【Gothenburgh • Afternoon • Evergreen Festival】
【Colaboration between @Wingless_Angel and @Gladis】
【Interaction: Nico, Wren and Noelani (@Aka~Kitsune)】
"I can do this. I can do this..." Nico repeated it over and over, continuing to carefully survey his surroundings as he tried his hardest to remain calm. It was so much easier said than done. He was completely lost – to the point where he was no longer even sure of which direction he'd been coming from. Or where he was heading.
"I-I can do this..." His eyes were burning with tears, his slender little hands quivering as he held on to his raincoat. "I can..." gulp, "do- ah!" he gasped as he suddenly felt someone bump into him, tripping forwards, though managing to catch himself just in time... by grabbing on to the shirt of whomever had been bumping into him. Realizing what he'd done, the black haired boy stumbled a few steps back.
"I-I'm sorry, minster! I didn't mean t-to do that-" as he glanced up he blinked, realizing that he recognized this person.
"Re...Wren, right? I... have you seen Makoto around? O-or Noelani? I can't find any of them anywhere and...and..." looked down, he scuffed his feet, his cheeks taking on a light pink hue.
"I'm kind of, sort of lost."
Tears. Wren didn't sign up for tears. He didn't know what to do when he cried himself, never mind another person. He felt panic skitter down his spine as his mind ran around in circles. What did he do? A hug? Wait no, he barely knew Nico, a hug would be too weird. A consoling pat on the shoulder? No, that would be too cold and distant. What did he do?!
Feeling a headache coming on, Wren settle for awkwardly patting Nico on top of his head, which is probably the worst of his other two ideas.
"U-Um…It's okay. D-Don't cry. No, I haven't seen Noelani, especially with crowds like these. Or Makoto. But how hard could it be to find them really?"
What was he doing? This was the first time Wren has ever really said two words to the human and now here he was trying to help him out? He could practically feel his father's disapproving glare and the harsh sing of the whip against his back. The feathers hidden in his hair raised on end slightly before he shook his head slightly to disperse the memories and rubbed a hand against the feathers, looking as if he was rubbing his neck in thought or nervousness.
"U-Um…I can…help you..look for them? Two pairs of eyes are better than one after all."
Major relief. That was what Nico felt right at that moment. Wren's words were about the first good thing Nico had received at this festival. He blinked, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand as he took a deep breath. Things were going to be okay. He wasn't all alone anymore, even if Wren was pretty much a stranger. At least he felt like he was someone he could trust. They were both watchers. Right at that moment, it was all that counted.
"Than-" Nico quickly turned his face away from Wren as he sneezed,
"-k'choo. If… if it's not too much of a bother, I would appreciate it…" And Nico had even tried so hard not to cry.
A small sigh of relief escaped him as Wren saw the tears being wiped from Nico's eyes. Anger he could deal with, happiness he could sort of deal with, even jealously, but tears were so far outside Wren's comfort zone. He was surprised he didn't just freeze up when he saw the tears. Once his co-worker's boyfriend broke-up with her and she came crying to Wren of all people at work. He had just sort of froze up and stared intensely at his shoes until he could make his escape. Not his finest moment. Maybe it was because Nico was a Watcher like himself?
Whatever the reason, now all they had to do was find Noelani or Makoto and then maybe Wren could go home. It was raining and he hadn't brought an umbrella nor a raincoat. His hair was starting to plaster to his face and his glasses were quickly becoming useless as they were speckled with water. What made it worse was that his shirt was wet and thus he was unable to dry them.
"Well, maybe we should find some crates or a chair we can use to see over the crowds?"
"That's a great idea!" Nico exclaimed, a soft grin splitting his face as he reached for Wren's hand. That way he could make sure that neither of them got lost. He didn't worry so much that Wren would, as that he himself would. The thought of once again being completely on his own was terrifying.
As another hand wrapped around his own, Wren started at the foreign feeling. Not very many people ever touch him or willingly initiate contact first. That said, Wren hardly ever touches other people as well. He found himself staring down at their clasped hands with a perplexed expression on his face. Was it supposed to make him feel warm inside? He wouldn't let himself think about, but in the back of his mind he noted that the lonely feeling that was his constant companion receded a small bit at the feel of Nico's hand holding his own. There wasn't much of a contrast between their hands; both were small and pale and delicate.
"Chairs… chair…" frowning, he tried to think of a place where they might find chairs,
"they'd be at the stalls that sell lots of food, right? I-I… hmmmm…" and then he remembered,
"I think I saw a few stalls like that earlier. Uhm… that way, maybe…" he raised his free hand to point in the direction he'd come from.
As Nico's voice drew his attention, Wren raised his head and looked in the direction his companion was pointing.
"Hmmm, that sounds like a plausible idea. It's worth a shot."
Nico was just about to start heading there, when a sudden angry roar of tore through the sky. Alarmed, Nico jumped, his eyes wide as his grip on Wren's hand tightened considerably.
Thunder.
Even Wren even found himself flinching at the sound, eyes shooting up to gaze at the rumbling clouds, relief filling him as the rain slowed to a bare sprinkle. Oh thank the gods above. Wren felt like a fish out of water from how wet he had become. Maybe since the rain was letting up, he would be able to dry out.
"Shall we?" Wren inquired with a tilt of his head, gesturing at their set direction.
Nico gave a nod of his head, the corners of his lips curving into a smile. Now once again filled with hope and courage, he set off towards the food stalls as planned, gently pulling Wren with him.
Wren found himself wanting to smile back at Nico but the moment passed before his lips so much as twitched. What was
wrong with him? First he's helping humans and now he finds himself wanting to smile at them? Maybe he's getting sick. That would make sense.
He knew he should have stayed in bed today. As Nico pulled Wren through the crowd, he focused on not running into anyone and not losing Nico in the packed crowds.
They never quite made it all the way to the food stalls however. About halfway there, something new caught Nico's attention.
Wren became very confused when Nico suddenly started going in a different direction than they had planned.
"Nico? What's wrong?" He inquired, peering over Nico's shoulder to try and see what he was gazing at.
It was round, and red and on a stick.
And it looked absolutely delicious. Nico barely even recognized that he'd stopped, his mouth watering as his dark eyes locked on the fruity goodness. Now he truly regretted that he'd let go of Makoto. If he'd still been with the lieutenant, then perhaps Nico could have gotten to try one of those…
Wren side-stepped around the boy and followed his gaze to the particular item he was staring at.
….
Was that an apple? What in the world was it doing on a stick? Humans sure were strange creatures. An apple did not require a stick in order to eat it.
"It looks delicious…" Nico mumbled longingly.
Wren glanced back at Nico before he turned and addressed the owner of the stall. "
Hello, I would like two of….those…" He pointed at the apples, unsure of what to call them. Apples on a stick? He was handed his desired items, passed over the correct amount of crowns to pay and he turned, handing Nico one of the treats.
Nico blinked in surprise, his gaze gliding away from the apples and to Wren.
"You didn't have to…" Seeing Wren hold one out to him like that was too much. He simply couldn't refuse. It looked too delicious. And since he'd already bought it, saying he didn't want it would be rude… So he accepted it carefully, bowing his head in appreciation.
"Thank you so much! I-I'll find a way to pay you back! I promise! I've always wanted to try one of these…" he said shyly yet happily, smiling down at his apple.
Wren then stared at his own apple, turning it this way and that. Okay, so he has one. How did he go about
eating it though? He decided to go about it like he was eating an apple and went to take a bite. He jerked back however when his teeth touched it and he cast Nico a wide-eyed look.
"It's sticky. Why is it sticky? Did I get a bad one?"
Nico glanced back up as Wren spoke, unable to keep a soft giggle from escaping his lips. Even Nico knew what a candied apple was. How couldn't he? Noelani was his guardian, and she was like a walking encyclopedia on sweets.
"It's been dipped in sugar, so it would be weird if it wasn't sticky. I think you're just supposed to bite into them like this…" It was certainly easier said than done. The crust was far tougher than it looked, and Nico found it difficult to bite into.
"Mgh…" he frowned, though he wasn't ready to give up just yet. With determination burning in his eyes, he once again attempted to bite into the apple, this time around giving it all he had.
And he was rewarded with the perfect combination of sweet and sour engulfing his taste buds.
"It's super tasty!" he almost squealed in excitement as he looked up at Wren.
"Try it!
Dipped in sugar? Why? Wasn't an apple sweet enough without it? Wren regarded the treat in his hand with hesitation. He brought it slowly to his mouth, moving as if it would lash out at him at any second. He watched carefully how Nico bit into it, then opened his mouth and took the plunge.
Mmph!
Okay, he saw how Nico had struggled with his bite, but Wren was not prepared for just how sticky it was. His teeth became immobile and he cast Nico a panicked look. After a few alarm-filled moments, Wren finally tensed his jaw and bit down with all he had. A chunk broke off and Wren held it in his mouth for a few seconds, recovering from being free from the apple. With caution filling his expression, he began to actually chew and taste his prize, the caution morphing to surprise. It..wasnt..all that bad. It was rather good in fact. Much better than the sugar monstrosities his younger brother liked to consume on a daily basis. He gazed at the apple then looked up at Nico.
"Its..good.." He took another struggle-filled bite before he remembered their actual purpose for headed this way.
Nico's smile turned into a grin upon hearing Wren's words of approval, once again biting into his apple as he savored the taste. Makoto rarely allowed him to have sweets, and perhaps for a good reason. Thus, getting to try something was all the more wonderful.
"Oh! Right, our mission. We still need to find Noelani." He grabbed Nico's hand and began leading the boy through the crowds, munching on his treat on the go. After a few minutes of navigating people uncaringly stepping on his feet and trying not to get the sugar from his apple all over himself, the two finally emerged victorious in front of a few crates resting next to a vender. Wren handed his half-eaten apple for Nico to hold onto and climbed up onto the crates, finally tall enough to look out over the crowds.
"Hmmmmm…" He turned his head this way and that, looking for a familiar shape. Wait..was that? No, no. Not Noelani. Wait, there! He jumped down from the crates and grabbed Nico's hand again, plucking his apple from the boys fingers.
"Found her! Let's go before we lose her!" With that, he began pulling Nico earnestly through the crowds.
Nico tightly held on to Wren with one hand, whilst clasping his candy apple with the other, determined not to get lost this time. Now, everything would be fine. And he'd even possibly managed to make a new friend. Nico could not help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
What a wonderful experience his first festival had been.
