PART I - ARTS, CRAFTS, AND HITTING ON PIXYL

Today was the day of the formal dinner, which Callie was excited for, primarily because of the promise of how much better 'real food' would be. She was trying to imagine what could top the meal they'd been served by Pama at the opening feast. She was also excited for the dance afterwards, and to see what the Bard and Illusionist show was going to be like.

The day before, all the ladies of camp gathered for an afternoon and evening of crafting masks and costumes. Mounds of scrap leather and cloth, pieces of metal, feathers, rope, and even old bones and sticks were laid out on tables to use as materials. Glue, needles and thread, and other things to help with assembly were in plenty supply, too. It was an arts-and-crafts party for everyone, with bawdy games, food, and wine … a lot of wine ... keeping things interesting. Deduxia played a little music, but thankfully didn't ask Callie to do the same. The whole event was raucous and crazy until well after dark, and simply an amazing time where everyone let their guard down and were equal.

During the crafting, it quickly came to light that Pixyl had never participated in the holiday, at least the making-masks part, because, in her words, 'there wasn't any reason to'. Since the whole thing boiled down to the girls flipping the script and asking the guys out, she'd never felt it right to go through the effort. Callie could see her point, since the tradition wouldn't work right if both were wearing a costume of some kind.

"Well, I want to make a mask because I actually have a cool idea for one," Callie said, "but I suppose you could go join the guys. Then I can ask you all proper-like when the time comes tomorrow."

"That sounds w-w-weird," Pixyl said skeptically. "They won't want me there."

"Aww. They won't be that mean. It'll be fun!" Callie said. "I'll even make two masks like Pama does, so you can reject me the first time and have a reason to make something. My second mask might be pretty basic, depending on time, though."

Pixyl did not look convinced.

"If they aren't receptive, then you can just come back," Rowani pointed out.

For this crafting event, it had been encouraged that each table mix it up in terms of what tasks people did at the camp. A few all-recruit, all-trainer or all-staff tables were broken apart to encourage mingling. As a result, both Rowani and Maugra had joined their table, along with the Elven wife of a staff member that worked at the tannery. Rowani had been busily making her mask, using some curved bones and feathers as part of the decor, but Maugra also seemed to be having a hard time getting started, and up until now had a rather mopey demeanor about her.

"You know," the now-young Shaman trainer said, "I need to agree with Pixyl. It's never felt right to do this, and I've been part of a lot of Midsummers over my years." Then she gestured towards Callie. "I think she may be on to something."

"If you want to go make trinkets, I'll make two masks, too," Rowani said. She placed her paw on Maugra's shoulder and gestured with her chin. "I agree with Recruit Callie, I think it would be fun."

"Maybe," the grouchy Goblin said.

Callie's brain promptly had a moment like a needle skipping across a record. "Wait, are you two a thing?"

"You didn't know?" Lhawni shot back.

"It's been a few weeks," Rowani added. "Ever since we became young. The mutual experience brought us together."

Before Callie could respond, let alone process the news, Maugra threw down the handful of leather scraps she was sorting through and gestured towards Pixyl. "Let's do it. Come on, we'll go join the others. With me there, they won't be asses about us making things with them." When Pixyl hesitated, she added with a grin, "Don't make me give you an order. I'm a captain again, remember?"

Pixyl let out an almost-automatic groan, but actually seemed to perk up a little bit, obviously thankful she wouldn't have to go alone. Maugra grabbed her wrist and led her away, the pair stopping briefly to talk to the two Geomancer Elves. Both Elves shrugged to each other, and then one of them physically pushed the other to join, adding a shooing motion.

"Huh, I didn't know they were a thing either." Callie said.

"Do we need to get your vision healed?" Lhawni asked. She held up a slightly-glowing hand. "I haven't learned much about the subtleties of eyes yet, but I'm sure even I could make them better. It's obvious!"

Callie's gaydar was definitely on the fritz in this world, and she couldn't help but to speculate who else might be renadit couples around the camp. She then saw Ambria and Koka flirting with each other, the Tigerkin almost seeming to blush through her white fur, and added them to the 'most definitely' list.

The afternoon sewing circle soon turned into a raucous stitch-and-bitch, as wine and food lubricated everyone. Stories and jokes flowed, and gossip about the guys around camp seemed to have no need for whispering here. Callie managed to find an opening to give Major Celeste some grief about her time getting in trouble as a recruit, which she was all too happy to own up to. Then Callie sneakily segued into the fact it was with Olin, which made things interesting as Celeste got a lot of grief from the other trainers and many recruits. Callie felt the look on the Major's face made it all worth it, even if she was sure she'd need to pay the price eventually.

It was well after dinner before Callie managed to get her first mask the way she wanted it to be, which led to her second one not being very complex. Still, she found herself eager to be able to participate in the next day's shenanigans and actually able to ask Pixyl, having not felt right about asking out the guys, even as just a formality.

The evening finally concluded close to eleven, and Callie staggered home with a little help from a wobbly Lena on one side and a slightly less-wobbly Jesca on the other. They were each holding one of Callie's hands like she was staggering off for her first day at school.

It was almost two hours later that Pixyl finally came home, accompanied by Vanis and riding on Tazrok's Mining Badger form, whooping and laughing with glee. She was actually … laughing … and smiling, and wasn't even drunk! Vanis was equally joyful, surely welcoming the distraction from royal issues, and Tazrok added big belly laughs of his own once back in people form. It was almost a foreign experience for Callie to see Pixyl, and Vanis for that matter, this animatedly happy, and despite probing for details about what had happened, all three refused to share anything juicy, saying they were prevented by 'rules' and thus sworn to some guy-code secrecy.

Come this morning, Callie found the continuing festivities just as fun. Most everyone slept in late, either exhausted from a late night, or nursing a bit of a hangover, most dealing with both. But lunch was served informally for everyone in the form of build-your-own sandwiches, this world's approximation of potato chips, and a lot of ale, which essentially kicked things off.

Almost like a swarm of locusts, a bell sent the ladies descending on the guys, eagerly making the rounds and trying to collect up as many homemade baubles and widgets as possible before a bell would ring again later in the afternoon. The activity held none of the seriousness and little of the meaning of the original story, being more about comparing what goodies everyone ended up with. For the guys, once approached, they were expected to very politely decline the request if they had already made arrangements or matched up with someone, or otherwise weren't interested, most presenting a simple bracelet or necklace made of string or cloth as a gift. Not surprisingly it was Vanis that seemed to have the most-elegant and personalized responses for everyone that worked up the courage to ask him, whereas most of the others had a pretty generic rejection speech they'd use repeatedly.

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Wearing the second mask she'd made, which essentially was a simple piece of face-sized leather with eyeholes that was adorned with colorful cat ears and stiffened string as whiskers, Callie sidled up to Pixyl to hit on her a bit. The poor Pixie stumbled over her formal-rejection words several times, not just stuttering but in genuine embarrassment, as she tried to say what she had obviously practiced. Once she managed to get the words and the proper rejection out, a dozen guys around her, including Vanis and Koda, whooped and cheered for her, with Maugra adding a 'way to go' to the mix. As a rejection gift, Pixyl presented Callie with a metal bracelet that had obviously taken a great deal of time to assemble. It was a C-shaped cuff made of several stiff, tightly-braided strands of a wire-like metal, totalling about one centimeter in width, with a pretty blue stone held in place by said wires and a little bit of glue.

"I love it!" Callie squealed a bit as she slipped it over her left wrist, where it clung tightly, before taking off her mask to give Pixyl a long, proper kiss, dipping her back like that World War II photo. This elicited a few 'ooooooo' noises from everyone around them. There actually seemed to be a really strong vibe of support for Pixyl among a good number of the guys, as if they'd been helping her through whatever anxiety she'd been feeling to get her to this point and were pleased to see it being successful. That made the little bauble all the more special to Callie, as a result.

Of course, with the way now shown, and with a suggestive encouraging gesture from Maugra, several more people lined up behind Callie to take their shot at trying to woo Pixyl, including Lena, Ambria and Lhawni, all in their masks. While the blue cloth she was wearing let everyone know she wasn't really available, Pixyl still needed to work through additional rejections, and handed out little braided bracelets of string with some beads tied into them. She hadn't made very many and eventually ran low, so Vanis took up a quick collection from others to make sure she didn't run out of the thank-you gifts. Come the time Callie eventually returned after the bell rang, Pixyl's initial embarrassment had given way to comfort, smiles and laughter, which again seemed so strange to see.

"Hey, wanna hang out and do stuff that would make a sailor blush?" Callie said, now wearing the first mask she'd made as she abruptly sat down.

Pixyl turned to look at her and actually jumped back in surprise with a bit of a shriek.

"Come on, I saw you eyeing me up from way over there. I know you want me!"

"W-W-What is that mask? Are those snakes?"

"Yeah! It's a Medusa." Callie grinned from behind the mask. "Hair made of snakes and she's so ugly her glare can turn people to stone. So, be careful about saying no, or I'll give you a harsh glaring!"

"That's … horrible! l-l-love it!" Pixyl said, her eyes twinkling.

"I must say, it is quite hideous," Vanis added. He looked at Pixyl, adding a helpful suggestion as he gestured towards Callie with his chin. "I wouldn't risk the glare. I think you should give this one a chance." He then threw in a wink for good measure.

Blushing, Pixyl had difficulty making eye contact, but did manage to say, "That does sound like fun." She didn't have a lot of other words, so instead she scooted over slightly, gesturing towards a spot for Callie to sit.

And just like that, Callie and Pixyl were now an official Midsummer couple. Around them, others were pairing up as well. The two-masks approach was actually quite common, with the ladies of most arranged couples coming back with a second one to seal the deal, as it were. Still, as a formality, masks were left in place until the very end when everyone had gotten settled.

As a whole, the gender ratio of the camp was fairly even. There were slightly more males among the recruits than females. Across the camp, though, the staff and soldiers skewed the overall totals towards the ladies, and once you accounted for those not participating, it actually tilted pretty significantly towards them. As a result, there were a couple minor incidents of females squabbling over who was left, with a few of the guys ultimately ending up with two companions, and Dregorio actually with three, much to Lena's grumbling annoyance. Callie also saw two Elf ladies eventually gesture towards her and Pixyl, before shrugging and then linking arms with each other.

The bell rang again, informing everyone to remove their masks. The population of the camp was small enough that there were largely no real surprises, but still there were a few, especially among the staff and visitors, who were allowed to pair up with each other. Everyone was all smiles, though, surprise or not.

"Pixyl!" Jesca called. "I need your help." The face-reveal business completed, the Cheetahkin was eager to get a few last things finished for the celebration. Jesca pointed up towards where some of the decorations were coming loose, requiring someone with wings to do the repairs that were too big for a Sprite to handle. That left Callie alone and able to people-watch, and Pixyl-watch, for a bit. She couldn't help but smile in admiration as her girlfriend flitted around, addressing whatever Jesca needed fixed.

While Jesca had made masks along with everyone else, loving the crafting part of the tradition, she was wearing red indicating she wasn't participating in the pairing. She claimed it was because she was too busy with event stuff, but Callie was sure her asexuality was also a good part of the reason, and was worried she might feel lonely with everyone else paired up. Callie suggested that maybe she should hang out with Tazrok, who was also wearing red due to the lack of any other Ogres at camp, saying that he might like being around a 'fellow shapeshifter' if she was looking for platonic company. That brightened the Cheetahkin's mood a bit, saying she wanted to talk to him about something anyway.

Callie turned away from watching Pixyl when someone's hand landed on her shoulder. "You had a good idea," Trainer Maugra said in a low voice. "I was worried we might get resistance to joining the males, and it was awkward at first, but it all seems to have worked out."

"I would say so!" Callie said. "I don't think I've ever seen Pixyl this happy before. What did you do to her yesterday?"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Vanis said, wagging a finger. "Remember? The first rule of Midsummer is we don't talk about what happened with those that weren't there. It's also the second and third rule, for that matter."

Maugra huffed and waved the Warlock off, but then reconsidered with a drawn out sigh. "Fine, since I'm apparently one of you now."

"Please! I need to know something!" Callie pleaded. "It's that, or I'll have to torture it out of Pixyl. I dunno, she might like that. Still it wouldn't be fair to her. She's ticklish."

"Just the basics, then," Vanis said, nodding to Maugra.

The Goblin smirked at the ridiculousness of Vanis giving her permission, but then decided to play along. She kept it a little vague. "Let's just say that Olin, Terrin and then the Arkan managed to force her to tell some stories about her time fighting in Marindine. That wowed a lot of the people, especially the visitors and staff that weren't familiar with her. When she showed off some moves to the newcomers, that made it even more exciting. But, despite all her combat expertise, it was obvious that she's really shy, so several of us took it upon ourselves to help how we could. I won't say more because I don't want to break those three stupid rules, but by the end of the night, she'd finally let her guard down." Maugra looked at Callie, her face momentarily becoming that of a trainer. "This is a good thing that you did, Callie!"

"Totally a good thing!" Callie agreed. "Don't worry, I'll respect your bro-code secrets and not pry any more. Honestly I'm just happy to see her having fun." She could still torture details out of Pixyl if the curiosity got to be too much.

Before Pixyl could return from hanging more decorations for Jesca, the two were approached by the Commandant. Callie couldn't hear what was being discussed, but Pixyl was apparently ordered off somewhere, Jesca returning to directing a few people on other preparations. Xera then approached Tazrok, followed by Lhawni, sending both of them the same direction.

"I wonder what that's about," Callie said absently to Vanis. "We all need to go get cleaned up for dinner soon."

She didn't have long before Xera approached. Callie had, for some reason, assumed she'd be ordered off, but instead the Commandant addressed Vanis. "Corporal," they said, "I need you to report to my office immediately. Please keep your more-formal sash."

"Oh, of course," Vanis replied, instinctively glancing at the sash he was wearing as he let go of Juniper's hand and stood. "Will this take long? I wish to freshen up before dinner."

"We'll be relocating from there, and you will be able to do that then. You will join everyone else at dinner." Xera said nothing more, turned and continued on their way.

A little confusion on his face, Vanis picked up Juniper's hand and cupped it with his other, bowing ever-so-slightly. "Lady Juniper, you must excuse me. I'm sure this is of most-importance. I shall see you soon, and I look forward to our dance."

Juniper, for her part, simply giggled a bit, her green skin getting slightly darker as she blushed. "I look forward to it, too."

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