The Tryan Gully harvest festival was in full swing. The drinks were flowing and the buffet table was filled with a wide variety of foods. The tavern was filled with joyful accordion music being played by an orc with back instrumentation from his family. Monsters and humanoids of all kinds mingle and eat together.
A white-haired man in red stands next to a man with a red bandana and yellow vest. Vartan had come to the festival dressed as a well known hero, ally to the person Kefka was dressed as. He picks up a plate of maple cakes. "I'll never tire of these. I could try making them at home, but I doubt... I'm not sure where our maple syrup would come from. Orkutsk maybe? It's mostly Oak and Yew near Argonia I think. It probably wouldn't taste the same as here though." Kefka adjusts his bandana as Howard hops onto Vartan's head.
"You also don't have Throk and the kitchen crew over there. I'm not sure we've ever had any of your baking. You're a very good cook, but you can't really make bread on a campfire while being pursued by evil. It takes too long."
Vartan looks Kefka up and down and smirks.
"We've got the hero and Angelo. Now all that's missing is a Yangus and a Jessica. Do you think we could convince the others to..." Kefka put a hand up to stop Vartan's train of thought.
"Motoko would kill you before you got her to wear that dress or dye her hair red."
"Jessica's usual dress covers more than her last dress for the merchant's ball. Simpler material too, she'd probably be more easily convinced to wear it." Kefka sighed and gripped Vartan's shoulder tightly.
"Please don't joke about my girlfriend and your friend like this. Besides, if we get Yasuhiro to play Yangus, she could be Red. They've already got the 'knew each other before meeting the hero' thing going on." Vartan's smirk grew into a cheeky grin.
"So you'd rather see her in red leather? Who knew innocent little Kefka could have such a preference." He said with a snicker. Kefka rolled his eyes.
"If you want a Jessica so bad, why not convince Karina to dress as her? She's already got red hair." A light flush crossed over Vartan's cheeks. A look of realization appeared on Kefka's face. "Don't tell me you've done that."
Vartan rubbed that back of his head. "Let's just say she got some ideas when I said I wanted some help with this outfit. It was only once, but it was a really good time. We're comfortable enough with each other that we don't need to mix it up to have fun, but trying new things is good sometimes." Kefka shuddered and took a sip of his drink.
"I really don't need that image in my mind. Do you have a thing for shopkeepers? This isn't the first time you've done this."
Vartan scowled at Kefka. "First of all, Karina was the one who brought the idea up. I never made any advances on her. Until you started dating Motoko, I never considered her as anything other than a person I buy hats from. At that merchant's ball, she was the one who told me to talk to my parents and start getting my crap together. We've only been on one official date." Kefka rolled his eyes.
"More than enough time to get what you want right?" Vartan scowled at Kefka, who put his hands up. "That was over the line, I'm sorry. I have seen how you two look at each other. I'm happy you have someone who cares for you like I care for Motoko, even if you express that affection in different ways." Vartan raised an eyebrow.
"Wait, so when she came here on your birthday you didn't..."
"We did exactly as I said. Talked and relaxed on my couch, though I suppose it was closer to cuddling in hindsight." Kefka finishes his drink. "Don't get me wrong, I've thought about it multiple times. I just don't know how she feels or how to approach her about it. I'm still new to these sorts of relationships. I don't want her to think I'm pushing her in a certain direction."
Vartan finishes one of his maple cakes. "You two have to figure that out for yourselves. Karina and I handled it one way, but I know that way probably won't work for you. To be honest, Karina is the first woman I feel I could be that sort of honest with. I wasn't sure I could feel that sort of intimacy after what we went through. She pulled my head out of my a**." He sets the empty plate aside. "The shopkeepers while we were travelling together weren't... It felt more like a transaction than anything else. It felt good, but there was an underlying sense of using each other as a means to an end. That isn't what you and Motoko are doing. Your relationship is built on honesty and working together to achieve things greater than you could alone. This is just another thing you need to be honest about." Kefka takes a bowl of soup and a chunk of bread from the buffet table.
"I know that, but it's good to hear someone else say it. I'll talk to her about it next time I see her." Vartan takes a tankard of hard cider from the table.
"You might want to send Howard out if you do get there. Even I have trouble performing when a pet is watching me."
kefkadragon Community Member 
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