[egg:8]
Cynth kept her smile easy, even as the other girl- Ten, as she introduced herself- seemed to react with a tinge of shyness or awkwardness, averting her eyes and speaking hesitantly. She considered backing off from the conversation- she wouldn't want to make the other woman feel awkward, or like her personal space was being invaded- but then Ten continued the conversation, introducing her Pokemon, and reflecting the question that Cynth had asked back to her.
"It's nice to meet you, Ten, and Ariadne, and Po." She looked at them each in turn. She was pretty sure she had seen other spiders similar to Ariadne before, but Po's species was completely unique to her. She returned her gaze to Ten to continue the conversation.
"I am enjoying myself. This place is beautiful, all covered in snow, and I had a really delicious piece of some kind of pie earlier." There wasn't always a ton of food for her to eat at big gatherings like this, as for some reason they always seemed to be saturated with various roasted meats, so she had been thrilled to discovered various fruit sauces and pies. They seemed to pair well with the wintery season, for some reason or another. "My Pokemon aren't particularly enthusiastic about this season, but I certainly am."
Then another voice reached her ears, a distantly familiar one. It didn't attract her attention immediately, as it had been a while since she'd been referred to by the name of Bird- but after a couple seconds, the gears in her mind suddenly jump-started, and she turned around with a happy smile spread across her face.
"Ri! Hi! It's been a while, how have you been?" Cynth tried and failed to keep her enthusiasm about meeting an old friend down- Ri herself had always come off as very grim and serious, so Cynth didn't want to be annoying by being incredibly perky and bubbly- but she just couldn't help herself.
"Oh, um, Ten, this is Ri, and Ri, this is Ten. And this is," she struggled for a moment to recall the names of the Pokemon she had just been introduced to, "Po, and... Ariadne. Ten, you're new to this place, aren't you?" She'd figured as much when the other girl had mentioned that she didn't have much to compare the winter festival to. That meant she hadn't been around in the fall for the Anniversary Fair, right?
Then Beta's voice rumbled over the area, drawing out a hush from those in attendance as he began to lead the event that they were all there for: exchanging presents. Pass four to the right, he said, and so she did, offering her gift to Ri to begin passing in that direction, and taking the gift that Ten, who was to her left, had been holding. Something about this all felt familiar. Had she exchanged gifts in a similar fashion before this? The wrapped gifts with the little bows on them certainly made her nostalgic.
She patiently passed until the fourth gift reached her hands, and then she watched and smiled lightly as Ri was selected to open the gift that she was holding. A potion and a berry. Simple, but useful, particularly the potion, if one got in a lot of skirmishes with Pokemon. Always good to have medicine with you, right? She didn't go exploring much, herself, though she wondered if she might want to in the future.
Cynth was absent-mindedly studying the wrapped gift in her hand, identical to all the other gifts, and wondering what might be inside of it when a second familiar voice pierced through her thoughts. This voice belonged to a more recent acquaintance, as noted by the fact that the voice referred to her as Cynth, her somewhat recently discovered name.
"Cynthia!" Cynth replied, the name still sounding and feeling so odd in her mouth. She had the inkling of a feeling that... it was her name, too. The similarities between Cynth and Cynthia were undeniable. But at the same time, calling herself Cynthia didn't feel natural, either, and so she stuck with Cynth. Still, her mixed feelings regarding the name itself didn't extend into her feelings toward the woman who bore the longer name. She wasn't close with Cynthia, as they had only ever had the one interaction at the Anniversary Fair, but they had connected extremely well and she was overjoyed to see the woman here, as well.
It was wonderful how these fairs and festivals brought people together. "I'm so glad you're here!"
The sudden change in tone and expression when asking about the man leading the event, though, confused her greatly. Cynthia was asking who the man was, and yet seemed to already have a great dislike for him. Cynth stared past her at Beta, who to her eyes was nothing more than an old man standing in the middle of a field rifling through his pockets.
"I haven't met him before myself, but, I think it's Beta...? He fits the descriptions I've heard, anyway. He founded this city, like, forty or so years ago, I think? I've heard a lot of stories, but I'm not sure how much to believe, because some of them seem a bit..." she struggled to find the right word, "grandiose? Most people here hold him in high regard, though, so I'm sure he's great." Cynth was more than happy just taking Beta's reputation at face value unless she actually had the opportunity to meet with him and get to know him personally, which seemed unlikely given how busy she kept herself lately. And if she was busy, how busy was someone who had an entire city to run? "I could be wrong, though. I'm just guessing. He looks old enough to have founded this city a long time ago, though."
So she gave a light shrug and allowed her easy smile to return, turning to look at the red-headed bird that perched on Cynthia's shoulder. "And what was your name again? I only remember it starting with an A... I'm sorry, it's been so long since I've seen you two!"