Alunya looks around, confused. Somehow in the jostle of the crowd, he’d lost track of both Antares and Reia while getting seconds from the buffet line. Before he can find any trace of either of them, he feels someone else's hand on his shoulder, hot to the touch.
“That’s a pretty head you’ve got on your shoulders there. You’re Alunya, right? Reia’s kid?” The slurred voice is asking him. Alunya whirls around to see who it is- A man Alunya doesn’t recognize, middle aged, a tad portly with a slouched posture, looking at him with an odd, uncomfortable intensity. Alunya just nods in reply, not knowing how to take it.
The man took in a sharp breath. “Mhm, and what a pretty little thing you are, too. Such a shame you’re a boy, with looks like that.” Alunya shivers uncomfortably. There was something altogether wrong with how the man was looking at him; He couldn’t help but notice his eyes were not meeting his own, instead looking him up and down with interest. There’s a distinct smell of alcohol on his breath; Though, granted, to Alunya’s sensitive nose, everyone in the vicinity had that same unpleasantly acrid smell. “I’m Tanith, I run the mill. I’m friends with your mother.”
Alunya jerks backwards, removing Tanith’s hand from his shoulder. “I’m sorry, mister, is there something you want?” Alunya asks, eyes darting side to side looking for an escape. It was harder to run away when surrounded by people like this, and he’d rather not start a scene and get another scolding from his mother.
The man leans forwards, hiccuping. “It's so noisy out here, isn't it? You look overwhelmed, why don't I show you a nice quiet spot where no-one will bother us?” Tanith tries to lift a lock of Alunya’s hair, but Alunya feels a sudden burst of anger at the attempt and bats his hands away, falling back on one foot in a defensive posture.
For a fraction of a second, Tanith’s flushed face contorts in anger. “How dare you treat your elders this way? Kids these days don't know how good they’ve got it.” He growls out before remembering himself. “Hey, I’m sure the crowd is just getting to you. Come on, I’ll help you find your mother.” He offers.
Though he can’t explain why, every fiber of Alunya’s being wanted to be anywhere other than where he was right now. He glances at the table, pondering his chances of getting a knife through the man’s throat before he could react. The drunk didn't seem the most coordinated, he probably wouldn’t be able to stop him…
But before Alunya can do anything of the sort, his brother appears from the side. “May I ask why you’re bugging my brother?” Antares asks brusquely.
The man staggers back and looks at the new arrival surprised. “C’mon, I just wanna show him something.” He insists, holding his hands up disarmingly.
Antares suddenly stomps forward and barks- like a wolf, teeth bared. “”Alunya’s mine, you got it?” He snarls. People were starting to stare at the interaction. Seemingly, Tanith didn’t like that- As soon as he gets his bearings from being startled by the boy's sudden aggression, he looks around and groans.
“Alright, alright, I guess I’ll just show you sometime later.” He mutters darkly. “Dumb kid, he’s practically begging for attention looking like that… Would be such a waste…” He mumbles sourly as he stalks off, glancing around.
Alunya frowns and looks at Antares. “U-um… Ari, what did you mean by that..?” he asks, wincing as he recognizes a now unfortunately familiar scent… The usual, distinctive smell of Antares, like fresh rain, was now tainted by the smell of alcohol on his breath.
Antares seemingly didn’t notice Alunya’s concern, as he grabbed Alunya around the neck and gave him a nuggie, eliciting a protest from the younger boy. “Don’t worry about it. Come on, follow me.” Antares drags Alunya through the crowd back to their table. As soon as Alunya is seated, Antares shoves a mug into his hand. “Here, try this!” Antares prods, grinning mischievously
Alunya takes a single whiff and poked the surface of the liquid with his tongue before recoiling, coughing and sputtering.
Alunya looks at Antares with a betrayed expression. “Blech! Where’d you get that?” Alunya asks, pawing at his tongue and spitting, while Antares just sniggers at him.
“Vekt gave me some and showed me where to find more! He said I could hold my drink well!” Antares boasts. “I downed a whole cup in one big gulp! Here, you try!” He pushes the cup back into Alunya’s hand, who knocks it over, spilling it onto the ground and shaking his head.
“Nu-uh, it tastes gross!” Alunya protests. Antares puts on a smug smile. “Well this is what all the grown-ups drink so I guess it’s only fitting that your big brother would be more grown up!” Even though he didn’t particularly like the taste, he takes another swig to prove it.
Alunya crosses his arms, scowling. “Well, I never said I wanted to be a grown up, anyways.” he puffs out his cheek.
Antares crossed his arms smugly as he took another swig. At least he had finally found something he was definitively better than Alunya at.
“Oh, don’t be like that. There’s plenty of boozehounds around already, your brother will make a better husband than most if he keeps himself sober.” Interjects a lady across the table from them.
Alunya looks disconcerted and mumbles “I don’t wanna get married, though…”, prompting Antares to throw his arm around Alunya and drag him over against his shoulder, smirking. “Yeah, Alunya needs someone mature to watch over him, so he’s stuck with me!” Antares teases, snickering.
Alunya wrinkles his nose in protest. “Ari, your breath stinks!”
Antares looks up at Alunya sardonically before purposefully breathing in his face, making the younger boy gag and cover his mouth. “Aww, does my baby brother not want to be near me?”
Alunya averts his gaze uncomfortably. “I didn’t say that…” He mumbles.
Antares grins widely, perhaps amused at Alunya’s discomfort. “You know, you’re right. You’re too immature to handle this, you’d better leave the drinking to your big brother.” He proclaims boisterously. “Here, you need me to feed you too? Say ‘ahhh’.”
Alunya perks up, and does exactly as Antares said, completely oblivious to the fact that Antares was making fun of him. “Ahhhh…” he holds his mouth open while Antares blinks in some surprise, giggles, then places the bite squarely in his mouth.
The mood is ruined by the sniggering of a youth sitting nearby- Alunya recognized him as one of the boys introduced by Rallic to get married earlier. Kuzir, Alunya thought his name was. His new wife was sitting beside him, looking down with an expression somewhere between shame and discomfort.
“Now that's a sight. A virgin snot-nosed brat here thinks he’s a real man.” The youth sneers, looking awfully confident for some reason Alunya couldn’t fathom. “You call that drinking? I’d drink you under the table in two mugs flat, you’re just a boy.”
Alunya opens his mouth, wanting to argue, then second guesses himself. On one hand, Kuzir was being incredibly rude to his brother… But on the other hand, he didn’t actually like Antares drinking, so he wasn't about to start defending his ability to stomach the bitter beverage.
Antares was looking shocked, maybe a bit ashamed, and stood up- He was tall enough that he was eye level with the older boy despite the difference in age. “I’m mature for my age! I have to be, since I’m the man of my house!” Antares protests.
This only triggers more laughing, and Kuzir grabs Antares in a headlock. “Oh, that’s real sad. You’ve never even felt the touch of a woman, how can you call yourself a man, unless you mean to say you’re a mother fucker! Hylicia, you whiteheads are pathetic.” He sneers. Antares yelps and struggles but can’t get free until Alunya leaps up and rips Kuzir’s arm away.
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“Leave my brother alone!” Alunya shouts, standing by him protectively as Antares staggers back.
Kuzir rolls his eyes dramatically and crosses his arms. “Relax you brat, I’m just having some fun. What would a virgin like you be able to do about it anyways?”
Alunya glares at Kuzir, standing in front of Antares with his fists balled up. “Why do you keep calling us that? What even is a virgin?” He asks defensively. He couldn't exactly protect Antares if he didn’t even know what he was being accused of.
“It means you haven’t been inside a cunt since you slid out of your mommy, shit for brains!!” Kuzir spat. “You’re just a stupid fucking kid who hasn’t been taught how to talk to his betters.”
Alunya grimaces. He didn’t know what half the words the youth had used meant, but he was able to piece it together… So that is what Reia meant by ‘celebrating’. What kind of a disgusting worm is that proud about something like that? Alunya can’t help but be incredulous, almost stunned for a moment. Apparently Kuzir takes that as a victory, as he smugly stalks off to go brag about his ‘conquests’ to someone else.
“Smug bastard…” Antares mumbles. “Thinks he’s better than us just because he’s married now…” He mutters, darkly.
Alunya watches Kuzir disappearing, before quickly returning to Antares’s side, looking at him with concern. “It's alright, Ari, he’s gone now.” Alunya frowns. Antares looks back at him, still glowering, and Alunya shrinks away. What gives? He’s not… Angry at me, is he..?
That thought would be interrupted, as Reia had finally found the two of them again. “Of course I’d end up looking all over the festival grounds for you two then find you back where I started.” Reia laughs, but quickly sobers up once she sees their mood. “...What's wrong? Something happen while I was looking for you two?”
Alunya pauses, gently holding his older brother around the shoulders. “Nothing worth mentioning… Just some jerk was being a jerk.” Alunya replies, never taking his eyes off of Antares, who was still sulking.
Reia sighs, looking frustrated, and sits across from them. “I’m sorry I wasn’t around. I thought you’d run off somewhere to play festival games again.”
Alunya giggles, shaking his head. “Nope! Just got lost in the crowd for a minute! Everybody is being really weird and gross today.”
Reia gives Alunya a long look, frowning. “Well, you didn’t have to come. Maybe you should have stayed home.” She says. “You're not old enough to look for a match, anyways.”
Alunya frowns back. What is it with how everyone is acting today? This is not the kind of mood I want at my festival! Besides, it wasn't like he could have stayed home- Antares wasn’t there.
But before the conversation can continue, the trio is interrupted by a bell clanging out, signaling the beginning of the next phase of the festival. Reia looks up at it, alerted, and smiles at Antares. “Ah, and there’s the bell… Come on, there’s someone I need to introduce you to. You think you can stop sulking for long enough?” Reia asks.
Antares looks away. “I’m not sulking…” he mumbles, while very obviously sulking.
“Come on. I found a potential match for you, and it's time for the dance. Remember what we talked about with making a good first impression- Shoulders back, eyes straight ahead. No slouching, and no sulking, either, she’ll think you hate her.” Reia instructs, adjusting Antares’s posture. He looks uncertain, but, as he understands Reia’s words he peaks up with interest.
“You did?” he asks. “I mean… Yeah, of course you did.” he seems to cheer up and gets up to his feet, standing a bit higher off the ground than his own mother. Reia takes his hand-and Alunya’s, making sure to keep the latter securely gripped in her own-and leads the way.
As Reia approaches with her two sons, the target of her search waves at her. “Oy, over here!” A middle aged couple was standing around with their children. Five of them, though one is presently leaving with another adolescent in tow.
“This here is Nathi. She’s the one I was telling you about.” The mother presents the youngest of her present children, a fairly short, plain girl with straight black hair and brown eyes. Alunya has some trouble telling her age, since she was significantly shorter than either him or Antares, but didn’t look as childish.
The girl bows her head slightly, remaining unexpressive. “Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you.” She announces, cordially. “I take it this is Antares?”
“Um, hi.” Antares replies, awkwardly, bowing back unsurely.
“This is the match I found for you, Antares. You’ll be spending the rest of this festival getting to know her.” Reia affirms, squeezing Antares’s shoulders.
Alunya meanwhile was spacing out of the conversation, looking around at the proceedings. Music had started being played by a handful of simple instruments from near the plinth, and pairs of adolescents had joined together and were currently moving along to the rhythm.
Alunya’s eyes light up as an understanding of the event clicks in his head; It was a dance! Turning to Antares and ignoring Nathi, he tugs on his sleeve, eyes shining. “Oh, it's a dance! C’mon, Ari, let’s go dance!”
Antares blushes and pulls his arm away. “What? No, Alunya, I need to dance with Nathi.” He replies, brusquely.
Alunya looks at Antares with big, hurt eyes. “You mean you didn’t save the first dance for me?” He whines, then glares over at Nathi. Who did she think she was, Antares was his brother.
Antares blushes more and bats Alunya away. “No! I mean, yes, I mean, you don’t get a dance, boys don’t dance with each other! Especially not brothers!” Antares exclaims.
Alunya’s expression becomes even more dramatic. “I don’t even get to dance with you at all?” He shrieks, horrified. By now, the blush in Antares’s cheeks had just about reached his ears, and Reia pulls Alunya away.
“The dance is to help young couples get to know each other so they can find a match.” Reia explains. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for you and Antares.”
Alunya huffs and sulks. Did everything have to be about getting married here?
“Well, I’ll leave you two to it. We need to go find the rest of our kids' matches, now.” The father states, taking the rest of his children- all older than Nathi as far as Alunya could tell- away with him.
As Antares and Nathi leave together to the dance floor, Alunya is left alone with his mother.
“Why don’t you find someplace to sit down?” She suggests, pulling Alunya away. “I need to go talk to some other adults, you would just find it boring.”
Alunya puffs out a cheek. “No fair… I wanted to dance…” he pouts, stalking over to the seats. Sitting all alone without even any food sounds extremely boring, yet he couldn't just run off to go play and leave Antares. So, he scans the seats, and finds a single person he recognizes; Risa is also sitting alone, looking rather bored. So, he hops over there and takes a seat nearby.
“Oh, hi, Alunya.” Risa greets him, and Alunya greets her in turn. But not knowing what else to talk about, the conversation quickly vanishes, leaving Alunya uncomfortably restless.
The awkward silence lingers for a long moment as Alunya sulks, until finally it's broken by a simple statement from Risa.
“...I really like your hair.” She comments. Alunya’s demeanor instantly changes, puffing out his chest proudly.
“Thanks!” He beams. “My big brother helps me brush and wash it to keep it all shiny!” He announces, proudly.
“Your brother, huh?” Risa asks, a bit wistfully. “Vekt wouldn’t be caught dead doing my hair.” She giggles, lifting up her braids.
Alunya looks at her sadly. “Aww, that’s too bad. Antares is always helping me with all sorts of things.”
Risa shakes her head. “No, it's fine! He does alot of work to help our family, anyways. He helps us keep food on the table and shear wool for our clothes. So he has plenty of chores. It's the least I can do to take care of myself.” Risa affirms, then laughs a little. “Maybe I should do his hair. He certainly doesn't brush it out.”
Alunya claps his hands together. “Oh, you totally should! That’d be so cute!” He cocks his head looking at Risa. “Where is Vekt, anyways? Why aren’t you together?”
Risa points out at the festival, where Vekt was dancing with some other adolescent. “He’s out there. Your brother isn't the only one old enough to start looking for a match now, you know.”
Alunya puffs out a cheek, upset again. “Hmph. So you got left by the wayside too, huh?” He asks, disheartened.
“Hm? I mean, he’s just dancing. He’ll be getting married in a couple years, so he needs to find a good match.” Risa sounds unsure what Alunya was upset about.
For his part, Alunya just pouts more. Why is she so nonchalant about that..? Won’t she miss him? Risa apparently notices Alunya’s moodiness, and an awkward silence once again overtakes the conversation.