And the golden-haired lady laughs bright as a bell, says that good things are often quite small...

[foryourown]

The sun never seems to rise after the feast, leaving the castle and its surroundings in a sort of twilight that goes on and on without showing any sign of ending. After a time - it’s impossible to tell just how long - snatches of music and singing and laughter start to filter into the guests’ atrium seemingly from everywhere. The same doors the

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Games

[foryourown]

Darts, ball toss, target practice, ring tosses of various kinds - many of the booths have simple, mechanical displays and eye-catching colors to draw people in. They're hard, but fair, and if you win, you'll get something either simple and functional or mildly magical.

[breakmychest]

Spike did enjoy games. He stood in front of a game with darts and spinning hoops, pondering whether or not he should try it. It looked simple and entertaining enough. But he wasn't sure he trusted the game or the people running it anymore than he trusted anything about this place.

[isaywe_party]

Buffy was totally not being avoid-y in terms of Spike. She just was ... getting her space.

It wasn't as though they hadn't done those things before. They had, many many times, but Buffy was a different girl then. She had hit the lowest of her lows, and while Spike was different now than he was then too ... she hadn't let him get that close to her since he had gotten his soul, and now she didn't know what to do with it.

She knew there were feelings there. She knew that sooner or later, she was going to have to face those, but she had hoped, just for a little while longer, that she could go on being oblivious and pretend that she didn't see the feelings there. She couldn't, though, and she knew it.

She spotted him in the games, looking as though he's trying to decide whether or not to play, and she slowly made her way closer, before speaking up. "If you want to try and play, I don't think they're gonna bite."

[breakmychest]

Spike glanced over at her and gave her a small smile. He hadn't exactly been searching her out either. He wasn't sure how she'd react to what they'd done. Part of him thought he was making too big a deal of it. It had been barely anything, just a small kiss and a dance, tame compared to what they'd done before. But at the same time, it took them in a direction they hadn't gone since he'd gotten his soul back.

He still worried that he'd do or say something that would piss her off, make her remember all the reasons she should hate him, and he knew he'd crossed a line. It wasn't that it was the first time he'd been tempted, but he'd sworn to himself he wouldn't go there. If he let himself think about the world after they fought the First, if they even survived that, then maybe. If she initiated something, maybe. But he'd misread her before, and even if this was completely different, nothing like what he'd done then

Food Vendors

[foryourown]

They don't have the bright colors or noisy music of the carnival games, but the smell is enough to draw people in. Whether it's designed to warm, to make you feel nostalgic, or just to fill your stomach, it's all delicious - and very fairly priced. A song, a joke, a conversation is all you have to pay, and the vendors will take them in as though enjoying a fine meal themselves.

[im_apimp]

Alec is all about the food.

If he could actually figure out how to pay for it.

He's aware that it's probably something simple, but there aren't a lot of things in Alec's life that are simple. In fact, the entirety of it is pretty damn complicated, so he's hanging back a bit, trying to figure out where to start. It all smells good. Really good. He just needs to figure out how to get some of it on a plate.

This could take him a minute.

[bell_bound]

Mogget is also all about the food. However, since he's heard that it might be drugged, he's hanging back to see if it has any adverse effects on others first.

Which is why there is a small white cat skulking around the vendors, watching the proceedings with keen eyes.

[im_apimp]

Given all the cats that are around here lately, Alec doesn't think much of the small white cat wandering around the vendors. But he does know that the cats can sometimes have decent information, if you're willing to work around a riddle or too. Add to the fact that his feline genetics have made the cats predisposed to him in the first place, he figures it couldn't hurt to ask.

He moves closer to the cat and drops into a crouch, extending a hand out to him slowly. "Hey. Got time to help out someone who's still learning his way around?"

Merchants

[foryourown]

The prices at these booths are a bit steeper - it'll take more than a casual conversation to get you a bottle of sunlight or a lover's gown. Whatever you're looking for, you can probably find it. Or find something like it. Just don't try to steal from them, or you might find yourself working for them until the debt is paid, like it or not.

Re: Merchants

[knowmypurpose]

Cordelia was making her way through the different merchant booths, looking around curiously. Being a shopper at heart, she couldn't help but feel drawn to the various things for sale, even if she had no money at the moment to spend on anything. She wasn't looking for something in particular, but trying to take it all in. If they were all stuck in this gala thing until it was over with, she figured she might as well find some way to enjoy herself, even if it was only a little.

[isaywe_party]

Buffy happened to be wandering through the shops as well, admiring things she can't have. It was her staple in life, after all. Save the world from unspeakable evil, put her life on the line every day, but never really make enough to pay the bills, let alone afford something a little extravagant. That doesn't mean she can't look, however, and she pleasantly makes her way through the various things that were on display, until she came across something that she knew wasn't part of the fairy accessory collection.

Or more importantly, someone.

"Cordelia?"

[knowmypurpose]

Cordelia blinked in surprise at the familiar voice. She hadn't really run into anyone she knew at this gala thing, other than her roommage Bela, and Sokka at the first dinner party. But no one from home. It was good to know at least one of them hadn't been turned into a frog by the fae people, or something equally weird like that.

"Buffy?" she asked in shock. "Didn't ever think I'd be so glad to see you."

Plays and Minstrels

[foryourown]

Down past the vendors is where the performing artists take over. While the less talented try to attract watchers between the booths of merchants and game runners, the grand artists - the ones sponsored by Tempest herself - have the one third of the promenade to themselves.

Some act in tribute to their patroness, some sing in mourning for the Wood or the King. None mention Summer at all.