Submission (#489) Approved

419 words

Normal shards:
+4 (prompt)
+4 (400+ words)
+1 (Small companion)

= 9 shards

Having spent a good amount of time working on her costume, Meiling was excited to show it off to her friends. She'd opted for a more elegant, gothic, vampire, and had in fact, decided to forego a dress, deciding that the more classic, dracula look would serve her purpose more. She didn't want a skirt and long shifts to get in the way of being able to move and enjoy the games the celebration had to offer.

Maple, her Cherikeet, had been a constant companion throughout this, and while Winter had taken one look at them and decided he was staying home, the small bird got a costume of her own; a little bow and a bit of paint to make her look as batty as possible without it being an inconvenience to her. Thus, with her small familiar in hand, it was time to join the party, and see if she could, perhaps, find decent company to hang out with. Meiling figured it couldn't be too hard to do so, and that sooner or later she'd stumble across one of her friends.

Once out on the streets, it was easy to merge into the crowds, watching children play here and there, as she made her way to the venue that would be used to keep people mostly together, and the children watched over by the adults.

After all, it would be a good idea to keep mostly together; she'd heard wind of strange noises and weird happenings in the forests, and she wasn't sure she wanted to remain alone for too long, just... you know, in case something happened. She'd grown out of kithood long ago now, and was aware that most of what people spoke of about Agare was... well, falsehood.

She had little doubt they had existed but something about how farfetched the whole myth had gotten made her think it was little more than noise to scare the kits, and give them something to fear and behave for. Surely it could be nothing other than that! Still, better be safe than sorry, and even if she didn't quite believe the whole story, there was little to no harm in finding friends and company. As such, she weaved through the crowds and finally grinned when in the distance, she saw the tell tale sign of Xiaovi's head peeking above the others. Where the large, tall, green wool went, his friend Weisheng was sure to follow, and she wanted to give the guy a gift she'd made.