Ticket Booth

“Thank the Deities that we have free transport up here instead of having to take the minibus,” Pixie laughed, patting Shoreline on the head as he tumbled down onto the soft clouds. 

“Um, I think you should thank me instead.” Shoreline pouted, looking to the other two for support. “I flew us all up here, after all.” 

Amethyst paused to admire the cotton-candy like clouds on the horizon and beneath her paws as she walked on. Behind them, a small village could just be made out, almost obscured by the rays of gold that shone from the setting sun. 

“So, what place is this again?” Pixie asked, unravelling a scroll from his back and squinting his eyes to read the small text on the map. “Eld-ree-dee-ya? Is that how you pronounce it?” He looked at Shoreline inquisitively, who promptly grabbed the map with her tail and stuffed it into her own bag. 

“Listen, bud, if you ever need glasses or an actual doctor’s appointment, my grandmother on my mother’s side is an opthamologist.” Shoreline said with an air of advertiser’s confidence, bonking Pixie’s head with the rolled-up map. “I can see your struggles with myopia, my nearsighted comrade. Next time your parents ask Uvemora for another Luma, tell them to let the kid touch grass…” 

Whilst Shoreline tried to sell Pixie her “family business”, Amethyst padded forwards to the ticket booth situated just outside the landing lanes. It was a small wooden hut on the very outskirts of Kal, yet since today was one of the first few days of Cometfall, the entire hut was covered from roof to door with posters advertising the exclusive “Comet Catcher” airship rides Astra gave out just for the festival. They were lucky they’d arrived hours early - there wasn’t a single Faian in front of the ticket booth except for them. 

“Would you like to do the honors, or should I?” Shoreline asked, bounding up to Amethyst. 

“I’ll buy them.” Amethyst nodded. “You’ve wasted enough of your money on useless things already, but I’ve wanted to go on this trip since I was a kid.” She padded up to the booth, but stopped when she realized there was no price label on the tickets. Glancing around to make sure she wasn’t delusional, she had no choice but to ask the ticket vendor. 

“How many wisps for four tickets?” She asked the Tortuvina, who leaned her head out through the open window of the wooden hut. To her surprise, the Tortuvina simply shook her head and laughed. 

“You must be new around here. Well, we don’t sell tickets for just any regular currency.” 

Amethyst blinked in confusion. “So do you sell these tickets for kelp coins, then?” She was certain Faia only had two currencies… 

“No, not for any monetary value at all,” The vendor smiled. “After all, how much wealth you own is nowhere near representative of how much you’ve contributed to your own villages. You could’ve inherited it from generations before you, for example…” 

“Randomly won a lottery?” Pixie piped up. 

“Laundered it from Raydes?” Shoreline laughed. 

“Exactly. And there are so many more reasons why currency doesn’t measure how much you’ve contributed. That’s why, in order to give everyone a fair shot at getting on the Comet Catcher, we’ve devised this system.” The vendor handed them all little cards with a stamp symbol on them. “I’m Lumina, by the way. In running this special ticket booth, I hope to encourage you all to give back to the villages that raised you young ones. In order to purchase a ticket, you’ll have to lend a hand to any settlement in some way - whether that be repairing damaged buildings, collecting fallen debris, or simply helping a Faian in need - anything counts!” 

“So, wait. We bring this here after it’s been stamped by somebody in the village?” Amethyst asked, stashing the card into her bag. 

“Yep!” Lumina smiled. “Be sure to bring it back here before the ride starts at ten o’clock tonight!” 

“Okay.” Shoreline said, with a look of determination spreading across her face. “Let’s do this.” 

Immediately, the group split up into four different directions. Amethyst was sure that they’d at least take some time to strategize or at least talk it out, but nope, they’d all bounded off at the speed of light. Shoreline had already flapped off towards the Velaffa Cascades, presumably headed to Valona to pay the Mage’s Academy a visit. Blossom was already headed away from Eldridia towards the Amaranth Woodlands. Pixie had evidently decided to pay Sowara a visit. Eventually, she realized she was left all alone, yet again. 

“Sometimes I hate how we’re all so introverted.” She sighed out loud, and realized she’d just insulted herself. She glanced around. Where was she to go? 

The small town of Eldridia behind her seemed tempting. After all, it was only a short walk away from the landing lanes. Nodding a respectful goodbye to Lumina, she turned around and darted away to the village behind her. 

As soon as she stepped into the little town in the clouds, she was surprised by just how much this village felt like Norden, her home. Even though it was already early April, the air still felt crisp and chillly, probably because they were thousands of feet above the ground. All around her, little two-or-three storey high huts made way for a long, cascading street between them. 

Unlike other villages she’d seen in the ocean islands, the shops were strewn across the rooftops, to accommodate for the sky islands’ mostly aerial population. Tortuvinas flitted about the streets, occasionally stopping at one of the shops or restaurants, whilst some Ruptours leaned against the railings, chattering away with each other. However, she could only see the occasional Candle Noodle and Lumendra about the streets, and even they would possess wings or carry a mage’s staff around. 

Amethyst had never seen everyone in such good spirits before. A tiny Riftling suddenly dove down from one of the shops and snatched an ice-cream sandwich right out of another Tortuvina’s front wings. “Hey! Get back here, you little rascal!” The Tortuvina laughed, chasing the thief through the streets. 

“Right.” She sighed, gazing at the bustling rooftops above her. “Find a Faian who needs help. That should be easy in this cozy little village, right?” 

Amethyst had decided to start searching on the left side of town first. Unfortunately, she had to take the flightless route: up a flight of shabby wooden stairs which creaked under her weight. It seemed as if nobody even took this route up anymore - even the littlest of Riftlings would rather climb their way up street lamps and glide across the rooftops than walk up these stairs. 

Eventually, she emerged onto a bustling, lively restaurant on the roof. Waiters brought out steaming hot delicacies directly from the kitchens, whilst tiny Riftlings and Torts chased each other around as their parents ushered them back into their seats, imploring them to save their energy for the comets falling late into the night. 

Standing here, amidst the cozy banter, the clinking of glasses, the laughter from children and parents and grandparents alike… It reminded her of home. Of all her homes. 

Suddenly, she felt a wing tap her on her back. She spun around, just to see a Tortuvina behind the kitchen curtains mouth “Psst!” and beckon her to follow her. “Over here!” 

Quickly, she stepped into the kitchen, unsure of what this stranger wanted of her. The steaming hot aromas of classic Cometfall specialties filled the air as she leapt past haphazardly stacked boxes of raw ingredients and a spilled pool of wishing star candy. Immediately, her nose latched onto the comforting scents of minestrone and pot-au-feu, as well as some surprising scents she’d never tried before. At the very end of the maze, the Tortuvina lifted another curtain, which brought her to a small, cozy section of the kitchen out of earshot. 

“Would it be possible for you to lend a paw right now?” She smiled almost apologetically, glancing once towards the messy central kitchen. 

Amethyst nodded. The Tortuvina smiled, and continued. “And, oh, would you be able to help with baking, perchance?” 

“Baking?” Amethyst exclaimed out loud, and then realized that trays, bowls and whisks alongside various other baking supplies littered the entire kitchen. A soft grin spread across her face as she realized this Tortuvina had called upon her very specialty. “Of course!” 

“Excellent.” The Tortuvina smiled, and immediately handed her an apron. “Here, take this. Wouldn’t want to get your beautiful curls dirty!” 

They got to work almost immediately. As soon as the Tortuvina handed her the recipe, Amethyst immediately recognized it as a version of her own signature maple cinnamon cookies - but cut in a star shape for Cometfall. As she quickly grabbed a large bowl and dumped a few cups of flour into it, she let the relaxing rhythm of routine work take over. Reaching for a jar filled with almost crystalline sugar on the top shelf, she quickly emptied it into the bowl, before cracking open a few Birbella eggs and throwing them into the mixture as well. 

Unlike what she’d expected however, the other Tortuvina didn’t pester her into making any form of “small talk” at all, which she so heavily despised. Instead, she kept her own eyes on her mixture, using her wings to stabilize the bowl and her prehensile tail to whisk the dough together. 

“But I have so many questions, though.” She blurted out loud, as the other Tortuvina immediately fixed her gaze on Amethyst, listening intently. Oops. “Um, I mean, why haven’t you already bombarded me with “small talk” or something? Like the rest of my family like to?” 

“Not a fan of unimportant conversations, are you?” The Tortuvina laughed, scraping her cookie dough onto baking paper. “They say small minds discuss people, average minds discuss events, and great minds discuss ideas. You’re not alone!” She smiled again, that darned smile, that awkwardly infuriating to understand smile. “I can keep up pretty decent “small talk” when I’m forced to, but most of the time, I just want to save my breath for important things.” She sighed. “I mean, what’s the point of commenting about the weather outside all the time? It just loops back around in predictable patterns! It’s spring… that means it’ll be sunny one day, cloudy the next… the temperature cycles around pretty predictably too…” 

Surprisingly, Amethyst found herself listening in to the conversation for once in her life. And what was she listening to? An eccentric stranger’s monologue. Just like somebody she’d been dying to talk to for ages. “Hey, that’s actually a really good point about the weather cycles.” She butted in, looking directly into the Tortuvina’s eyes for once. Perhaps they liked it because it meant you were listening to them. 

Amethyst paused to press the star-shaped cookie cutter into the dough. “What are we making these cookies for, though?” 

“Oh! I’m so sorry! I completely forgot to tell you why we were making these, hah!” The Tortuvina exclaimed, peeling the unshaped cookie dough away and rolling it into another usable batch. “The thing is, the queues for the Comet Catcher tonight are gonna be as long as the immortal serpent! Everybody’s bound to get hungry just by waiting.” Amethyst nodded, having learnt before that this urged the other party to keep up their conversation. “I was thinking that we at Festive Faians could supply each and every Faian in the queue with a free star cookie for Cometfall, however our entire team has their paws full with either providing for the hordes of customers who want to have a banquet underneath the falling comets, or cooking up a buffet dinner for those on board the Comet Catcher. Yes! You heard me right!” She grinned, as Amethyst’s eyes widened. “You’ll be eating well tonight!” 

“Ohhh…” Amethyst exclaimed, coming to a realization. “There’s only two of us making the cookies, though! How in Faia do you propose we make them all in time?” 

“Wanna do some quick math?” The Tortuvina grinned ruefully. “We’ve got hundreds, even thousands of Faians joining us on the Comet Catcher tonight. And one batch bakes…” She glanced dismally at her own tray. 

“Fourteen.” Amethyst grimaced, pulling her own tray of star-shaped cookies over. “Combine mine, and that’s twenty-eight per batch.” She handed her tray to the Tortuvina, who put both trays into an electronic oven which glowed bright yellow with divine magic. “It’s basically impossible.” 

“Yes, well…” The Tortuvina suddenly grinned again, calling Amethyst to edge closer as if a miracle would suddenly happen. “You only need one good batch for the entire process to be a success.” 

To Amethyst’s utter surprise, as soon as she pulled out the first batch containing their own two trays, a second batch followed directly after, completely identical to the first. Out came another, and another, and another, until the whole kitchen was filled with the steaming hot scent of cinnamon and maple syrup. 

“That’s gotta be way more than a thousand.” Amethyst could barely choke the words out. Mountains and mountains of star-shaped cookies piled on top of another in the center of the kitchen, as the Tortuvina drizzled white chocolate all over them. “This feels like a fever dream. How?” 

“Magic has its ways,” The Tortuvina laughed. “And you’ve fulfilled your mission.” 

“My mission?” Amethyst looked back at her. “Oh!” She reached into her bag again, and pulled out the card which was the ticket to the Comet Catcher. The Tortuvina pulled out a stamp out of nowhere and stamped the card, leaving a purple and gold “Astra seal of approval” on the once empty card. “Thank you!” 

“Speaking of which, where are my manners? I almost forgot to ask your name.” The Tortuvina smiled, as Amethyst rushed to help her carry the enormous stacks of cookies out of the kitchen. 

“It’s Amethyst.” Amethyst replied happily, as she shoveled the cookies into bags, taking care to not destroy any of them in the process. She watched as the Tortuvina’s jaw dropped to the floor. 

“No way! THE Amethyst from the fabled Crystalline Caverns patisserie?” The Tortuvina exclaimed, blinking twice as if making sure she wasn’t dreaming. “A descendant of the most famous bakers in all of Faia, AND the original creator of THIS RECIPE?” 

“Look, mom, I’m famous!” Amethyst proclaimed awkwardly, and then realized she could barely walk with the tons of cookies placed upon her back. “Hey, um, uh, a little help here…” 

As they stepped out of the town gates of Eldridia, the moon had already risen - it was almost nine. Amethyst realized that they indeed were correct. The line had snaked all the way from the Ticket Booth at the edge of the docks to the very gates of the town. 

“Wanna hand out your first cookie, then?” The Tortuvina asked, gesturing to a little Riftling, almost fast asleep, waiting at the very end of the queue. 

They were the same Riftling who snatched the ice-cream sandwich out of the Tortuvina’s wings. Now they were almost fast asleep, having to lean against their father’s legs just to stay awake. As Amethyst extended a paw offering the sugary, star-shaped cookie to them, however, the little Riftling immediately leapt to their feet and devoured the cookie whole, munching on it happily and licking their lips in satisfaction. 

“Say thank you.” Their father commanded sternly, as the little Riftling squeaked an adorable “Thank you!” to Amethyst. Their father nuzzled the little Riftling affectionately, shooting Amethyst a warm smile. 

“So, what do you think about giving a cookie per Faian?” The Tortuvina smiled, looking at Amethyst. 

“Let’s get it over and done within the hour.” Amethyst replied briskly in her usual fashion, however the tiny Riftling’s warm smile, and many more warm smiles to come - would linger in her heart for the rest of the night.