The festival was packed with people from all over the world, Raphael stood at the gates staring out at an unbelievable site. It was not the fact that the streets were packed with people that caused him to stand there in silence and disbelief, he had grown accustom to crowds during his time at the village hidden in the sand, it was the other things that filled the streets with the people that had him frozen where he stood. Raphael had heard rumors of this village and how during certain times of the year the veil between the worlds would thin and seemingly cross each other, but he was never one to believe the stories, demons and spirits walking or in some cases floating around use to make him laugh. Raphael chalked most of the stories up as just a bed time story that his grandfather use to tell him before bed and he would still be denying their existence if it was not for the fact that they were all here right in front of him, Raphael looked down to the piece of paper he had gripped in his hand. The note that drew him away from the land of wind with the promise of a grand ball, he wondered how many others had received a similar message and travelled to this strange land. No one else seemed to be bothered by the site of these creatures and spirits so he wondered if this truly was a common site in this strange village, or if those that had travelled from around the world had been here before or if they just did not care. Raphael's mind was racing a mile a minute with all the different thoughts of why everyone seemed so calm as if this was just a common occurrence, before finally he pushed the thoughts from his mind, this was a celebration and he was wasting his time trying to understand what exactly was going on instead of just relaxing and letting himself enjoy the fun of this amazing festival. He began walking around looking through the different shop windows and all the decorations that scattered the village in awe, he did however hope that he was not the only human that was here and that he might be able to find someone that was willing to walk around with him as he explores this strange village.

---

401

Jamie was being a good boy in his new home and as a reward he was allowed to go to the festival. Tobourne was a bit annoyed and Ashi decided to let him roam around. She told him not to be gone long and left him with a small scented tag so they could always find him later on if he wondered off too far away or got really lost.

Jamie saw someone standing by the gate when he entered as he wondered what he was looking at before he went further in. After exploring for a short while he noticed that guy was still standing by the gate and it bothered him a bit as he definitely knew that guy was not a guard, unless he was in disguise. He felt nervous as he looked at the boy's electric blue eyes and his blonde hair which made it seem like he was foreign, not that Jamie's red hair was any different since there were so many clans in the world and unique bloodlines that hair could easily change from family to family.

"hi?" as he waved his hand up a bit higher so that the boy would notice him. It just looked really lonely seeing this blonde boy standing all alone when there was a festival going on. However he was told to be careful of strangers inside the village, but when he got here Ashi told him to do what ever he wanted as long as he did not wonder out of the village boundaries since this place was a safe place. He did not understand why or how, but in the end they were here to have fun as he failed to put a smile on his face as his look seemed more curious and worried then anything else as his eyes looked up to the stranger.

(312)