The carnivals continued and the activities continued on until the two moons shone brightly in the sky.
The laughter of people, especially children, echoed across the streets. Unsurprisingly, due to the effect of the disaster, a lot of these kids were aborigines—specifically, from Mauin.
These kids had been exposed to such festivities for the first time, and one could imagine the enjoyment they were feeling.
One of these children was Maumi, Mauru's son, and his best friends Pongo and Gururu. Maumi was a mini version of his father, while Pongo was a short kid with dark skin and curly hair and Gururu was a skinny kid (for now) with a bald head.
He was often (endearingly) called Little Monk by the locals.
In order to have some fun on their own, they separated from the adults (Maumi's parents, as the other children's parents had died years prior), and now they were running around to and fro, exploring new things every block they went to.
They had been in Altera for a few days and they had not been idle. They had been used to working alongside their parents to earn a few bites, but now they could buy SO MANY THINGS with the same (or even less) amount of effort!
Today, they jointly decided to splurge!
They found themselves on one of Baron's many shops—a smaller branch of the woodwork's store, though only selling toys and paraphernalia.
"Ohhh! This is cute!" Maumi squealed, looking at the wooden horse toy displayed as a prize. Pongo pointed at the beautiful wooden sword with intricate carvings.
"I want to try this!"
Gururu's excitement was much more muted than the other two, but one could see his large eyes fixed on the origami displays—not for sale, but very pretty.
Not far from them, the adults watched with smiles on their faces. Seeing the children so happy and carefree—it was something they never could've imagined before.
In fact, before heading to Altera, they didn't know any better. In their minds, the children were thin as they were, suffering as they were, and that was what they grew up knowing.
When they landed here, they saw how the children were, how happy, chubby, and adorable they were.
They wanted their children to be like that, too. In Altera, they were certain that they would.
Even the dormitories—which was supposedly where the poor people were—had much better conditions than they were used to. What more now?
Here, they could eat well, dress well, live well.
They watched the children enter a play area with melancholic smiles.
Their former lord often told them about the Gift of Life—how bright one's future could be, as long as they survived. Before, they just nodded, thinking of just surviving a day at a time, not really absorbing his message.
Today…, they finally understood it.
The Gaea Team, at this time, was also hanging around the festival and having fun. At some point though, the group separated to spend the festival on their own.
For instance, Sheila encountered her fellow nurses, and was encouraged to go with them. Theo and Beany were somewhere playing on their own, Harold and Maya explored the carnivals together, and Eugene went on a date with Melissa. Ansel was busy organizing the whole thing, so they would encounter him (with Fable and the twins) walking around here and there.
Of course, Althea, Garan, and the babies were also lounging around on their own. Today the couple was wearing simple couple clothes with Althea wearing a lime-color shirt and classic fitted denim, while Garan was wearing a pastel green shirt and pants that didn't hide his well-built form.
Their children were wearing similar color onesies as well. They now had cute pacifiers in their mouths, which they chup-chupped on constantly, making their cheeks look even chubbier.
The babies were looking around the nightscape with fascination. They must be particularly awed now because they had never been out for so long after it got dark. It was also the first night the Lighthouse was in operation, its brightness alone adding a level of energy in the territory at this time of night.
The children were really antsy and excited. The dropped their pacifiers on their blanket many times. The couple had no choice but to retract the stroller and place in her space, while they carried a child on each arm.
The family naturally received a lot of looks and greetings, with a few giving toys to the kids, claiming to be members of their fan club.
They took the children to play (and get doted on) for about an hour before their energies started to wane. Soon enough, their little mouths made tiny o's as they yawned.
The couple chuckled, taking it as the time for them to rest. Althea took out the stroller and placed the children there, but to Garan's puzzlement, she didn't move at all after that.
He saw his wife looking at him with a mysterious smile. "You should go hang out with Gill and the others tonight."
Garan's eyebrows furrowed and shook his head. "No, we should head back home now." He walked forward to get the stroller, only to find Althea's soft hand on his chest, stopping him.
"It's still early, I'll put the kids to bed," she told him. Her convincing tone was making Garan a bit confused.
Sure, she was on a day off today, but he thought they hadn't bonded enough today because she was locked in her laboratory…
He was very reluctant to leave.
"Oh come on now," she giggled, "Contribute more GDP to the territory, will you?"
"I actually already called your friends."
"What?" Garan frowned, pouting a bit. Was she planning on kicking him out early on?
Althea chuckled and pinched his cheek. "I want you to bond more with your friends, not just with me."
"But…" he just wanted to stay with her…
Althea naturally knew what she was thinking and used her signature technique to convince him. She wrapped her arms around his torso, looking up at him with that cute look that heated him up.
"Husband…" she mumbled, voice a little softer than usual. "Please?"
That was how, about half an hour later, the four of Garan, Gill, Eagle, and Drake faced each other at a circular table of the pub.
However, they didn't join the hustle and bustle of downstairs and chose the more private rooms.
The Heartbreak Tavern was making a lot of money and bought off the next store for almost twice the market price. However, under Vino's hand, business was definitely bustling and it wouldn't take long for him to get back his investment.
Anyway, they now offered a number of private rooms upstairs, which was where they were at.
They also heard that other than the drinks Althea's factory made, this team also had their own farm. Adding the fermentation rate in the farms, as well as his alcohol shop, the owner of the tavern was doing quite well in his industry.
The group drank around the thematic wooden table they were using. They weren't speaking much, simply passing the time together.
Garan fidgeted his tankard uncomfortably, unused to spending this time without his wife.
He looked at the newly-filled cup, azure eyes deep in thought. "My wife insisted I spend time with you all." He paused, eyebrows furrowed.
He then looked at them with a very serious facial expression. "Am I too sticky?"