The Small Parade

[Ashken]

Aito

---

As temperatures cooled passions still flared on this small coastal town. A few years ago the town was on the verge of collapsing, their new Mayor an Eccentric individual began making many changes, in particular trying his best to attract people to spend money in the town. 

The town used to have a small festival that celebrated the end of summer and beginning of spring which was punctuated with lanterns being released on the last night of the festival. Since the Eccentric mayor had taken over he has added more and more elements to the festival turning it into a rambunctious carnival resembling those from across the sea. 

People have taken to calling it the small parade, as it has evolved into something that resembles famous Yokai parade. The mayor having famously proclaimed that if it brings joy its welcomed in the festival. 

---

Aito recently found work in what felt like a dream job, a magazine that specialized on photography, and they seem be looking for new talent with an eye for unique photos. He though he would be a shoe-in he could take aerial pictures that others could not and he could go to places others would have more work in getting to. 

He brought in a couple of his pictures and was let known that they were not bad, but they lacked something, not counting that they already had someone who could take pictures in similar environments. Surprisingly he still got the job, being told he would be shadowing one of their more experienced photographer. 

He was provided the address to a small family inn at the costal town, he was to meet Emi there and hopefully learn what he was missing from his photography.

He had a camera with him and lanyard he had been provided just in case he needed to prove he was there with the magazine though he was told to keep it tuck away unless he needed, he had an ill fitting jacket that just made him look small from a distance as it was clearly made for someone with a fuller frame than him, his wings neatly tucked into his jacket as to not attract more attention than needed.

He was not sure if Emi was staying at the Inn or if she would meet him there, he had seen what he though was a picture of her at the Magazine office, but was not sure if it was here, thinking about it, maybe he should have asked for her number or something, but the idea of getting paid to travel to something as cool as a festival and maybe even get to try some food overtook most of the logical thinking powers of his brain.  

[Ram]

A coastal review for the magazine X-Sighting looked to be right up their alley of choice. The magazine looked to write segments for different places outside of Japan's usual city scape and classical towns that don't often get mentioned. On part of the local Mayor's request to have a written segment for their town, and fitting into what their magazine stood for, the Editors tasked a small group to tour the village. The workload was divided up with the writers going in for the firsthand segments and interviews of key points while the photographers would come in to further highlight the key events. Emi was on the road for the assignment with gear in tow to make headway there on the condition her spending wasn't on company card. Fair exchange for Emi's case. This time around she was informed a new hire will be accompanying her to provide additional venue shots to cover different approaches as well as some field guidance for the new hire. With her traveling by bike, the arrangement was to meet at one of the local inns as a base camp so she'll see them there. Some....Koroneko sounding name but Emi was sure she'll be familiar with her new co-worker more by the time the festival ends.

---

Rolling up into town on her bike, Emi marveled at how festive the place looked. The whole town brimmed with that eccentric party kind of feel a city like Osaka would find as kinship with. After some careful navigation around the festival grounds to find the inn, Emi hopped off and went to check for anyone that looked to be with the magazine. Or perhaps it'd be easier to just ask around. "Ah, maybe I should check in incase the weather turns," she realized and went to the inn to check if there was a reservation for her made by the X-Sighting magazine. No sense in getting her cameras wet while camping outside. Weather is said to rain often on the coast, or so her mother would say.

"Hi there, I'd like to check if there is a room listed for me? Name? Otoha Emi," the woman chatted with the inn keeper to double check if she was in the books. Emi kept her usual appearance of a varsity jacket with a custom painted hummingbird design on the back with flared out bell bottom jeans and steel towed boots. The back of her head had a high ponytail with a decoration of long feathers hanging off the scrunchy and a strap of googles resting around her neck.

While the woman may be dressed for the road, it was pretty warm gear to have for traveling south for a coastal village. She lightly tugged on the collar of her turtleneck and debated on changing once securing a room.

[Ashken]

After realizing that he didn't have a way to call or reach out to Emi, he passed around for a short time till he was asked to sit in one of the chairs that was available. He shifted for a while trying to get comfortable, after a while he nodded away into a sleep.

"...Otoha Emi,"

A part of him was awake enough to catch her say her name he blinked his sleep away, recognizing the jacket from another picture. The inn keeper checked her records finding a room reserved for Emi, taking out a small booklet of the town highlighting some of the events that took place during the festival, and a room key. "Hope you enjoy your stay" the keeper smiled a gentle smile.

It took Aito a while to wake up, his posture in the chair had cause one of his legs to fall numb and his back felt like little ants were running all over his wings, he shuttered as he tried to walk toward Emi before she left the area, "Miss Emi?" he asked as he partially limped to where she was standing, "I'm Aito," he was not sure how much information she was provided, he felt silly and somewhat disheveled, not exactly how he wanted to leave a first impression.

He remembered he had his lanyard, pulling it out he showed it to Emi, "I was told I would be learning from you" he found himself with a thousand questions and at same time finding himself without the words to ask them, realizing that this meant that she had just arrived he tried to tone down his enthusiasm, "If... uhm... you need time to check into your room I can just... meet you down here later?" he found himself stumbling on his words, he hoped he could make a better impression than this when he first met Emi.

[Ram]

Hearing her name, the woman turned around to see a young man in an oversized coat. "Yeah, that's me," she responded and tossed the room key up and down in her hand just to hear the key and wood clack together. Quickly she waved a friendly thanks to the inn keep lady and turned her attention to the boy. He didn't look... upright. Tired? Aito? Who was that? She tilted her head at him quizzically but stayed on the friendly side of things. "Hey Aito. I'm Emi. You wouldn't happen to know a Koroneko-san around here?" He seemed to know her somehow. Thinking he must be in contact with that Koroneko-san that she was supposed to meet, her eyes widened in surprise as he pulled out a lanyard from their company. Upon it wasn't Koroneko but KoroLENko. "Oooh it's you!" Emi exclaimed and bowed to make up for her blunder of getting the poor guy's name wrong. She made a fast reach for her wallet and handed him a business card.

"Otoha Emi at your service. You need a moment to stretch? You look kinda worn down." The woman smiled and clapped his shoulders for reassurance. Caring for a new junior was a treat to do and often times spoil them. "No worries though. I'm a pretty decent shot. An additional set of eyes can help gather ground and comparison shots to go through for the zine. You need anything? Maybe a nap or something? I could go for a stretch myself from the long ride over. How about we treat ourselves while we're out here. What do ya say?"

[Ashken]

"Yeah, that's me,"

He relaxed a little bit knowing he was not bothering a stranger, now he was bothering a senior co-worker, which was almost as terrifying, though she seemed quite relaxed as she tossed her key and caught over and over. 

"Hey Aito. I'm Emi. You wouldn't happen to know a Koroneko-san around here?"

"Ah uhm," It was not the first time someone had issues with his family name, being a foreign name didn't help he didn't mind, he blushed as he tried to think of how to tell her, he fiddled with his lanyard for a moment, but she beat him to the realization. 

"Oooh it's you!"

He quickly waved his hand as she bowed, "It's fine" he took the business card seeing the name on it, he was not super used to a lot of formalities, having spent a lot of his youth being able to avoid them. 

"Otoha Emi at your service. You need a moment to stretch? You look kinda worn down."

"Oh Thanks, I was not planning to fall asleep on that chair" he shrugged. Emi would probably realize her junior was bony fellow underneath his jacket, "A quick stretch and I should be good" he admitted, having recharged some of his battery in that inadvertent nap. 

"No worries though. I'm a pretty decent shot. An additional set of eyes can help gather ground and comparison shots to go through for the zine. You need anything? Maybe a nap or something? I could go for a stretch myself from the long ride over. How about we treat ourselves while we're out here. What do ya say?"

Aito nodded, "I would lie if I pretended not to be hungry... Would not mind making a detour for that", taking a moment to compose himself he bowed in a more formal way, "Looking forward from learning from you," he held up his old camera, "I thought I was decent, but boss said I was missing something" he let out a sigh, "Not sure what that something was though, he said I would figure it out" he had gotten good at capturing things, places, locations, but not so much at catching the emotion of what he was taking a photo. 

[Ram]

"Something missing huh? So that's what the boss said." The woman crossed her arms and tried to imagine what would be the cause of that. Not like family photos or just random pics with friends at a gathering could say there isn't emotion in them but, if she observed how this young man takes his photos, there could be some insight to it. Emi unfolded her arms and clapped the boy's shoulder again. "Let's eat!" Emi declared and made her way outside for her bike to grab her backpack. A small camera for the road and the rest for some weights. Tugging on the straps, Emi waved to Aito and pointed down the road of adorn shops. "Those look pretty good. Any allergies?"

The woman set forth down the street, the walkways lined up with decorated shops and smells that had her drifting left and right for which had the most appetizing treats. "Meat buns. Or grilled chicken. Or those fried noodles. How much to get? Let's see," she gleefully reached for her wallet when hearing the words from their boss echo in the back of her head.

'No company funds used for personal expenses'

Hesitating there for a moment, Emi now had to think on her real budget. Blowing much of this month's expenses on fair food would be a dent. The inn is covered so long as she doesn't overstay the gratuity fee and then gas for the bike. She debated on what to really narrow down the prices for and began scouting for what place had the biggest portion sizes. "Hmm, which one to capitalize on the most," she muttered in deep contemplation. "Aito, was it? How hungry are you feeling?" Seeing as how she is treating her junior, there was also that factor of an additional mouth to feed.

[Ashken]

"Something missing huh? So that's what the boss said."

He nodded, thinking back at some of the pictures he had taken he was no expert that he knew, but he felt he captured the subject, sadly the boss had been vague on where he needed to grow, so he had started to experiment a little, but was not sure if he had found that missing spark.

"Let's eat!"

The idea of eating anything just brought joy to him, he could not hide it if he wanted, his blue eyes staring back at Emi with barely contained excitement. Maybe a good meal after his accidental nap would help him think of ideas on how to get better at his photography. Fallowing Emi outside he saw her take some supplies from her bike, "Need help carrying any of that?" he asked, currently he was traveling light, he had a backpack with a few nicknacks and some spare clothing in his room at the inn.

"Those look pretty good. Any allergies?"

Closing his eyes for a moment he raised his head up breathing the air around them, hoping to catch the many food scents floating around, they all smelled so amazing unlike the clinical smell of hospitals. "No allergies" he answered as he looked down the street, "Those smell amazing" his stomach grumbled as he got more excited about food. Fallowing Emi down the streets he looked at the decorations, it was almost as it they were trying to outdo each other in unique ways.

"Meat buns. Or grilled chicken. Or those fried noodles. How much to get? Let's see,"

He overheard Emi enumerate some of the amazing things that were available, from the distance, he could see people also enjoying other amazing things like Takoyaki, Okonomiyaki and Taiyaki, there seem to be no shortage of options, it felt more like a celebration of life than one waving the end of summer.

"Aito, was it? How hungry are you feeling?"

He knew that he could eat a lot for someone with his small frame, he didn't want to lie, but he didn't want to abuse of Emi's charity. He started with his father famous non-answer "I can eat..." but he could hear his mom be upset at the distance... "Uhm... I'll be okay with a Snack" he would appreciate any good food and if necessary, he could get more food later, his allowance had basically become his meal fund over time.

[Ram]

"All this? Nah, I'm good on the weight. Better that way." The woman brushed off the assist nonchalantly before following up with a hasty reason for why. "I also have some extra equipment for later on so when the time comes for taking some wide shots, it's handy for me to keep around rather than running back to the bike on short notice." Hoping that expressed her need to be ready, her mindset went straight back to their food topic. All the options making her salivate to get her hands on the local treats.

Emi gave the boy a light smile and tried to consider portion sizes, the most bang for their yen. She searched around and found a strange for okonomiyaki. Those tend to come large and packed high. "How about there?" She pointed at the stand as the chef was busy drizzling topping onto a large batter sizzling away. Though while she was pointing, the woman was clearly fast approaching the stand and getting her order ready for this savory pancake to come extra stacked. With wallet in hand and eyeing the menu, Emi thought to make more casual talk with the new boy. Obviously, she had her lanyard hidden away to play the part of a tourist on this outing despite their business here becoming far more official. "So what made you want to be a photographer?" Emi asked pointed. In the mean time she hand her free hand take some shots of the street and the people roaming around and getting a quick shot at the chef as he flipped the okonomiyaki over on the grill. Eager to capture the moment as it were before her stomach takes over.

[Ashken]

"All this? Nah, I'm good on the weight. Better that way."

"Uhm... Okay" he felt a little deflated that he could not help, he tried not to take it personally, it would not be the first time in his life that he was told that it would be better if someone else handled something, when she followed up with the fact that she had extra equipment he nodded, having a little more understanding, his own camera was older, but his father had spent a fair bit over the years in lenses and other upgrades, with that in mind he felt less hurt not being able to help at this time.

"How about there?"

She pointed at the okonomiyaki stand, the scent of freshly made ones and the many aromatics of that toppings drizzled on them alone had him convinced, "Those are awesome" he responded as he tried not to drool in excitement, Emi approached the stand clearly ready, her wallet on hand and gravitating towards the menu. He shifted forward to get a better look at the menu and to not be in the way of other customers.

"So what made you want to be a photographer?"

He took a moment to answer, his eyes clearly focusing on the menu before him, he frowned for moment before answering and his features focused on the excitement of the food. "I wanted to make new memories..." he was not sure if he was living on borrowed time and his health would fail him again, so he wanted to fill the bland hospital rooms with the colors and memories he made while outside. "Though it would be a great way to share that excitement with others"

He watched quietly as she took a couple of quick pictures, "Did you go to a special school?" he asked, "To be a photographer I mean", his dad was mostly self-taught, though he had picked a few tricks from some of his clients over the years. "I'm learning as I go" he said as he took a picture of the sizzling Okonomiyaki "Which might be the problem"

[Ram]

"So your plan is to take a buncha photos for the magazine?" Emi asked as the whole thing sounded far more personal than work related. He could have achieved all that without the magazine. Taking pics and making scrap books or galleries like huge pros in the art. Whatever the guy meant in sharing that excitement, Emi wondered if he was going to hang around for long before finding his real calling. Once it was her turn to the order stand, Emi put down a bill and pointed to the festival special. "A large helping of that please! Enough for two if you can. Let's go for savory toppings." She gained a meal ticket to exchange once the food was ready and motion for Aito to join her at the table area where customers can sit and watch their food being made before served to them on heated stones.

She propped an elbow on the table edge and keep a loose eye on her surroundings for anything that would strike her interests. A balance of the local fair without feeling too staged. Thinking back on a school to go to, Emi raised a brow on what he meant by special till clarified. "Me? No. Only huge school I went to were the mandatory ones. Folks were nice but it wasn't a place I wanted to stick around. It's more thanks to my family that heading out seemed more worthwhile. My brother is more of a drifter with his hobby of camping that it rubbed off of me a bit. Though camping around doesn't exactly pay the bills." Emi laughed sheepishly and waved her small camera to distract her grumbling stomach. "Much like you, I took up photography. Said I can get some photos high up while most long ranged lenses are kinda heavy and require stands and a high ground. Expensive stuff but if I can achieve similar results with lighter cameras then it's a win." 

The aroma of the food was quickly making her mouth water so eventually the small camera was pocketed away to avoid any spills. "So what's this festival about exactly? Heard the new Mayor has been up on making the whole thing bigger than the last year. Or was it every day? I kinda skimmed the memo after receiving the initial letter."

[Ashken]

"So your plan is to take a buncha photos for the magazine?"

He shrugged, "At least till I get good enough" he knew there was more to this than just taking a bunch of photos, he wanted to be good and capture the energy of the moment. He knew there were good pictures and there were great pictures. The difference between knowing how an item in the menu looks and practically being able to taste the food on the page and he knew he was being a little selfish in his mission to get good, but in the end, he was going to do his job and hopefully do good work for the magazine. 

"A large helping of that please! Enough for two if you can. Let's go for savory toppings."

As they got closer, and Emi ordered he tried taking a few more pictures of the food before them, if he could not capture the perfect picture the first time around, he would take a few and hope to find good ones to work from. He joined Emi in the table, taking a moment to check the few pictures he took in case he wanted to get rid of any of them already. 

"Me? No. Only huge school I went to were the mandatory ones. Folks were nice but it wasn't a place I wanted to stick around. It's more thanks to my family that heading out seemed more worthwhile. My brother is more of a drifter with his hobby of camping that it rubbed off of me a bit. Though camping around doesn't exactly pay the bills."

"Yeah..." he lowered his camera "I think I was a good student... not that I made many friends" by the time he got to go to a school, most had already made their own groups and had friends, a lifetime of homeschooling and isolation made it hard not to be the weird awkward kid, they still made him go once his powers manifested and his health got better, but his experience there had not been stellar. "Mom wanted me to stay put... Dad though I should travel a little... the magazine was a middle point" his family had spend so much on his health over the years he felt bad adding more stress just so he could enjoy his newfound freedom, working for the magazine seem ideal. 

"Much like you, I took up photography. Said I can get some photos high up while most long ranged lenses are kinda heavy and require stands and a high ground. Expensive stuff but if I can achieve similar results with lighter cameras then it's a win." 

He rose and eyebrow as she said she could take pictures up high, he looked at her heavy bags and his imagination started to get the best of him, he could see Emi with rope and all sort of claiming equipment, or free climbing surfaces, it started to make him wonder if the hummingbird design on her jacket was either a club or a personal signature, "I can do high, but picture get a little shaky" he let out a nervous laugh "I wonder if that's why the boss wanted me to work with you for a bit", he had thought about how cool and kind of unique taking pictures from up high could be, but it had not crossed his mind the advantages of not needing all that extra equipment to have similar results. 

"So what's this festival about exactly? Heard the new Mayor has been up on making the whole thing bigger than the last year. Or was it every day? I kinda skimmed the memo after receiving the initial letter."

He had looked at the pamphlet and overheard some people while waiting for Emi, "Apparently it was some sort of celebration to see one season go and the other one come", he eyed at the food being cooked, having to force his attention back to the conversation, " Apparently the new Mayor wanted more people to visit, so he's been amping up the celebration in the last few years," he looked around at all the stands, food, music, art, "Someone checking in at the inn earlier mentioned that the town was transformed, they had visit a few years back but this was very different" he let out a sigh, "Though it seems like some of the town folk are getting annoyed at how big it's gotten" it would not take much to tell how much of the town energy was focus on the festival, from closed roads to crowds that where straining the inns. 

He scratched the back of head as he looked around more, a part of him found it hard to find all of this annoying, but he wondered how long he could handle this much change to his normal routine before it started to grind him down. 

[Ram]

The wait did take a bit so the server gave set two glasses of water on the table filled with ice. Emi grabbed hers and took a quick sip so she could tilt the glass around and make the ice cubes clink together while Aito shared a bit more of himself with each question. He reminded her of herself as he got to sharing a little of schooling life and what home was. A mom and dad with differing opinions on what Aito should be doing and what to do for a career. Emi continued to fidget with her water glass when recalling what things were like before landing a magazine gig.

"Yeah...," she sighed and took another sip. "School was all work and no play." The names and faces of former classmates were all a blur to the woman that Emi knew she wouldn't recognize any of them right away if given a brief run in. Maybe one or two for their wild hair styles but really, what style honestly stays the same? Guess there was no real connection or large interests or perhaps Emi had grown enough to be like them and start to forget by no longer caring. Focusing on other things in the adult way of life. "The moment I finished those skill courses and tested out, I was glad to be done with that. Testing for cycling licenses was much harder than that." Emi sighed with shoulders slumped at the idea. "If you ever wanna get a motorbike license, don't skip studying the traffic laws on the written portion and get coffee for the practical." Whether that was solid advice or not.

Her posture got more relaxed to where the backpack of equipment was removed and set under the table. A moment of stretching and rubbing her shoulders from the weight strain. She really hoped to one of these days that carrying all this stuff would no longer be an issue. "A surprise you are out with a job. How old are you?" Emi asked as the young man seemed like a regular teen to her in a large coat. Maybe Emi will treat him more during the festival once they're out of work mode. "Anyway anyway, I'm not sure how the locals would find the festival to be too large. Everything looks super vibrant like any festival in other cities and large events. These sorts of things just don't happen every day to make them that large and grand."

[Ashken]

"Yeah..., School was all work and no play."

"Yeah..." just thinking about school made him feel sore, his score was fine, and he had been ahead when it came to his studies, but when he finally got to go to school, they piled the physical therapy and training up high, they made it difficult to make friends, which had in a way defeated why he agreed to go to a normal school, once he got better. He took a sip of his water, enjoying the cold, "They worked me to the bone" 

"The moment I finished those skill courses and tested out, I was glad to be done with that. Testing for cycling licenses was much harder than that."

He had wondered how hard it would be to get a license; it would mean more ways for him to travel and see more of the world "Must be nice to not depend on the train and stuff" growing up he always though it would be cool to ride the train, till he had to take it during one of the rush hours, he had not felt that claustrophobic ever in his life, and though he's used to doing his best to keep his wings tucked and out of the way, having people press against them was not an experience he wanted to repeat. 

"If you ever wanna get a motorbike license, don't skip studying the traffic laws on the written portion and get coffee for the practical." 

"I'll keep that in mind" he smiled, "Though I think my mom would murder me if I asked for a bike..." he let out a sigh as he shook his head, he loved his mom and he knew she meant well, but she still treated him like the kid that was bound to his hospital room. "If it was up to her, she would keep me grounded" she didn't care for him flying around, though his doctor beat her on that fight, saying he needed to strengthen those muscles, or it would do him more harm than good. 

"A surprise you are out with a job. How old are you?"

He frowned for a moment; in the past it never bothered him that people though he was young, but now that he had a little bit of freedom and could head out by himself from time to time, it did get a little annoying, "I'm" he blanked out having to do some math with his fingers, "Seventeen... About to be eighteen" he felt a little deflated, he knew he looked young for his age, and due to how skinny he and how baggy his clothing, fit him he knew he looked smaller than he really was, and his large coat was not helping even if it did its job of hiding his wings and keeping them from bringing too much attention. He slumped and focused his gaze on the rivulets of cold-water running forming on his glass.

"Anyway anyway, I'm not sure how the locals would find the festival to be too large. Everything looks super vibrant like any festival in other cities and large events. These sorts of things just don't happen every day to make them that large and grand."

He shrugged, "I'm not too familiar with festivals..." he responded still in his somewhat deflated state, "I was to sick to go to them, seen pictures though." 

---

A loud screech filled the air for a moment clearing out to a crisp voice, bouncing around from the many speakers. 

Beautiful people! Welcome to our town! I hope you all are enjoying yourself! But don't burn yourself out all in one place. Taste the food, visit the stands, try some crafts or ride the machines! If your legs grow tired, come to one of the many stages to watch a show. Once the night fully envelops us, we will have a magnificent light parade, punctuated by fireworks. This is just a small taste of what is to be expected, be merry and have fun!!

[Ram]

"Ah. I wasn't sure if you were of drinking age but good to know." Emi responded, unawares that the issue was something else entirely. The new hire looked to be oddly focused on being outside but not all that happy to be outside for some reason. Strange. "How about we look around more to walk off the meal once it comes out? It is a small village but there's some ground to cover." While waiting a loud announcement was heard. Like at a giant theme park, there would be a light parade and fireworks! What a theme park treat to see! "Ya hear, that? They even got a parade going on!" The woman was thrilled and surprised that this small town had so much going for it. How could anyone be bothered about grand festivals with so much happening. As she was hoping to see Aito feel inspired again did their food arrive at last. A slate of piping hot layered dish of savory goodness with tiny serving spatulas to cut and eat at their pace while the slate kept the food hot.

"It's beautiful! Thank you," she gleefully thanked the chef and waiter. Childishly waving the little cutting spatula in hand as she thanked for the food and dug in. Her stomach was just as eager for the food as Emi hadn't eaten anything for hours on the drive to the village. Soft chunks of what looked like pancake batter between layers of shredded cabbage and chopped seafood was neatly disappearing into her mouth. "Oo~ Hot~ But soo good. I hope you're finding it just a well," she spoke in-between bites to Aito as though she forgot about the assignment and just here to have fun.

[Ashken]

"Ah. I wasn't sure if you were of drinking age but good to know."

Aito shook his head, "No, no, no" he was not old enough to drink, and over the years a number of his medicine had left him groggy and loopy and sort of messed up, to which his father would joke if he had gotten into the alcohol. If the real thing was anything similar to his medication, he wanted nothing to do with it. Just thinking of it made him imagine the bad taste of some of the syrups he had to drink over the years, grabbing his glass of water and trying to wash away the imagined taste. 

"How about we look around more to walk off the meal once it comes out? It is a small village but there's some ground to cover."

Lowering his glass he nodded, "That be cool" surveying the area would give them a good idea of where to take pictures and maybe find some fun little secrets. Or things that were not advertised, he overheard the announcement, a smile slowly forming as he got excited about it all, the fact work was part of this slowly slipping to the side. 

"Ya hear, that? They even got a parade going on!"

"I've never seen a light parade. I wonder if its modern lights or lanterns?" his mind was already running wild, trying to visualize how it might all go. That was something he hoped to get to see. Maybe even capture a few pictures. He snapped out of his day dream by the scent of food, close, warm, savory. He watched as the food steamed for a moment, as Emi took her first bite. He clapped his hands together and gave thanks for the food. 

"Oo~ Hot~ But soo good. I hope you're finding it just a well,"

"Look so good" he did his best not to look extra hungry, taking a small piece he blew on it a few times, hoping to cool it off enough, it was still quite hot, but too tasty to let it beat him, he waved his hand trying to cool off his mouth, once he managed to finish his bite, he took it much slower for his fallowing ones to give them more time to cool off. "I who ever invented this was a genius, its so good" just savory enough. "Anything you want to check out first?" he asked, there seem to be so many things packed in the small village that he would be surprised if there was something not available.