New Year

Rune had seen people running about with lighted sticks in their hands. He had grown curious. He managed to stop someone and ask about the stick. Learning they were sparklers and were being sold nearby, Rune made it her mission to play with them. He headed for the stand that was selling the sparklers.

The glass-handed bun struck up a conversation with the vendor. He mostly asked questions on safety. The greed bun was cautious, he did not wish to be the reason that fire rescue was called. After intense questioning, Rune bought a dozen sparklers, thinking that many might last long enough for her to enjoy them.

Walking off, he fished her matchbox from her pocket. He walked away from the crowds, wanting a bit of privacy to see what sparklers were like for the first time. He stopped a few feet from the mass amount of the crowd. Here, he took a sparkler from the group and used a match to light it.

As the sparks started, her eyes went wide. The sparkler reflected from her glassy hand, making her more noticeable than normal in the dark. He drew a small circle, which made him smile. Something about these simple spark sticks elicited joy from this bun.

He drew more shapes with her one sparkler. Mostly more circles, but some figure eights and squiggles. He discovered if he moved the sparkler fast enough, he could temporarily show small wing-like shapes. He smiled brightly, enjoying the sparkler even as it died.

He waited for the sparks to completely die before throwing the used stick away. He then lit a second sparkler and drew more shapes in the air in front of her. He hummed a melody, using the sparkler to bounce, circle, and dance in time with the lyric-less song. Briefly, he reminded herself of a calm orchestra conductor.

He giggled at that thought, especially when he remembered the last time he watched someone try to conduct Cailean. After that thought, he realized Cailean would absolutely love sparklers. He let her second sparkler die before going off to search for the oft kilted bun.

It was not hard to find the bagpiper, especially as fae were playing faer bagpipes, so one only had to follow the sound. Cailean stopped playing as soon as they could see Rune’s eyes. The duo greeted each other and had a brief catch up before the greed bun started talking about the sparklers.

Cailean’s eyes lit up in excitement. Rune pulled a sparkler out and handed it to faer. Fae let her light the sparkler before turning to safely twirl it in the air. Rune lit up a sparkler for herself and the duo tried to make shapes in the air together. They managed a larger set of wings that looked like those off a chirop.

Some buns stopped to watch the duo make more shapes. Once the sparklers they had were done, they silently agreed to try two each. With four sparklers, the shapes could be more complex, even managing to draw imps in the air. The audience began to take pictures, and some threw carats into the cap that Cailean had on the ground.

After those four were gone, they lit up the last four. They attempted to draw bagpipes in the air, but it looked more like a blob, so they switched to drawing flowers. These were a big hit, the audience cheering and some even dropping off more sparklers for the duo to continue to entertain them.

Cailean and Rune accepted this, more than happy to challenge themselves with more sparkler art. They kept it up for an hour or so before getting ready to leave. The crowd that had gathered slowly dispersed, some of them grumbling about the show being over so soon. Once alone, Cailean and Rune split the carat haul, agreeing they should go half and half.