[Prompt] Mazri Fest - Finding Friends

Now this was what Dandy enjoyed.

She had arrived in Ur-Bahn the morning before and was relaxing on one of the many bridges that looked over the waterfall-fed rivers that cut through the city. Barges and smaller crafts filled the river, zipping up and down along canals and waterways, ferrying goods and woolynes back and forth. The city was in a particular uproar due to the upcoming Mazri festival.

Unlike her last festival experience, during the winter in Aldlight, here it was warm and bustling. Dandy shivered at the memory of the clear cold night air in the Amiyn capital, then reached up to pat Chill who was draped around her neck. That festival hadn't turned out all bad to be fair. In the warmer climates and on days like this, the solstine acted like a personal icebox that kept anyone from getting too hot.

Pennants were strung up between buildings and garlands draped the railings and poles of bridges and lights. Woolynes all over the city appeared to have an infectious excitement held in check just below the surface. That wasn't to say everyone was jolly and welcoming. Since her incident with one of the Arcanum's traps while looking for the unicorn duchess Lorelei, Dandy had gotten more than a few looks that ranged from odd and questioning to downright horrified. She ran a finger down the smooth surface of her skull and scratched at one of her exposed canines with a claw as some of those looks were cast in her direction now. Classmates and professors back in Azmarin had wanted to study her but besides telling Dandy that her lyss had mutated somehow there weren't any real answers. Since there wasn't really anything she could do about her new mutation and it, as of yet, hadn't harmed her in any way, Dandy simply went about her life as if her pale boney head weren't exposed for the world to see.

Chill flicked his tail and yawned next to her ear, causing a swirling pattern of frost to creep along her lower jaw. A clicking sound came from the other side of her head as a small green beetlyss crawled up the back of her skull to perch atop it like a woolyne riding a lycore. Swee'Pea clicked and skittered at the solstine, Dandy assumed the small insect had gotten a bit of the cold Chill had let off and was voicing her displeasure. She giggled at her two companions as they "argued" then stood up from where she'd been leaning and stretched.

There were rumors that there would be a large surprise unveiled during the festival and Dandy had to admit she was curious. The gossip she'd heard already ranged from an amazing new invention by the Dragon Queen herself to the revelation of a Dragon Prince. She couldn't possibly sort through the various hearsay and speculation so the only way to know would be to see for herself.

A centralized plaza seemed like the best idea for a good spot, with the added bonus that Dandy would be able to look over more of the city. As she made her way over bridges and through streets Dandy looked around at the buildings and festival preparations that surrounded her. It took a hard thum from walking into someone to bring her out of her open-mouthed gawking.

Swee'Pea tugged on some of the fur in her ear, causing Dandy to yelp, and Chill leaped from her neck to the ground using her shoulders as a springboard as Dandy lost her balance, overcorrected, and smacked her head straight into the woolyne she'd just run in to. A hand reached out and caught her by the upper arm before she had a chance to go falling over backwards and steadied her.

"Woah there now!" the voice gave Dandy the sense that she should know it even if it wasn't recently familiar. "I know the city's all a splendor, but you really should keep your eyes on where you're going now." She looked up into a white and brown face and star-shaped eyes and he jaw dropped.

The other woolyne cocked an eyebrow at her as Dandy's jaw opened and closed with no sound coming out. A cold puff of air on the back of her leg brought her back to somewhat level-headedness. "Trek?!" she gasped, looking him up and down. Having grown up around Fenmoore one of Dandy's favorite things to do as a youngling had been to go exploring into the woods. She'd often accompanied a young wool from a neighboring town and the pair had romped through the trees and dirt and streams for hours on end. Now that woolyne stood in front of her again, or at least Dandy assumed it was him. His teeth were longer than she remembered, but the glossy white and brown coat that was thick and curling on his bottom half and the poof-ball of mane around his neck were the same as she remembered from her childhood.

Trek, in turn, looked her up and down an eyebrow raised. "Yes, but do I know you-" his question cut off as he stared at her chest marking. His eyes flicked up to where hers should be and were now just gaping sockets, then back down and his head turned this way and that. After a moment both eyebrows shot up in surprise and his eyes widened. "Dandy? Is that you?"

She would have grinned if she'd had lips, but as she didn't, Dandy nodded enthusiastically instead. Trek did grin, his saber teeth glinting wickedly as he hooked an arm around her neck, bending her over to rub a hand roughly over her skull as if he was ruffling her hair. "Well look at you! I always said you were hard headed and now you've got the bone dome to prove it! That sounds like a story, but first thing's first! What on Andras are you doing here?"

Dandy laughed and shoved her friend off and picked up Chill as she began to explain her trip to Ur-bahn for the festival while Swee'Pea sat on top of her skull. They walked through the city, exchanging stories and catching up since the last time they'd seen each other while looking for a good spot to get a view of the festival and mysterious surprise.

This, Dandy thought with another unseen smile, was truly an omen of a good festival to come.