It was still barely lunchtime when they made it back to the Festival, and the hangovers were beginning to fade, only to be replaced by another day of celebration and a change in the offerings by the stalls.
The most popular ones kept the same food as yesterday, while the ones that thought they could do better switched it up, as the Witches competed with each other to see who could do the best in the challenge to make the Festival a success.
Today's big attraction was the show arranged by the Bunny Clan. All day long, every second hour until midnight, they were having a dance show on a large stage that the Witches had made for them.
In between shows, there would be live music, keeping the festival atmosphere alive all through the day.
All week long, the villages would take turns putting on shows to entertain their neighbours and encourage them to visit the village looking for a spouse. That was the driving factor behind most of the shows.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe locals needed to move between the villages to prevent inbreeding, but there were only so many villages with a decent quality of life and a strong enough protector that they weren't in constant danger, so attracting new people was a constant challenge.
With that attitude, the Festival was the perfect event for them. They could show off their best cultural aspects, their strongest single men and prettiest single women, as well as the specialty skills of their village.
One of the squirrel-tailed scouts noticed Wolfe coming back into the main gates with the Elder and the Witches and waved him over for a conversation.
"I didn't notice you leaving. Is everything good? If there's a threat, we've got most of our warriors here." The scout informed him.
"Nothing of the sort. We made a magical airplane, and we were just testing it out at the edge of the forest. We are going to go out and do some deliveries to the villages outside the Forest tomorrow since everyone needs food and medical supplies that we have been growing." Wolfe chuckled.
"That would be an amazing surprise when everyone gets home. I know there are still four more nights of the festival, but getting home to a fresh food supply would be incredible." He cheered.
"Would you like to ride along? We need to make deliveries, and as a scout, you know the area the best, and you should know all the village leaders. We can't really send the Witches for everything since they might not be able to communicate again once they leave the Forest.
So if I go with you, we should be able to get it all done in a hurry, and the Witches can focus on loading the plane for us." Wolfe offered.
"That sounds fun. When are we going?" The scout asked.
"First thing in the morning. We will bring a radio with us, so we can warn them that we are coming and they don't run away from us. We will load the whole barge that you likely saw on the river as you arrived, the fan boat.
That should be enough to keep everyone supplied for a few weeks. The villages inside the Forest will all get their own deliveries later. The plane is just for the ones outside the limits."
The sound of cheering brought all the visitors toward the stage and caught the scout's attention.
"Let's go watch the show. There is no reason not to enjoy yourself to the fullest tonight, but watch the liquor intake because I will find another scout to go with me if you're too drunk to wake up in the morning." Wolfe joked.
"That won't be a problem. I learned my lesson about the Witch Wine last night. The liquor sneaks up on you, and you don't realize just how drunk you are until you try to get out of your chair and the ground attacks you."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmA few locals nearby laughed and clapped him on the shoulder in solidarity. "They even serve it in little sample glasses, not like the Mead, which is in a big glass. So you lose track of how much you've had and just keep drinking the tiny glasses like nothing." One of them agreed.
The Bunnies had just begun their dance and acrobatics routine, consisting of a number of poles and lines set up around the stage, with ribbons running between and hanging down from them.
The Witches had put a shade spell over the area so that looking up at the dancers in the air wouldn't put the sun in your eyes, and the dancers were really getting into it.
They spun, twirled, giggled and flipped as the song played and the real show began.
The dancers spun and twirled up the ribbons while others danced on tightropes above them in time to the music. Some others would swing the ribbons, giving a fluttering background to the show and swinging some of the acrobats around as they twirled between ribbons and danced with each other in the air.
No magic was involved other than the shade spell, but the pure athleticism and grace were incredible. Wolfe had never seen anything like it, and neither had many of the guests, but they would surely be back to watch it again and again, all through tonight while the Bunny villages were showcasing their talents.
There were a few close calls where someone almost fell, but each time the crowd gasped in fear, they either managed to wrap themselves in a hanging ribbon or one of the other performers caught them and kept them from hitting the ground.
The witches wouldn't let any harm come to them, even if they had to use Air Magic as a cushion above the floor, but the thrill of the danger was part of the appeal of the show, and the audience couldn't get enough.
The applause when the sweaty and exhausted dancers slid to the ground to take a bow and recover for the next show shook the ground and scared most of the birds out of the trees, making the Bunnies laugh.
Until the Fae Forest was formed, they would have been terrified to see a swarm of the Flame Winged Swallows, but now, they were just birds in the trees, and life was good.