Crushclaw and Polly sat close together, watching in the far-distance. The two were "uncommon siblings" as it were, as one was a common tark'ee and the other was a belemoid, and their pelts completely mismatched, too–but what they had between them was that they both had been adopted by the Sea-Cucumber tribe. Voidwhisper, a soluno with a well-patched pelt containing both koi and void, watched them while she held a feather-purse around one shoulder.

((They sat upon a tall hill in the fungal forest, one that allowed them just enough oversight through the densely-packed trees to see that something was happening. Deeper into the jungle, lights were flashing back and forth in bright strobes, and music so loud shook the birds into the skies and sent the monkeys–brown-furred gibbons–flying overhead past them in retreat.

The two moons were rising, which meant that night was falling, giving rise to a hundred specks of lanterns in the distance. But the most terrifying part of all–was a giant mechanical wheel, spinning above even the heights of the redwood trees. ))

"What'chu thinking about?" Voidwhisper appeared behind them, her cutesy-voice suddenly cutting off their moment of deep-seated concentration. "Whatever's happening over there!" Crushclaw exclaimed, throwing out her claws, including yes, that big one, in exasperation.

"I mean, you really don't know?" The soluno raised an eyebrow, shocked to hear that other species weren't celebrating the summer solstice the same way. "You two," Polly blurted in, her heart beating fast, "I think I know what it is now–" She stilled, inhaling the aura of the kicking drum and the flute. "It's music!"

"It's a party!" Voidwhisper broke to them both, "A big one. A safe one!" That made the bard-to-be's eyes widen with excitement, and even Crushclaw–the hunter-to-be–raised an intrigued eyebrow. "It's not… Something disturbing?" She aksed one more time, gesturing to the bursts of color and the mountainous structure in the distance.

"Not disturbing at all! Let's go, I'll show you both!" Voidwhisper stood up firmly, whisking away the young xiunari with her through the forest of overgrown mushrooms and towards the growing swells of music.

The soluno had been right. This was still the fungal forest still, no doubt, but a wide berth under the trees had been cleared out–creating a sloping landscape of brightly colored tents, ornate bouquets of orange flowers, and joyous banners depicting the sun.

Young xiunari stood in one line to request meat-and-veggie kebabs served up by a koi kukuri, and at a starry tent, a munchkin soluno astrologer waved his paws over a mystic orb to read the next season of fortunes.

"Let's go there!" Crushclaw pointed Polly and their guest towards a simple game–young creatures were picking up floating ducks and turning them over to delight over prizes. A reosian shopkeeper handed one a massive stuffed bear that made the tark'ee's eyes widden.

"You two have pebbles, don't you?" Voidwhisper chirped up, "You'll need some of these to buy things–here!" She held out a few in her paw. Crushclaw wrinkled her nose at them a bit. They really were just pebbles, to her awe. She exchanged a confused glance with Polly, the two agreeing at once, soluno are bizarre creatures!

The tark'ee stepped up to play the game, offering the pebble to Parrot, a green munchkin soluno. "Pick a duck, any duck!" He chirped. Voidwhisper watched with excitement as the rubber toys swirled around the stout and wide apple barrel.

"It turns out, this part isn't so disturbing after all," Crushclaw smiled delightedly as she watched her companion dip in her yellow paws and return with a bright pink duck. "Oh my gosh!" Polly beamed as her eyes witnessed her score.

"A grand prize!" Parrot shouted, elated. He used the assistance of a long handle-stick to pull down this prize: A raspberry-cream stuffed bear with a big bowtie and pleading eyes.

"I'll help you carry it, of course!" Crushclaw announced, "I've got the brawn, you focus on just having the brains here!" Voidwhisper and Parrot, taking a bit of tent-rope, helped fashion a harness attaching the stuffed bear to the back of the belemoid.

"Oh, good," Polly agreed, "I still have more games I want to play, like, ooh–that one!" She pointed off towards a set of picnic tables where various humanoids were assisting feral creatures in building lanterns. "That's not a game," Voidwhisper laughed gently.

But Crushclaw had stopped dead in her large-pawed tracks, gulping. The red-as-inferno belemoid stared up at it–the structure from before, rising over the trees. It was a ring, no doubt, and it was–moving? Small huts dangled precariously, xiunari and soluno alike staring out of their open windows. "I need to go on that!" She blurted, gestring past Polly's excitement over lanterns.

"The ferris wheel?" Voidwhisper blinked, shocked. "Well, of course." Polly's eyes were soft and uncertain, and she stared down at her paws. "I'd like…" She said, scarcely a whisper. "I'd like to wait down here, if you two are going to go." Crushclaw nodded expressively, but then grinned. "I'll show you that I can take on anything!" She relished in her own egotistical bravery.

The black-and-white soluno merely laughed. "We'll have to wait in line before that!" She pointed to a large expanse of waiting handlers and sentient creatures, wrapped around a practical ropes-course of waiting time. "Ugh!" Crushclaw complained.