra went solo. Terra was probably looking for some study material as Roxas probably something for his swords. Of course, shiny things caught the eyes of the young air benders and were given the story about the wedding. Ventus kind if blushed, knowing that his love life was going great already!

But the air master pouted when he heard the negative words from his brother. "It still has beauty in it's simple form." He spoke softly but it still didn't win his twin over. He frowned, his eyes wondering a bit before something else shiny caught his eyes from another booth and he was off. He rushed over and looked at the display, seeing metal pendants that were hand crafted. Many were in the shape of the Fire Nation symbol and some of the crown that the Fire Lord wore. There were dragons and dragon hawks, flames and volcanoes. There were even charms of koala sheep!
However, there was a basket that had a red sign with a cheaper price than the rest. "Why are these less?" He asked the man who was actually making more charms.

The deep brown eyes of the seller looked down into the air benders before giving him a smile. "Because they are my rejects and prototypes. They are as good quality as the rest but are not perfect in my eyes or did not sell well in the past. Feel free to look through them." He said before turning around and started to put in some designs in a piece he was doing.
"Hmmm..." He looked back and called the other two over and together they looked through the basket. There were some odd designs and some looked much like the ones on display but something was probably off about them.

It was the prototypes that caught their eyes though. Soran picked up one that looked like a jester's hat with three points that were round at the top. Roxas picked up one that was in the shape of an 'X' with sharp edges and he found one that looked like it was going to be a heart but something happened to the bottom of it.
"I like these! We can put these on the chains to complete them!"

[Reno]

"Hmmm...." Roxas hummed, looking at the little 'X' carefully. It actually looked like two swords crossing, as he noticed where the two lines intersected there were little round C-curves cutting into them that somewhat mimicking hilts. "Wellllll...."
"That's good enough for me! We'll take them!" Sora said, fishing out his won copper and placed it on the table.

By the time he got through with the lady with the necklace chains, he was nearly broke - she hadn't wanted to let them go! But eventually they had won them, and Sora hummed happily as he strung on his little jester's hat charm, stringing the necklace around his neck and clipping it closed. "Ah, now I feel like I'm part of the Air Travelers!"
Roxas laughed some and shook his head. "The Air Travelers, really?"
"Yeah, me and Ven talked about joining them all the time! Seeing the world, enlightening people on our culture... putting on shows!" Invidia hopped, landing on Sora's shoulder and he laughed, scratching under her chin.
"Really now?" Roxas rose an eyebrow, glancing at his brother. "That so?"

[Rikugurl]

Ventus blushed and nodded as he reached back and pulled on his own new necklace. "Mmhmmm. That was what we were planning on doing but... we found out that Soran was the Avatar so that... never happened." He smiled some though as he looked at his friend. "I think this is better though. I think that if we were Air Travelers, we wouldn't of met all the people we know now... or at least not on the level we do. We would never of gotten so close to the princess or guardian of the Northern Air Temple, we probably never would of met Axel... and we would of never found you through a battle match, Roxas..."

Suddenly, the bald air master hugged his brother before laughing. "Everything is working out great!"
Before much more could happen, there was a ringing of a gong and the people around started to leave the booths and headed in all sorts of directions. At first, the three panicked, wondering if maybe the black shadows had appeared and it was a warning gong like the Water Tribe but when they saw a woman with three happy children, they watched her pick up her youngest and smile. "Come on, honey. We don't want to miss out on a good spot for the fireworks!"

FIREWORKS!?

"Ah! We got to find the others!" Ventus cried as he headed in a direction that seemed right and the others followed. They quickly realized with the crowd that... they were going in circles as they passed the pendant shop again. As an air bender, Ventus looked up for some signs but saw one that he wasn't expecting. "Ah! Look! It's Maipe!" He pointed up at Axel's dragon hawk that was perched over a lantern. It seemed to see them as well and gave a call before flying away, the boy quickly following it. As they thought, the hawk lead them right to the edge of the city where the rest of the group was waiting for them. The hawk landed on Axel's shoulders and the boys walked up to only hurry to find a spot.

They found one that was perfect. It was a large hill overlooking the entire city. They could see district by district lower their lamps and the world became quiet as they watched for the first signs of the fireworks. Roxas was sitting at the edge, Axel sitting next to him, then Aqua, Terra, Ventus, Soran and last on the other side was Riku. Ventus leaned into Terra's arm as he enjoyed the night breeze and in the darkness of the evening, Axel's hand reached out and took Roxas's as his other arm was having a jab war with Aqua. Riku was pouring some tea as Yue and La circled around the group.

[Reno]

There was a soft chuckle, but Roxas pat his brother on the head, silently agreeing. Things couldn't of turned out for the better. He smiled secretively, thinking about Axel - but that was when the crowd started to move around them and then they heard someone mention... fireworks!
"Oh, we can't miss them!" Sora said with a chirp. He had never seen fireworks of course, but from what Axel was saying they were quite a sight. Something you could only really appreciate at night. "come on, this way!" He said making a zig-zagging trial through the crowd, "I think this way is a shortcut!" He cut down an aisle of booths and...
"Uh, Sora?" Roxas called, then pointed to the pendent booth.
"Uhhhhhhhhhhhh uh oh!"

Luckily, they were saved when Maipe showed up! And this time, lead by eyes in the sky, they followed him up a hill to where their group was sitting, waiting.
"Hey!" Sora chirped, plopping down next to Riku automatically as Ven and Roxas went to Terra and Axel respectively. "Look!" He said with a smile, tugging on his new necklace. "Isn't it nice? It's charmed with good luck."
Riku told him it looked very nice, and as he handed him his tea asked him what kind of good luck it would bring.
"Oh now that's my little secret~" Sora grinned, sipping the tea.

Terra smiled as Ven joined him. "Hey, that's a nice little trinket." He said looking at the necklace. "It suits you." Ven blushed and smiled, before asking him softly if he found anything? "Oh yes! A wonderful little encyclopedia on the Fire Nation. It has all sorts of maps and fauna listings and whatnot. It's quite interesting; might even help us on our travels."
The other smiled before leaning against him, and Terra didn't really care about the book anymore.

Roxas sighed as he sat down next to Axel, smiling even though his legs were aching from all the walking yesterday. "Excited?" He asked the red-head softly, smiling as their hands were joined. The other chuckled softly and just mumbled this was one of his favorite parts.

They all found out, quite soon as the last of the lanterns was blown out, for them to find out why Axel liked them so much. They were explosions of fire!
The first one zinging off, whistling in the air, and then zapped off with a powerful boom, a flourish of red light. Ven, Roxas, Sora and even Terra - who also had never seen fireworks - jumped in surprise.
"WHOA!" Sora called, and in his lap, Invidia cried, jumping nearly three feet in the air and as she came back down, the brunette caught her in his arms, laughing. "Wow!"
Another one, this one fire-hot white, blasted off. Invidia jumped and barked at the noise before hiding behind Sora, growling at the sky. "It's alright Vi!" The Avatar reassured, petting her on the head, but his eyes were looking up, grinning as another, this one blue, shot off.

[Rikugurl]

Ventus laughed happily as he watched the fireworks, the lights reflecting in his eyes. His mouth was wide with excitement and he bounced every time there was a BOOM. "This is the best!"
"WHOOOOOOOO!!!" Axel called as a multicolored one went off, his smile wide and bright too as he watched intently.

Riku sat their comely, smiling at the sights. He had seen fireworks before... well... cobjobbed fire works but this was different. Much.... louder. He blinked however when he felt La and Yue slither up him as if there were frightened but he smiled, petting them gently to calm them.

After awhile, it was no longer bit explosions of fire but crafted explosions of fire that made designs in the sky and swirls of all colors. There was a dragon and the Fire Nation symbol along with many other things. It was beautiful and exciting and as the sound of the booms no longer frightened the few in the group, they relaxed more... on each other. Ventus had made his way onto Terra's lap as Axel's head rested on Roxas's, his feet on Aqua's who kept shoving them off. Even Soran started to lean into Riku, making the guardian blush.

[Reno]

"Ah, look at that one!" Terra said, seeing one of them explode into the shape of a dragon-hawk. This was more amazing then he thought! He was sure there was some Firebending manipulation from the ground to have them make shapes like that. It would take a skilled hand to break off all those glittering lights into sparkling stars, like constellations. He wonder if this was the Fire Nation's respected 'art' like architecture was for the Water and Earth nations.

Aqua sighed, giving up after the 12th time Axel's feet joined hers. What could she do about it? He was stubborn. Even still she smiled, watching the fireworks flash in the sky, overpowering the stars and the moon. She hadn't seen fireworks since she met Axel. It was almost nostalgic.

Roxas chuckled softly, seeing one of the fireworks boom and create some fearsome creature. He wasn't sure what it wad but the red and blue colors sure made it look amazing. His fingers rubbed against Axel's absent-mindedly, wondering if the red-head ever helped with this past of the festival.

"Wow, this is amazing..." Sora breathed, leaning up against Riku without really noticing. Okay, he noticed a little. Okay, he was actually doing it on purpose but pretending he didn't even notice and since Riku didn't seem to miiiind...

Yes, they were all impressed. Only one didn't really like the fireworks at all, the sounds painful to her sensitive ears. She whined, but no one heard Invidia. She got up and paced around restlessly, before biting onto Sora's shirt, tugging him. A hand reached back and pet her, the brunette telling her it was okay but then there was another boom, louder than before for it was large.
She started to bark loudly.
"Ssh! Vi! Be quiet."
Well! She squirmed away from her master when he tried to hold her. She held up her head and huffed, trotting off without another sound. She looked back only once, half-way down the hill, before looking back - but no one noticed her absence. Her ears fell and she gave a tiny whimper before hanging her head and continuing on her way. She wasn't running away - she just needed to find a quiet place.

The streets were empty now, everyone somewhere where they could see the fireworks. It was easy enough for her to find her way back to the food booths, snatching up a forgotten slice of Teriyaki meat and gulping it down happily before continuing on her way. She was almost back to the little clearing where they had been staying, when she heard a noise. She froze, ears perked, trying to determine if the rattling of the trashcan indicated danger. She jumped and snarled when a little mouse-squirrel popped it's head out. It blinked at her then continued eating whatever it had found.

The rabbit-fox scoffed and then pounced, barking. The little creature squeaked and ran for the hills. She landed on the concrete and then scoffed and nodded, turning around and scratching up some dust with her hind paws. She sure showed him!

She walked around the little area, acting as if it was hers, before she wanted towards the middles, circling restlessly where her master had slept days before, his scent still lingering faintly. She laid down, curling in a ball and whimpering softly, wishing he was here too. Her eyes fell shut as she tried to rest even though she could still clearly hear the booms of those lights going off.

In fact they were so loud, she didn't notice the sound of feet clicking on the rooftops of one of the surrounding buildings right away. In fact, it was just a mis-step, the sound of a tile coming loose, that made her ears go up high and her head raise in alarm. There was a snarling growl above her and then a gray shape bounding down for her.
She yelled, hurrying out of the way as a creature landed on the floor and looked at her with gleaming golden eyes. Her ears flipped back as she recognized him, and snarled viciously, tail raised eye with warning.
Tumai, the cheetah-hound, grinned at her, as if knowing he would win, and gave another snarl before rushing her. Invidia gave a cry of alarm, turning and bounding away towards her tree, giving a powerful leap and scaling it. To her great distress, the sound of claws slicing into the bark signified she was being followed. She looked back, seeing the fierce feline face snarling at her as he climbed and with her back paw she struck out, catching him in the face. Claws screeched and the feline fell a few feet, shaking his head before scaling up again, only to get bitten hard on the muzzle, blood welling instantly. Their was a hissing, spitting sound as the cat struck back but Invidia leaped away to another branch, lowering her body.

She watched as the cat climbed the last few feet into the tree and then jumped for her, but Invidia was already gone, bounding to another and another as she was followed. They chased this way a few times, but as the cunning fox jumped inbetween the large V-shape of the trunk where it started to blossom out in branches, she was taken by surprise when Tumai was suddenly in her path. One, powerful paw smacked her good and out of the tree she went, hitting concrete hard. In the next instant the cat was upon her and they became a tangle of yowls, barks, growls and snarls as they struck out and fought. Invidia was small and cunning, her little bites annoying and well-aimed; Tumai large and strong, able to pin her with just one paw. Feathers and blood went everywhere.

And then, he nearly got her, razor-sharp teeth snapping around her throat - but missing and instead getting her new collar. It saved her life. She squirmed and fought as he tugged and the fine leather snapped. She managed to get free as Tumai shook the collar and spit it out and before he could get his bearings, her wings had opened and she was soaring.

And then. She felt a sharp prick in her leg, and she was falling, crashing, dizzy. She vaguely heard footsteps, voices. She recognized them both.
"Tumaaai," Came a chastising voice. "You need to be more careful. You could of killed her."
"Ah it doesn't matter. She's more profitable dead anyways." Came the second voice.
"Are you kidding? Did you see the way she fought? She'd make an excellent addition to the fighting ring."
"Hmm... but her gem..."
"Yes, that is true; but it will stay there regardless. Gamble her, get her worth and then when she finally loses, sell her for parts."
"Hmm... I like the way you think Rufus." Through her dim and hazy eyes she saw a boot come level with her snout, a hand gripping her scruff. "Nighty night mongrel. Tomorrow, you're going to make me a lot of money."

[Rikugurl]

The group watched the rest of the show, not knowing a thing about the horrible, bloody chase that one of their tiny little friends had gotten into, nor about the bag she was shoved in. All they did was sigh happily and watch in awe as they watched the finale and then there was cheers and clapping all around at the end of the show. The group relaxed, their ears ringing a bit as they continued to lean on each other and talk quietly about their favorite part.

Yue was the first to slither back into the ground, circling around Soran some before coming back to Riku. Her tongue flickered against his skin, tickling it come which made him chuckle. "Did you like it Yue?" He asked softly before glancing behind Soran. "Hey, Vi... you can come out now." There was nothing though and he frowned, leaning back some. "Vi?" He called but saw nothing of the fox-rabbit.

"And...and... OH! And then the second to last one that looked like a---" Ventus could hardly keep up with his brain as he told of his favorites before getting cut off.
"Have you guys seen Vi? Is she over there by you?"
"Eeeeh, she might of went back to the camp. Knowing her and her prissiness~" Axel lounged lazily on Roxas, yawning as his foot swung in the air. "I'm sure she's fine, wherever she went."

[Reno]

"I just can't believe there were so many colors." Sora was saying, when he was surprised by the circling snake, who curled around him almost restlessly before slithering back to Riku. He blinked, tilting his head at the curious action - but when Riku started to call for Vi... he realized he wasn't sure where she had gone. He stood up. "Vi...?" He called, and walked around the tree that was on the hill, looking up at the branches with care. She loved to hide in trees. "Invidia you there?" But the branches were despairingly empty.

He frowned, hearing Riku ask the other's and he huffed when he heard Axel. "She is not prissy!" He crossed his arms, uneasy. He and Invidia were hardly ever apart. He wouldn't be surprised if she had left for camp, to get away. The fireworks had bothered her greatly. But still...
"I'm gonna go find her and make sure she's okay." The avatar said before heading down the hill.

[Rikugurl]

Ok, so Axel didn't change COMPLETELY but it was a good start.
"H-hey! Wait up!" Ventus carefully climbed off of Terra's lap and followed his friend down the hill, Riku silently in tow. They followed him all the way back through the city but unfortunately, it wasn't uneventful.

"JAX! JAX WHERE ARE YOU!?" There was a call in the empty streets that paused the Avatar and group. They all looked around until they saw a shadow coming down from one of the side streets to see a younger boy looking around and under things. Instantly, Soran and Ventus went over to the boy to see what was wrong. "Excuse me, do you need help?" Ventus asked, catching the boy's attention. When he looked up, they blinked some as the boy resembled Axel as he was skinny and had wild red hair. "I lost my raptor-lion..." He said sadly, some tears coming down his face.

"A raptor-lion?" Axel frowned, remembering the one from the Earth Kingdom. He didn't know they came around here. "When was the last you saw him?"
"I... I had him when we were getting snacks for the fireworks but when they started to go off, he ran away from the boom. I told him to go home but when we got home, he wasn't there. It's not like him to run off like that!" He suddenly started to whimper but Ventus rubbed his back. "O-ooh.... that.... that sounds terrible..." He said softly, glancing at Soran who was instantly worried.... and not only about the missing raptor-lion.

"We'll keep an eye out for him, ok? You better get home to your family before they worry. If we find him, we'll come looking for you, alright?" The boy sniffled but nodded, slowly turning around and running back from where he came.
"We better go make sure she's alright!" Riku was quick to say before the whole group started to rush back towards the camp.