[Virgil Marks]

A bright and cheerful morning greeted Virgil Marks as he opened the door of his shop. Instead of turning the sign to 'open', as he usually did, he merely stepped out and locked the door behind him. As he walked towards his friends' shops, his mind was filled with thoughts of the Nox Nocturnalis that would soon be upon them.

Each year started with a festival that celebrated the joys of life that lasted for a few weeks. On the last sunset of Nox, they would all release small boats on the river to symbolize the souls of the recently departed finding their way to Toamna, the moon and the resting place for the dead. Prayers to the deceased were often uttered as the boats floated down the river.

As he tore himself out of deep thought, he found himself already in front of Katrine's shop. Katrine was one of his best friends, and he had gone to her shop first by habit. He knocked on her door and waited for her to answer, which she did a few minutes later. Closing her shop as he did his, they continued on their way to meet Lesallia, so that they could begin setting up the yearly festival.

[Katrine Dmitriev]

Katrine was so glad to see that Virgil had gotten up on time; usually she had to knock on his door to wake him up. The festival was a wonderful time, and sometimes he had a hard time falling asleep the night before the preparations began.

Virgil turned to her and smiled, "Let's hope that Lesallia is in a good mood this morning, we have a lot of work to do!" She smiled agreed with him and they began their short trip to Lesallia's shop.

The morning breeze was slightly cool as it brushed across her face, but it only served to energize her more and more. The path was quiet, faint echoes of morning wildlife stirred nearby. Within minutes, they saw the outline of Lesallia's shop on the horizon, and after a few more, they were standing right outside.

They looked up into her window and saw her waving at the two of them; a small wave that would seem impersonal if you didn't know her as well as they did. Katrine and Virgil both smiled and waved back as they beckoned her outside. She slipped out of her shop quietly and joined them out front.

"Good morning, Katrine, Virgil," she said with her usual level of enthusiasm. Katrine couldn't help but giggle - though Lesallia tried to hide it, she was just as excited about Nox as they were, though she'd never outrightly admit it.

"Good morning, Lesallia! So nice of you to join us," Katrine replied as they began making their way to the festival site. "I can't wait to see what fun times this year brings," she exclaimed with a bit too much excitement.

Lesallia couldn't help but let out a small sigh as she smirked at Katrine's enthusiasm. "Between the two of you, there will be more than enough excitement for everyone. Let's get this festival started, shall we?"

With that, they took off to the festival grounds.

[Lesallia Surish]

The festival grounds on a hill next to the large river where the boat ceremony took place. On a normal day, a person could hear the faint bubbling of the river and the sounds of wildlife that frequented it, but that was not the truth today; the sounds of thudding hammers and rustling material completely drowned it out.

They entered the grounds and almost immediately ran into Sebastian, who was going far too fast while carrying a box almost twice the size of a normal box. With a mix of embarrassment and excitement, he excused himself and waddled back to his tent.

Lesallia sighed, "Does he always have to be so excited and annoying? Especially so early in the morning..."

Virgil and Katrine couldn't help giggling at her response because it was just so typically her. Lesallia glared back at them for a second, but she couldn't be mad at them; they were her two best friends and she was thankful they were always there for her.

"If you two are done giggling at me, maybe we can start setting up our tents before the visitors come?" She turned away and a grin spread across her face. She could play that game, too.

"Sure, Lesallia, I think the three of us are over there," Virgil said, pointing to an area on the side farthest from Sebastian.

"Yep, those're definitely ours," Katrine said with a hint of excitement, "Let's go get started! Last one there buys lunch!" With that, she began running quickly to their tents.

[Katrine Dmitriev]

With their tents all set up, they went to grab some lunch. Lesallia was not one to run anywhere, nor had she agreed to the deal, but she begrudgingly bought them all lunch. The smiles on their faces were worth whatever it cost, though she would never explicitly admit it to them. They were her best friends, and they knew that.

"So," Katrine said thoughtfully, "I wonder how many people will show up for the river ceremony this year?"

Virgil shrugged his shoulders, "Probably more than last year. It seems that the more people that know about it, the more people come. It's tradition around these parts."

She smiled at him, "You're right, of course. I couldn't imagine a year without the Nox Nocturnalis." She then turned to Lesallia, not wanting to exclude her from the conversation any more than she did so herself, "Lesallia, your decorations, as usual, are fantastic. How do you do it each year?"

Lesallia was not one to turn down a compliment, though a baited compliment it was, "Why thank you, Katrine. I go through great lengths to make sure that each Nox is not only unique, but also that only the finest materials are used."

They both nodded, giving Lesallia the praise that she deserved. Virgil turned and saw a fairly large crowd approaching. He looked at the others, "I think we better get back to our tents! People have arrived!"

With that, the three got up and went back to their tents to welcome the crowds.