Grand Market
Flax really shouldn’t have joined Dandelion on their trip.
The usual hustle and bustle of Everdenn has now been increased ten fold. Voxibells and Avillis alike fill the streets as they move through and fro, carrying crates and carts filled to the brim with trinkets and baubles and other sellable goods towards the main part of the town for the opening of the grand market festival.
Not far from the town centre rides a small green voxibell and their big blue friend, equipped with a cart filled with goodies.
“Come on, Flax,” said the little one, “We can’t be late or we’ll miss the best seat in the entire market!”
Flax rolls his eyes. “So? It’s not like any other seat would magically get you so much money in one go, Dandelion.”
A gasp of disbelief from Dandelion.
“How dare you!” They said, exaggerating every word. “This is prime time to get customers! They’re so lost in the sauce with the festivities they won’t notice just how marked up the prices are for these bad boys!”
Dandelion grabs a random trinket from the cart and dangles it in front of Flax. The blue voxibell stares at his cousin unamused. Often he thinks about how he and Dandelion are somehow related. He pushes the trinket out of his face and huffs at the smaller voxibell.
“If I wanted to be carrying heavy carts all day, I woulda gone back to blacksmithing.”
“Aww, Flax you don’t mean that!” Dandelion slings their arms around Flax’s fluffy maned neck, “You love me! I’m your favourite cousin!”
They leaned down to whisper into Flax’s ear, “And I know soooo much about your little crush on-”
Flax cuts off Dandelion before the green voxi could continue on.
“AIYO HEYO WE’RE RIGHT HERE!”
The two voxibells enter the centre and they’re greeted with a bunch of towns folk busy preparing for the night’s opening of the grand market. Banners are hung up and tied from one lamp post to another. Avillis make use of their wings, stringing along lines of lanterns and fairy lights to light up the darkening sky.
Dandelion rushes off, leaving behind one very tired Flax and their goodies. Flax grumbles along as he could hear the distant sound of yapping and maniacal giggling from Dandelion as they are set on finding the best spot in the centre for their business dealings.
It didn’t take long for Flax to find Dandelion amongst the crowd of busy traders and artisans. The moment he enters the premise of the square, he could tell Dandelion is around as he sees the same green voxibell fighting a purple voxibell, trying to push the other one out of the so-called “best spot of the market”.
As Flax gets closer he could hear just what the two voxis are bickering about.
“... I'm a baby! I have a sweet face! This spot is what I deserve!” The purple voxi argued to Dandelion. They even threw one sweet puppy dog eyes to truly sell the whole innocent vibe.
“Oh yea? Since you got such good charms, why don’t you move then! You can just call people over with your looks, I can’t! I need this spot! It’s what I deserve!” Dandelion retaliates.
Truly a wonderful sight to see for Flax when his cousin starts fights in the market. It brings him so much headaches and misery.
Before the quarrel could get any worse, Flax walks closer and looms behind Dandelion menacingly. His towering form casts a shadow to the purple voxi. For an instant, the purple voxi locked eyes with Flax. He puffed up his mane and huffed the purple voxi down.
Flax’s intimidation tactic worked as the purple voxi shuts up immediately and gives in to Dandelion.
“Alright, alright, ya know what, take your spot! I don’t need it anyway!” The purple voxi said.
Dandelion beams proudly, clearly assuming that they managed to charm their way to the purple voxi and not from the works of the blue voxi behind them. It’s apparent that they didn’t even realise Flax was behind them as Dandelion turned around and was surprised to see him just standing there.
“Ah, Flax! I’ve got ourselves the perfect spot!”
“Sure you did, cuz,” Flax said, trying hard not to eyeroll.
It takes them an hour to set up and by the time they’re done, the night has fallen and the market has lit up and started. Vendors of all kinds have opened shops and Flax sits with Dandelion, sitting and fidgeting, not liking staying around in one spot for too long.
Flax throws his paws in the air, “Ugh this is so boring!”
Dandelion has been busy dealing with customers, charming their way into their hearts to buy their obviously marked up trinkets and baubles. Poor old Flax is unfortunately stuck on bagging duty and he has never been more desperate to leave since the only thing he has bagged is when that one customer came by and just snatched up half of the trinkets Dandelion was selling since they whole-heartedy believe that it’s got some wicked charms on them.
Since then, he’s just been sitting there. Mindlessly idling, giving the customers his toothy half-hearted customer service grin.
Bored out of his mind, Flax believes the best course of action now is to just leave while Dandelion is distracted. And an easy feat that is, since Dandelion is so hooked on getting some extra shards to fill their pockets that they didn’t even realise their cousin has left the premise to wander around the busy night market.
Flax roams the market, letting his senses be filled with the crowded sensations the market offers to him. He’s been travelling a lot since his childhood and he’d always welcome crowded events like this one. The streets are flooded with merchants and Kyvalorians of all shapes and sizes and music that fills the centre accompanying the chatter that surrounds it. Not to mention, the decorations that are put up when the night market starts.
But nothing beats the food that gets sold and offered during events such as this one. Flax has never been one to pass up an opportunity to grab free snacks and take as many samples as he could for any events he’s been to and the grand night market is no different.
The blue voxibell prowl from one market stall to another, eyeing and waiting, figuring out which of these wonderful stalls have any free samples he could have a little bite out of. Hopping from one food stall to another, he snacks on anything he can get his paws on.
Popped corn, the candy of cotton, the deliciousness of everything fried, the sugary delicacies of intricate candies and taffies. Even salad he’s taken a free sample as well.
Round and round the market he goes and he returns back to where Dandelion is stationed. An hour has passed of Flax missing presence and yet Dandelion has not realised his absence. Instead, the green voxi has been attending to a line of customers with their wits and charm.
Since they’re preoccupied, Flax decides he’s gonna go for another round of free samples from the vendors again. However, the vendors have seen his face, they won’t offer the samples to him again.
But this isn’t his first rodeo. He’s been getting free samples for who knows how long now and he knows how to get more than just one itty bitty bite. He sneaks back to Dandelion to pick up his disguise. Now adorned with a silly fake moustache and fake monocle, he dons the new persona of Sir Buckwheat the First.
To test out his new persona, he wanders to the closest vendor that he already grabbed a free sample from. The vendor was no other than the same purple voxi that Dandelion bickered with.
“Salutations good sir,” he greets Twilight (who he has learnt from previous sample endeavours), “I say, what tasty delicious samples you have there.”
Twilight looks at Flax up and down as he twirls his fake moustache in hand.
“Uhh…” he starts, “Didn’t you get a free sample already?”
Flax does a dramatic scoff and a huff. “Bah humbug!” He begins, “How dare ye! This is my first ever time here!”
The purple voxi eyes him suspiciously. Flax begins to sweat profusely. Intense prolonged eye contact ensues.
“Huh, must’ve mistaken you for another voxi. My bad, good sir.”
The blue voxi lets out a sigh of relief when Twilight turns his back around. He regained his composure when Twilight offered him a new platter of samples. One that he clearly did not receive from his previous encounter.
The purple voxi smiles sweetly in an oddly threatening way. “By all means, feel free to have a taste.”
Ignoring whatever siren and red flags being waved in his head, Flax grabs the biggest, greenest, suspiciously spicy smelling thing on the plate and just chucks it down his gobbler.
A second pass, then another.
Tears started swelling up in his eyes. His mouth is met with a burning sensation. The sweet green thing that he picked is not a sweet treat.
Twilight beams sweetly at Flax, “Is everything alright, good sir?”
Oh he’s in for it now.
Flax nods and tries to cough up a reply but all that came out was a sad spicy wheeze. He instead opts for a nod of approval and gives the purple voxi vendor a thumbs up as he tries to scurry away from him.
However, his tracks are stopped when Twilight hooks his left paw into Flax and keeps the blue voxi in place.
“Now, now good sir, you haven’t even gotten to try my other sweet delicacies!”
Sweat drops down from his forehead to his chin. He’s in trouble and he can’t even call out for help.
Oh why did Flax even agree to help Dandelion with their night market events.
That voxi brings nothing but trouble.