Submission (#4284) Approved

     Wobbling precariously on the ladder, Alais attempted to lift the line of popcorn and orange baubles high enough that he could tie it to the poles that had been erected around the party area. Large rocks and boulders had already been painted with bioluminescent paint in preparation for the late night festivities. A bonfire was burning merrily, steaming pots of soup, beans, stews, and other good foods surrounding the warm edges of the fire. He reached up once again, straining to reach the hook before finally getting it to catch. Letting out his breath in a whoosh, both paws came down to grab at the top of the ladder. There he stood for a few moments to steady himself, clinging to the wooden a-frame before hearing a voice from below. 

     "It's ok, I told you I had the ladder." 

     Alaistair looked down to the voice and nodded at the fellow kittom who he had been partnered with to attach the treat garlands up into the air. "I didn't doubt you for a second!" he lied while stepping back down to steady ground. "How many more do we have to do before we can move onto the next thing?" It wasn't that he was scared of heights, but the uneven ground made him feel a little more unsteady than usual. Luckily, most of the area had been flattened out and the gaps, crevices, and holes were filled with a dense sand before being stamped down. Even the surrounding rocks around them gave the feel of a large room sans ceiling, and he could only imagine how amazing it would look when the sky was filled with stars. 

The other kittom nodded towards the last two poles and lifted another garland of treats. "Only three, for now. Want me to do the next one?" The ember-coloured nin helped Alais fold up the ladder and carry it to the next pole. Pulling out the sides to give it a secure footing on the rocky ground, he tested the first step and reached out for the garland Alais had just attached so he could tie up the other end to the new pole. "After this we can see if they need help with the food."

     The flavor-filled smells wafting over to them on the light breeze made Alais' mouth water and he felt his stomach grumble. "Taro, I think that is a great idea. Maybe they will let us sample some..." he tied a new garland to the old one before handing the paired ends to the other kittom.  "You know, in case it needs a little extra salt or something..." he added as an after thought. Moving to the back side of the A-frame Alais stood on the cross bar near the bottom and held onto the sides to steady the ladder as best he could while Taro climbed up, garland tails securely held in his mouth so that his paws were free. 

     "Glad to see you are on the same page as I am." Taro grinned as he nimbly tied his ends to the hook that had been wound into the top of the wooden pole. "In fact, I don't mind doing the rest of them as I seem to be much quicker at knots than you." 

     Scoffing a little, Alais feigned a deep wounded voice, "Hey now! It's not my fault the last one was over a soft patch... and I am much larger than you." The crimson and purple kittom stood half a head taller than his fellow friend which had proved useful with the taller locations, like crystalline boulders and woven archways, that could be reached from the ground, but had made the dressing spots that needed a ladder to get to a little more precarious if the ground wasn't very flat. He was tempted to wobble the ladder a little to prove a point but refrained from doing so at the last minute, letting his decorating partner reach the ground first. "But sure, if you want to do the last ones by all means." He grabbed the ladder, folded it, and carried it boldly over to the final pole and set it up, making a show of holding it tightly to the rocky ground. 

     Taro chuckled a little at the performance before grabbing the two ends, one from the most recent pole, and the other from the last garland in the bundle and brought them up to the top of the pole.  Slipping down, he helped Alais carry the ladder to the last pole and repeated the procedure, this time with the final tail end added to the end of the first garland which had been waiting at the base of the first pole since they started.

The final garland went up and completed the circle which delineated the edges of the festival space. Alaistair looked at their work with pride as he imagined how it would look in the evening when everyone would be wandering around in their costumes and festival garb. This was probably one of his most favorite holidays and Zevija seemed to be quite a fun place to experience it. He could hardly wait for the moment when the lanterns they had set out around the rocky outcroppings would be lit, shining in such a way to make all the surrounding crystals glow in the dark. He had been practicing his scary story to share around the fire and was looking forward to sharing in all the good food and treats that had been cooking throughout the day. The evening was promising to be a fun time with friends both old and new.