Happy Holidays (10)

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On the fifth day of the holiday week, Tih starts it off with Victor. They spend the day walking around the Market that's been decorated to high heaven. Biodegradable confetti litters the ground from the previous nights.

Streamers, hats, balloons, garland, decorated skulls, pumpkins, marigolds, alebrijes, julekurver decorations, straw goats, candles, pine trees, red lanterns, door couplets, etc.

It's as if each shop is celebrating a different holiday. It's a collage of colors. The shops are also selling special, holiday-themed things and the food vendors have switched to more festive street food and snacks.

Colorful Lights illuminate the entire market. Decorations made out of lights. Buildings lined with them. Some have patterns or are animated. Some are holographic.

Tih walks through the streets, checking out all the new things displayed in the windows. He buys an elote to snack on. The streets are crowded and loud and joyous.

He visits June's shop, but it's closed. Most places are, including the office buildings like Sinclair's. Some restaurants and shops are the only ones still open.

It's evening by the time Tih finishes exploring. He hears a louder noise in the distance and follows it. It's a parade. It slowly snakes down the street and intends to cross the entire market. They've been doing this every day since the vacation started. A train of people grows longer as people follow the back of the parade.

Tih watches the dancers in costumes with colorful embroidery and textiles, the slow parade floats, torches, colored powder bombs, water guns, a band, masquerade masks, and performers like acrobats.

Tih finds Victor among the crowd and they watch the parade together. The area they're in is getting more cramped with the influx of people. Victor looks around while asking, "Do you have your grappling hook on you?" Tih pulls it out. "Can you bring us up there?" Victor points to the top of a building.

Tih nods. He wraps an arm around Victor's waist and pulls the trigger. The hook latches to part of the wall and carries them up. They sit on the ledge and watch from above. The sound is more distant from above.

"Have you been to the third colosseum?"

Tih nods, his legs swing back and forth.

"So many different religions and cultures. All peacefully in one place. I wonder, should I have tried to bridge the gap between the righteous factions. Would it have turned out differently if we let go of our pride and improved relations between sects? Would we have fallen as badly as we did? There's so much I regret, but no second chances. I'll never be able to avenge my sect. I have to live a new life with this knowledge. That piece of..." He reminds himself that cultivators shouldn't act improperly and spout profanities.

He turns his head to Tih,"Do you have any memories? Of your past life?"

Tih doesn't quite comprehend the question and Victor doesn't ask any more.

"The team's doing good. We're already making plans for shops in the Market. We're putting the finishing touches on the blueprint and we've come up with our anonymous owner. He'll be the face of our company. Lucien is working on the holographic model for it and Sherlock's planning its first introduction to the world. We still haven't decided on a brand name..."

Victor looks at Tih's blue eyes. Going with Poseidon would be a dead giveaway," Ceto. Everyone pitched a few names, but I like Ceto the best. Sea monsters lurking under the water. I believe it fits our image. Do you like it?"

Tih stares back into Victor's calm eyes. His sense of superiority as a cultivator has receded. Victor talks about their plans while watching the parade below. Sometimes a balloon surfaces to their height and Tih pops it with the grappling hook.

Soon, the sound of the parade moves further and further and the sight is blocked by buildings," I promised to hang out with Theo in an hour from now. Can you, um, bring me down? Please." Victor cringes at the last word. Asking for help is out of his comfort zone, but he still can't fly."

Tih brings them both back down and they part ways. Tih walks out of the marketplace and heads to the field in between the lake and mountains. He saw bright lights coming from that direction when he was on the roof. It's night. The dark sky is lit up with stars.

As he gets closer, the sound of booms grows louder. Looking across the sea of tall grass, there's patches. People are laying down and staring up at the sky, watching fireworks.

Tih rustles through the grass, scurrying around until he spots a bright light. He approaches, it's Lucien's computer screen. Lucien's eyes are locked on his bright computer screen. The fireworks are much less beautiful in comparison to him.

The reason he's out here is for some peace and quiet. Even with the fireworks, it's the quietest place around. Even the dorms are noisy at night. At least the people here are silent. If you go down to the shore, there's a bonfire, barbecue, and smaller fireworks.

Tih sits down next to Lucien and leans over. Lucien doesn't mind and doesn't move. The screen has a text convo that is talking about renting a factory. The team's only recently discovered that the island has multiple levels to it. Below the topsoil is where all the products you see in the market are made, at least the mass produced ones.

There's also places that make paint, bricks, and other stuff for the shops. The second floor is also where most of the scientists and inventors work. It's all located directly under the Central Market.

Tih stops paying attention to the screen and runs off. He comes back with two mugs of hot cocoa. He hands one to Lucien, who's forced to stop typing to hold it. He looks at it.

The evaporation creates a warm steam. The mug itself carries over a warmth to his cold hand, turning it red. The liquid is topped with whip and marshmallows. He takes a sip. Peppermint. He's not fond of peppermint.

He glances at Tih who's quite enjoying the drink. He makes it look so tasty. He tries another sip. Still not good. Yet he continues taking sips until it's empty. Even the whip has been consumed. There's a warmth in his stomach, it spreads to the rest of his body. He cranes his head up and his slouched posture fixes itself. They watch fireworks and drink hot chocolate for the night.

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