People laughed as they walked among the stalls, buying food and playing games. From face paint to the feathers that people wore, everything was in some form of blue. Even Leslie was dressed entirely to match the festival attire: a sleeveless blue dress and feathered bracelets on each wrist. They had even painted their nails a dark blue.
We walked together through the festival crowd, holding hands. A cluster of people stood before a statue of a bird with human legs, the blue feathers splitting into three or more prongs at the end made it look more fierce than an ordinary bird. I jumped when the beak opened and flames shot out. The people around us clapped.
Leslie laughed. “You’re acting like you haven’t seen that before.”
“Because I haven’t!”
Leslie paused. “We came to the exact same festival last year and you’re telling me you didn’t even notice the fire breathing statue?”
“I was distracted by the food.”
Leslie rolled their eyes. “Do you even know what this is for?”
“Um… one of your gods, right?” I replied with a frown.
“Not just any god,” Leslie said. They placed their hands on my shoulders, making sure I faced the statue. “This festival celebrates Avaxl,” Leslie continued. “Every day, he breathes fire from his beak so we may have the sun. And each night, the remaining embers fill the sky. He gives us light so we know we are not alone. Avaxl is the king of all gods and…”
Leslie trailed off as they caught my sideways glance.
“You don’t believe a word I’m saying, do you?” they asked.
“The System has a slightly different opinion about where the sun and stars came from,” I said dryly.
Leslie sighed, releasing my shoulders. “Alright, most of what I jheijfsndjufjsdd myth, but he’s still important. Avaxl created the gods who created us.”
I looked at them skeptically. The whole religion of the Outcasts was still a complete mystery to me. I doubted I would ever be able to understand it.
“Well,” I said, “as long as I get some good food out of it, I don’t mind celebrating.”
Leslie chuckled. “Fine by me.” They took my hand once again and led me through the crowd towards the rhythmic music. “Sounds like the show’s about to start. Iemfkdhsijnefde can get good spots now.”
Suddenly, a strong pressure slammed into my shoulder. I stumbled into Leslie, who managed to catch me before I fell on my face.
“Dax, are you alright?” they asked.
“Yeah,” I responded, glancing back at the surrounding crowd. Did someone push me? The people walked past, ignoring us completely. It didn’t seem like anyone was lingering around.
I straightened up, still scanning the crowd. It could’ve been an accident.
“Ytjioefmsdjhurjefdsfnusdijredfnsujeily,” Leslie said.
I turned to them, surprised to see Leslie looking worried. “What did you say?” I asked.
“You’ve been acting strange,” they said. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”
“I… um… probably?”
Leslie frowned. “If you say so,” they muttered.
I couldn’t look at them as we settled in to watch the festival show. I didn’t want to tell them that I thought someone was following me. At least not yet. I wanted to be certain before I told anyone.
To be continued...