When Cypur finally arrived at Wegginfaezerie's city gates, the drumming vibrated in his chest and dangling lanterns let a golden glow flood the streets. The smell of sweet, oily snacks wafted over the breeze.

He took a deep breath, ready to face the world as Cypur the Proper Sorcerer. With confident steps he entered the gates and nearly crumbled his composure at the sight of Arius.

"Cromlight!" Arius called, his voice a chest-vibrating baritone. He was still in his dance attire, standing near a knick-knack stall and a snack one.

"Baron," Cypur addressed Arius with the shortened version of his last name. He gave a brief smile, making sure it reached his eyes.

"What happened? You missed my performance." Arius frowned down at Cypur, his brown eyes glimmering with shades of orange and gold.

"Something came up concerning my runway performance a few days ago," Cypur said without missing a beat, ignoring the ugly feeling in his chest for lying.

"I was looking for you in the crowd." Arius sighed and scratched his head. "You did promise."

"I'm really sorry. Please, can you forgive me?" Cypur fell silent, heart thumping so hard he thought his would crack and tell the truth out of nerves. Could he be losing the platonic relationship, too?

A group of noisy children suddenly bumped into him and Cypur lurched forward. In that split second, he thought about how embarrassing it was going to be. But then arms caught him. Arius held him up.

"Be careful around here, kids!" Arius scolded them. "Are you alright?" Arius asked and Cypur only managed to quickly nod his head. His mind had suddenly gone blank, and it was like his mouth forgot how to speak. Arius' hand was still on his shoulder, and he could feel the warmth transferring onto him.

"When do kids grow up, do you think, Cromlight?" He smirked and butterflies fluttered in Cypur's stomach. He needed to respond, to say something, to act normal, but nothing was coming to mind and only an awkward silence wedged between them.

"Thank you," he managed to eventually shove those two words out after too long a pause and Arius smiled the warmest smile with the crinkles in the corners of his eyes. It was the smile Cypur loved.

No, not love. Not anymore. That's illegal. Cypur shoved those forbidden thoughts away and raised his gaze to Arius as he went on talking about how the dance went.

Lights of Carnival danced across his green-tinted skin, illuminating his profile. Cypur let Arius' tender voice soothe him. Despite what he had promised himself, there was no denying Arius' voice was like a comforting blanket, making him forget all the bad things that happened today. It seemed like a different world here.

Citizens were indulging themselves in a once-a-year mega-celebration. Wegginfaezerie City seemed to outdo itself every year with decorations, coming up with some new attraction. This year it was ribbons that fluttered in an invisible breeze and glowed different colors depending on what angle you caught them at.

Many citizens were still coming in from as far away as Zarkentauf city. They rode their sophisticated grigs being mindful of pedestrians. Some of the poorer folk from smaller cities used a torb which were traveling orbs to attach to the bottom of their shoes to fly overhead. The problem with torbs was sometimes they had a mind of their own and threw the user off balance.

Arius let out a shout sigh. "And they all cheered." He finished the story. "I really did hope you could have come, Cromlight."

The spell was broken and the pain in Cypur's chest returned. A shadow filled his mind. It hurt to hear that, but there was nothing he could do about it. The Universe wanted to work against him today.

"Tell me where you want to go," Arius said.

Cypur widened his eyes. Didn't Arius want to punish him? Slap his wrists like the normal, soft form of punishment all Sorcerers used with each other? He stood gaping until Arius smirked.

"Well?"

Cypur cleared his throat. "Well, maybe Brembus' Rare Texts," he said.

Arius gave a whistle. "I got it right!" he said with excitement bouncing in his voice. "I was thinking today if we were to go to a stall together, you would probably want to go there. You've told me last year how you had found interest in rare texts and wanted to go to Brembus'" He paused and raised a brow. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Cypur blinked himself out of the shock and took control of the situation with a slight straightening of his back. "Nothing, Baron. Shall we go?"

Arius cleared his throat and turn around to lead the way. It was incredible and heart-thumping that he had remembered the brief conversation they had last year. With a jolt, Cypur shoved those thoughts away. Arius was just being friendly and nothing more.

After briefly losing sight of Arius in the crowd—the perks of being short in a pool of tall citizens—Cypur finally found him in front of a sweet-smelling stall. The sign said, 'Fried Sugar Sweet Cakes 3 trinks for 1', which was a rather good deal.

"Well? Which one do you want? Because we're going to sit over there and eat together."

Cypur tried to argue this wasn't punishment for missing the performance, but he soon had to relent. Arius was adamant that this was what Cypur owed him. And so, a few minutes later, they sat side by side on a bench and ate fried sugar. Arius with his favorite peanut butter and Cypur his favorite maple syrup.

Citizens of Carnival traipsed the ground in giddy, but sophisticated steps, keeping to the calm manners of typical Sorcerers. Some were dressed in colorful garb like a peacock's feathers, some dressed in the duller cloaks of black or dark blue, but almost everyone was with someone. Children were squealing or laughing with parents. Young adults were in small groups, scattering into the snack stalls. Parents with bright smiles chattered to neighbors or friends they've met by chance. Everyone was talking, laughing, but all in subdued manner.

If Cypur had been himself, he would leap through the stalls, joke about the silly ribbon decorations, and dance in time to the beat of the drum. But with a heavy heart, he knew he could never do that. He was a Sorcerer and Sorcerers didn't jump around, especially at his age. Children were permitted to act a little silly, but soon they would be taught to keep composure at all times. That was the way of the Sorcerer.

With a sigh, Cypur turned to Arius who was licking both sides of his mouth. Cypur's body went rigid as Arius licked his fried sugar stick from one end to the other in slow motion.

Oh, double moons and starlights. Cypur nearly gasped at the sight and his face burned. He quickly pretended he had an itch on his leg, bending to hide. Stop thinking he's hot. He scolded himself.

"Are you not finishing that?" Arius pointed to Cypur's half-eaten fried sugar.

"Uhm, no." The nausea from earlier was still bothering him a little and he couldn't stomach the whole thing.

"Can I have it?" Arius' expression was unreadable as he held out his hand.

"You want it?" Cypur couldn't hide his surprise. Was this something friends did with each other? He never had anyone else, so he didn't know. But it was so bad for his heart.

Wait, what am I doing? Letting him eat my half-eaten spit-covered thing? Cypur was appalled with himself when Arius' nodded and took the stick.

Now he was eating Cypur's fried sugar and licking his lips as if he could not get enough of it. Cypur's blush had traipsed up his ears and there was no way to hide it now if light happened to hit him and Arius happened to see.

Oh, bastard. Why am I Rosie Buns? And stop this thinking, bastard. Arius is not going to happen ever! But he couldn't stop thinking about it and that made it worse. He wished he was one of those citizens that didn't actually get red when they blushed. It would've been a lot easier for day-to-day life, trying to be the cool, calm, non-caring Sorcerer that he wanted to be.

"Excuse me!" A policewoman's voice made his flush run away, but she wasn't after him. She wore her uniform of a long dark blue trench coat lined with gold and silver. There were two young males holding hands and she was on their tail.

No, they'll get caught! He bit his lip and watched as the policewoman grabbed one of the males and yanked him away from his obvious partner. Even all the way over here, yelling could be heard as the males argued against the police saying it was Carnival and they could do what they wanted.

"Male couple?" Arius said in between licking his fingers. Cypur froze in his seat when he saw the look of disdain on Arius' green-tinted face. "They should know better, right? Going against the law like that, even at Carnival it's forbidden."

"Truly," Cypur managed to agree, and his eyes began to water but he held them in. He knew it. It was never meant to be. "Illegal acts, no doubt."

He could hear his own cold voice and for a moment, Arius looked a little sad, but the expression was gone as soon as it appeared. Cypur wondered if he had imagined it. Just seeing what he wanted to see.

"Well, I must get to finding Gallen and Rachelle. They're waiting for me." With that, Cypur left Arius without another word or glance. This was the end and from today on, he decided not to visit the swordstry where Arius worked. The more time he spent away from his old crush, the easier it would be to stop being 'Cypur the Softy Sorcerer'.

He soon found Gallen and Rachelle buying knick-knacks and snacks at a stall. Gallen seemed to have found that galaxy necklace for Rachelle. The two were holding hand and paw in love. Jealousy pricked his insides, but he shoved it away.

"Gallen, Rachelle!" he called. The two turned abruptly and glared at him before putting on their act and smiling.

"Darling! You made it!" Rachelle said. "How do you like this, Gallen darling got me a wonderful present!" She let the galaxy necklace catch the light making the chromatic stones give off rainbow reflections.

"How pleasing!" Cypur plastered a smile on his face. "Will the show start soon?"

"Very soon, actually," Gallen said with a grin. "Let's go get a seat before it's all filled up."

"Yes, let's!" Cypur said with a smile. Real friends might have taken note of his unusually cheerful demeanor, but his fake friends emulated his over-cheerfulness. They navigated the crowd to the tent at the edge of Carnival.

It was a full house, but they got good seats toward the top and in the middle. At least Cypur wouldn't have to crane his neck over heads to see the show. It was going to be great. He knew because citizens chattered excitedly and there was a hushed rumor that Alsinda, Rachelle's performer mother, had something new up her sleeve.

The show began as the lights dimmed. A puff of bright red smoke mushroomed up the tent and flowed over the sides. Alsinda emerged out of the red smoke in a risqué costume that Cypur wished he didn't have to see for this show. Her chest was nearly flowing over her top, and it made him uncomfortable. Even Rachelle seemed a little embarrassed at her mother's revealing costume.

A cage also emerged from behind the smoke, but the inside was concealed. Whispers and murmurs erupted all around as the audience speculated what could be in there.

"Ladies and gentlemen, males and females, I bring you Theodore, a talented new pet of mine that I have been aching to show you ever since I found him roaming our forbidden streets. Please, a round of applause for Theo!" She clapped her paws twice and the cage opened and out came a Human dressed in a black leotard. Upon reaching the bottom he did a triple flip and landed on his feet with precision.

The crowd roared and some booed at the sight of a Human in the Sorcerer's realm. Cypur could tell it was a normal Human with no magick wafting off of him. Rachelle leaned in and whispered, "My mother's recent fun. Dad tried to talk her out of it, but she said the Human was an orphan, so it didn't matter to return him. He even pleaded to stay."

"Let us have him show us his tricks. He will walk across the fire!" Some in audience groaned at this performance.

"Ever since the scepter brought peace you've changed," someone in the crowd said and several others began to agree, thrusting their fists in the air. "Without your blue kitty pets, you've gotten to be a softy. Use sharp ice!"

"Very well. Ice it is," she said and muttered a spell and a rug made of ice appeared on the stage in front of Theo. Everyone watched as Theo slipped and slid around but managed to get in one flip at the end, landing on the ground. But it was not over. When he reached the end, his legs froze together, and he yelled out in pain.

Swirls of blue and yellow light surrounded him. He froze up to his neck, but he could still breathe. Panic reflected in his eyes, a Human emotion that Sorcerers didn't always share. Or, rather, they weren't supposed to except Cypur. No one around him related to panic, a choking sensation that constricted air in your chest, a nausea that crawled up your throat, a punch that hollowed your heart. Cypur shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Theo's skin turned from peach to pale in fear. As if to contrast to his facial colors, black smoke surrounded him as Alsinda waved her paw around in circles. Gasps of awe filled the tent when he let out a plea of help.

Just then a burst of blue fire zapped Theo to the other side of the stage where he stood stripped of his leotard and wearing just his underwear. Alsinda sent an blue-tinted icy breeze and he hugged himself. A quiet filled the tent when purple smoke fell from above turning into many little needle swords. They flew at Theo who gritted his teeth as the swords became flexible like whips and hit him.

The swords glowed purple, the purple smoke turned black, and Theo's red blood glowed white. Each lash brought more contrast to the stage, and everyone cheered and clapped. One last whip of the sword brought a yowling cry of pain in a high-pitched voice.

Cypur sucked in his breath. The scent of the blood wafted in his nose. Sorcerer blood had no scent so it should have been intriguing to smell Human blood for the first time, but for some reason, it made him want to help the Human.

No, stop being Cypur the Softy Sorcerer. This is beautiful, right? Cypur tried to get back into his Sorcerer, to remind him of the aesthetics of torture and that was all this was. Besides, it was necessary for aesthetic pets to be well cared for, even to the point of being treated as a near equal.

Cypur shook his head. Come on. You're a Sorcerer. This is aesthetics. Beautiful.

All fell quiet as the smoke cleared. Theo's back was bloodied. The white glow that was magick had left and all that remained were the dark red stains. Alsinda approached him and a hushed argument ensued. Soon, in slow movements as if in great reluctance, Theo lay down on the stage floor. Just as the black smoke rolled back in, there was the sound of metal against metal and the rattle of chains. Sobs broke through the silence.

Three glowing purple swords with flexible blades emerged. The black smoke cleared part way to show the expression of pain and fear on Theo's face as the purple sword whizzed around him. He couldn't escape.

The iron scent of blood thickened. In that moment, Theo's eyes met Cypur's, and he couldn't look away. Panic, fear, and hurt all displayed there. The crowd cheered, giving a standing ovation. Gallen and Rachelle mirrored the smiles of everyone else.

Cypur stood and tried to be them.

His chest tightened. He was picturing himself helping Theo, yelling at Alsinda for treating him like that, shutting down the entire show, and telling off all the stupid Sorcerers that thought this was pretty.

That's what I want to do. He lowered his gaze. He could try to fake it, but his conscience told him 'no'. It wasn't worth pursuing. He failed the test.

Cypur shrugged to himself, a wry smile creeping upon his face. If this was the defect he was going to be, he would go with it. Feeling defeated, he stood to leave.