Chapter 36: Excited for the Festival
Misty snuggled into the blankets in her bed. Last night, she had chased away both Jay and Kason to spend some time alone. The both of them had been wearing her out. After giving them kisses, she excused herself and escaped to her room before they had a chance to stop her.
It was still early, but she dressed quickly. Her room faced west, but she could still see the dark edges of night being chased away by the dawn out of her window. The meadow was full of lush tall grasses shining a brilliant green in the bright light of morning. Glimmers of sunshine reflected off the dew covering the field.
She didn't waste any time and headed down the steps to the dining hall. She could already hear the murmur of people grumbling before their morning cup of tea. Interestingly enough, this world didn't have coffee. The tea was made from herbal elements and spices that could be found across the continent. There was no caffeine here though.
She even checked her encyclopedia to be sure and discovered that she knew the properties of any plant she saw. She also knew about plants that hadn't been discovered yet, but she didn't know which was already known about.
She hadn't had a chance to really talk to anyone who had been hired yet. She knew that eventually, she would get the time, but she was focused on getting ready for the temple. She grabbed a roll and some fruit and ran to the study where she knew that Jay and Kason were waiting for her. She flung the door open.
"Can we go now?" She darted over to the couch to give Jay a kiss before he could get up. Then she jumped over to the desk and gave Kason a kiss. She couldn't help the excitement coursing though her body and just the idea of leaving to the temple made her tremble. Jay chuckled and nodded his head to Kason. Who stood and embraced Misty.
"We should be able to leave here in a few minutes. The reply from the temple has us arriving there about midmorning, so we have some time left." Jay's smile turned into a smirk as his eyes slid down her body. Misty blushed at his attention, but Kason took that moment to let his hands glide up her body. Before he could torment her, she pushed his hand away and glared at him.
"We are not doing that this morning." She exclaimed. Kason pouted, but she knew that he was just pretending to be upset. She could see that Jay was amused at the situation and she walked over to the couch to sit next to him. Before she knew it, he grabbed her and placed her on his lap. She gasped in protest, but it was swallowed by Jay's mouth over hers. She could feel his fingers on her ribs inching up and she twisted and nipped at his lips, gaining a moment to escape.
Usually, she would let them continue with their teasing, but she was focused on getting to the temple for the ceremony. Jay had told her a little about it, but he said that during the festival, the temple performed a reenactment of the ancient myth.
To Misty, it sounded like a play, something she had always wanted to go to, but never had the chance to. She hurried to the door, glancing back at her two men.
"Are you guys coming?" she asked before opening the door leading out to the courtyard.
Both rushed after her and arm in arm, they exited the estate to the temple. Along the route, she saw plenty of couples along the main path. There were a few carts that looked like they were being pulled by a reptilian horse. These were called Saquus. When she first saw them, she had mistaken them for giant pythons. It was probably because the first time she had seen them was when she was exhausted from her ordeal when she first transmigrated.
Jay had started getting some for the stables and she was amazed at the beauty of the creatures. They were related to the traya, almost like a horse and kelpie. Similar, but one let you ride it and the other would speed you to your death. And, of course, unlike the kelpie, trayas were real in this world.
They also didn't have manes like a horse would. Grooming them was relatively easy, but every few months, they needed to shed their old skin. Misty had heard that the old scales could be used to make jewelry and she didn't doubt that. They looked more like small dragons and their colors were a rainbow of camouflage.
Before long, they could see the line of statues in front of the temple. For the festival, a statue at the end of the line had been decorated with red cloth and flowers. The statue was larger than the others and it was the only one that had two figures on it.
When she questioned what it was, her inner encyclopedia gave her the answer of dragon. She peered at the statues in surprise. It did have the long and undulating figure typical of eastern dragons, but the creature was obviously more mammalian in features. Sleek fur framed their faces, and they twisted around each other. If she were to compare it to any other animal she was familiar with, it would have been a cross between a weasel with the softened features of a dog. It was also bigger than all the other statues.
"Why is the dragon the only statue with two figures on it?" She stepped closer and could see the fine details. Their hands were joined and as she looked at the statue, she realized that the hands were actually the only thing holding the statue together.
"That is because dragons have soul ties." Kason said. Misty looked over at Kason in curiosity.
"Soul ties?" He nodded.
"I could explain it, but the temple presentation does a much better job explaining it."
"Alright." Misty looked over to the entrance and she could see the red flags fluttering in the wind. The three walked over and entered the temple.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone