She wasn’t yet over the excitement of being here in Pebble Country, thought admittedly the sights hadn’t so far been very different from those to which she was accustomed. The people here had the same hardiness to them as the people of Earth Country. The same cautious determination and readiness to adapt. Today, they adapted to newcomers, many of them a contained type of dangerous, from the world over. Among them Kotori ran and gawped, ducked and wove, eagerly drinking in the atmosphere. It was her first festival, after all, and she fully intended to make the most of it. She’d spent the morning finding the tastiest morsels on offer, and hoped now to meet a few new people before finding the famed pavilion later to begin training under the Iron Banner.
Thinking it would be a quieter place away from the busiest streets, and somewhere that people would be more willing to sit and relax, she left the main festival areas and began walking through a large park. Soon enough, after walking down a few pleasant tree-lined paths and across some open grassy areas—most of them occupied with scattered groups enjoying various celebrations—she came to a small, steep hill, lined on its upper banks by well-tended bushes and more trees. Beyond those, crowning the hill and rising two stories into the air, was a white stone pavilion. Marble columns ran around its circular base, supporting a wider second storey, and under them were walls carved with an intricate frieze and endless lists of names. She supposed it must be some sort of memorial for the recent war, seeing as the stonework was still so neat and clean, but she only spent a few minutes staring at the beauty on the outside.
Now that she was here, standing before the structure, she realised that a feeling in her mind had been drawing her this way, and still beckoned her onwards. Inwards. She circled the small building until she found an arched entryway set with two heavy dark teak doors. She pushed one open and found the interior unlit and empty, and ventured inside after half a second of hesitation. It was unlocked, after all, right? Some light filtered down from the upstairs, and she found the ground floor mostly empty except for a few more carvings and lists on the walls, but followed a winding staircase up to the second floor.
This floor was considerably nicer, and an uplifting breeze coursed gently through the open walls. The white stone below gave way to polished and panelled sections with carved jade columns, interspersed with wide open windows which flooded the circular room with light, sending patterns sparkling across a patterned marble floor. Beyond the windows a small balcony fully encircled the floor, supported by the marble columns below, and a beautiful dome of panelled metal, stone, and glass capped the whole structure overhead. From the balcony, she could see out over most of the city and beyond to the distant mountains, and could see the many winding paths in the park leading up to this little summit. It was a beautiful spot, isolated, peaceful, and yet somehow feeling like the heart of the festival all at once.
Filled with an easy contentment, and with the little sensation in the back of her head telling her that this was the place to stay and wait for a while, she hopped up to sit atop the wooden balustrade around the balcony, and began tucking into a bag of sweets. She had a feeling that something important was about to happen here, some event with overdue and lasting significance...
