The second day of the cultural festival has finally arrived and Evan is thoroughly excited to pretend as if yesterday's whirlwind of events never happened. Ignorance is bliss as they say. However, what his heart wants and what he gets are two very, very different things.
Standing right next to Evan was Yan, who had decided she would be his date for the second day. He had walked maybe two whole feet out of his dorm building before he was ambushed. Yan seems to heavily believe that if he were to be left alone, he would somehow die a horrible tragic death.
At first, he had told her no, wanting to take the day for himself after yesterday's events, but that didn't deter Yan. Oh no, it motivated her instead. He had made it as far as the center fountain when Yan decided to break out into tears, a far cry from her personality, attracting the attention of whoever was around. Displeased looks were present on the surrounding pedestrians who clearly believed he had gone out of his way to make her cry somehow.
Feeling under pressure, Evan had no choice but to say yes and once he agreed, her tears cleared away as if they were never there in the first place. If his mother from the past watched Yan in that moment, she would have hired her as an actress. That right there is talent, the ability to cry on demand and make it realistic enough to be believable.
Now, Evan is walking around the Oceanus booths with Yan hanging onto his arms in a manner that makes him uncomfortable. Mary Ann used to do that and the thought makes him flinch a bit. His fear of women has gotten much better since going to the academy as he got over the fear of being murdered by every woman he passed by.
The Oceanus booths made Evan feel as though he was granted the ability to walk underwater. The entire hallway seemed as if it were taken right from the kingdom and placed into the school through the use of special magic. Beautiful plants were placed strategically around the area, bringing out the perfect image of what it would be like to live in Oceanus.
Evan was completely floored and intrigued at the same time. Little tiny fishes swam throughout the hallway, most likely as illusions, but that didn't stop Evan from trying to touch them. They were so realistic in their actions as they swam away from his hand.
"Hm, subpar compared to home." Yan stated, firm in her belief that her land was far superior in all aspects. It wasn't necessarily arrogance as before her land was hidden from the eyes of others, it was considered to be the most beautiful place in the entire world. Nowadays, Oceanus has taken that place.
Evan was a bit surprised by Yan's statement, but her blunt personality is something he'd gotten used to during class. She would blatantly tell him that his magic wouldn't improve by following along with everyone else and he had always wondered how she knew, until her reveal.
Yesterday felt like a break in her personality, or at least the one he knew well enough. Faeries, by nature, were mischievous creatures and yet, Yan just isn't. She dislikes fooling around, instead she enjoys staying ahead of their peers.
"I've never really seen your home, so we'll agree to disagree." He carefully utters out, not wanting to accidentally step on a land-mine of sorts. He has never seen Yan mad, but her bored expression is sometimes difficult to read.
Yan just nods at Evan, before dragging him towards a booth full of odd trinkets. Evan's eye is caught by a silver crystal, with little gold specks within it. He carefully reaches out to it, feeling a warmth embrace his entire body. "Interested?" A voice drawls out and Evan is momentarily caught off guard.
The guy is pretty average, with short brown hair and brown eyes, as well as pale skin, yet the look on his face gives off such a welcoming feeling. Charmed really. He'd only really felt that way with his parents and Cole, so it was a bit odd. "Er yeah, i'd like to purchase this crystal if possible." Evan says and feels kind of awkward already, having been unable to return the welcoming feeling.
"10 silver coins then." The male states, causing Evan to splutter. 10 silver coins?!? That's an insane price! Unsure if he should go with the purchase or not, he is saved by Yan, who places a box she found next to his crystal. "I'll pay for it, so tell me the price of both items." She states in a no-nonsense tone.
"You don't have to pay for me." He whispers to Yan, who turns to face him. "Take it as a thanks for sticking with me today so far." She whispers back, turning back towards the student behind the booth.
"17 silver coins." The student's voice drawls out, with Yan throwing down the correct amount before dragging Evan away. He looks back at the student and is surprised to no longer see him, nor the booth they just purchased from. Shrugging it off for the time being, Evan lets himself be dragged along, feeling comfortable with Yan.
They stop by another booth, full of books with genres ranging from fiction, to autobiography's. Yan let him go and turned around to face him, a small smile visible on her face, which is a stark contrast to the regular bored-like expression she often wears. The only time he really got to see her show more expressions was yesterday and he thought it'd be the only time.
"Thank you for accompanying me today, though it was not completely willingly. I will set up times to train with you after the festival, so do be on the lookout for that. See you in the future." Once again, Yan disappears and manages not to attract any attention, as teleportation-type magic isn't completely rare, though Evan knows that isn't the case.
Evan quickly purchases an Oceanus history book, before leaving the beautiful hallway. He had skipped breakfast that morning and was starving, so he made his way towards the cafeteria.
As he walked towards the cafeteria, the little silver crystal in his hand glowed a bit, but it went unnoticed by Evan.