"O ye, villain most foul, have at thee! Thou haveth not a chance against mine blade! Ah! Thou dost not give up so easily! Doth thou--"

"Umm... that's great, James. Really. Can you do that some other time, though?"

"So you liked it?" the blue (but it could be purple) -haired swordsman grinned eagerly down at his red-haired companion.

"It was great... but you're sounding a little archaic today," Jessie grinned right back.

"Oh... just trying a different style, is all."

"Whatever. Would you sit down and eat already? Meowth is going to eat everything if you don't start in soon," she added with a snide look at the cat/rock Monster.

"Ha. I believe you are the one stuffing her face," it replied evenly, licking a paw in unconcern.

"I'd kill you for that, you stupid cat, but I'm in too good a mood," Jessie sniffed, grabbing another Jigglypuff leg. The things were really not too bad anymore, especially since James had been adding some new kind of herb that could only be found in this area, a few miles outside the city of Narla.

Jessie had never been to Narla, but she had heard that it was home to many famous Summoners. And she figured there must be something special about the city if there were so many living there. All she knew was that it had taken them months to walk this far. Too many to think about anymore, but at least she had finally become completely accustomed to her companions' odd... traits. So it hadn't been all that bad.

She took another bite of Jigglypuff, wiping off the juice that ran down her chin with the back of a gloved hand. It really was delicious, so good that she supposed she was stuffing her face as Meowth had suggested. It tasted like some exotic delicacy rather than Jigglypuff after James was done with i--

"Hey! That was mine!"

"What? ...this?" James blinked at her innocently over the very last piece of Jigglypuff, which he still held poised as if about to take a bite. While she was busy with her thought sequence, he must have eaten the rest. It figured.

"Stupid author! Pick some other time for the stupid exposition!"

"Um... who are you talking to?"

"Never mind. Now give me that!"

"But you were just sitting there staring into space! I had a right to it!"

"No you didn't! Now give it here, it's got my name on it."

"No it doesn't."

"Well, my fist sure as hell has your name on it, and unless you want to see it a lot closer, you're gonna give that to me right now."

Sighing, he handed it over, then sat there pouting while he watched her eat vigorously. "No fair..."

"Are you two ever going to grow up?" Meowth asked, it's expression utterly bored.

"Dry up," Jessie snapped, polishing off the rest of her meal. "Okay, let's go! We'll be in Narla by nightfall! It's real beds and hot baths for us tonight!" she cheered.

"Little problem with that," Meowth commented as they gathered themselves together. "We don't have any money left."

"Ah... no money? Why... would that be?" She began to whistle a made-up tune while Meowth just glared.

"Let's not play dumb here. I believe it was you who spent the rest of our money... all of our money... to buy yourself a new outfit. You even took the small amount that James and I had managed to save up!"

"Well... at least I actually paid for something for once," she responded cheerfully. "We'll just have to... umm... get some more... somewhere." Looking over at James to see what he thought, she saw that he was pretending to be absolutely riveted by the act of making sure his sword was belted just so around his waist. He was still a little touchy on the subject of her chosen profession, and tended to act like he wasn't paying attention whenever that subject was brought up. Jessie shrugged. "We'll think of something on the way."

They quickly took up their usual travel positions, Meowth scouting farther ahead while Jessie and James followed side-by-side behind, and were on their way. It was a full ten minutes before James said anything.

"So, how are we getting the money?" Jessie was surprised he had actually asked her. Carefully, she searched for an answer.

"I suppose I could... well, you know... like I always..."

"Please, Jess. Let's just earn it honestly... please?"

When he said her name that way... in that tone of voice... She felt her will dissolving away. "Okay. Maybe we could get jobs or something." In a flash of anger, she kicked at the ground once as she walked, sending dirt flying. "Darn it, James! What is it about you that makes me do these things?!"

He leaned in closer, as if to share some confidential secret. "You like me," he grinned. She eyed him sideways.

"My fist still has your name on it, you know."

"Er... right." He edged back away, but continued to smile. A lot of experience had taught him the difference between when she meant what she said and when she didn't. But at least he also knew that if he continued to push it she would mean it. In other words, they got along just fine now. Most of the time. Usually.

"Jessie? James?" The pair stopped and looked down at Meowth, which had just walked back to them, although they hadn't noticed it due to their conversation.

"What, Meowth? What is it?" Jessie asked.

"Don't you... hear something?"

"Hear something? ...What do you mean?"

The cat Monster sighed and began explaining as though it should have been obvious what it meant. "There is a noise coming from a good half mile behind us. I'd say it consists of at least fifteen wagons, a number of Ponyta, and at least a dozen humans on foot. Can't you hear it?"

"No!" Jessie scowled, aiming a kick at Meowth, which it dodged easily; she hadn't meant to hit it anyway. "Excuse me, but we're humans. We don't have the ears of a cat."

"Of course not."

Ignoring it, Jessie just shook her head. "Well, it's obviously not a threat. Sounds like an ordinary caravan of some kind to me. Or a group of bandits who happen to be awfully organized, and as we all know, bandits are never that organized. I want to see who they are." She looked at Meowth, who shrugged noncommittally, then at James, who nodded.

"Sure. They must be headed for Narla.. heh, maybe they'll even give us a ride the rest of the way in."

"Good idea! I knew I kept you around for something besides your cooking, James..." Jessie teased, reaching up to pat him on the head.

He looked a little embarrassed, but soon shot back with a grin, "You mean my natural charm or my boyish good looks? ...Ouch! What was that for?"

"For being an idiot," she told him, grabbing his arm to drag him back behind the bushes beside the road. Meowth followed, grumbling something about "childish humans".

"So what are we doing back here if you want to meet them?" James asked her next.

"Will you be quiet!" Jessie hissed back, slapping a hand over his mouth. His eyes blinked at her above her fingers. "Just in case they are bandits," she whispered, looking out at the road through a convenient hole in the bushes. Nothing was visible, but now she could definitely hear it coming. She realized that James' lips were moving against her hand, and she took it away briefly. "What?"

"I just wanted to ask if you could let go of me."

"No," she smiled, covering his mouth again. "All I need is you blurting out some silly speech if it happens to be bandits, which I personally doubt. I know you." Naturally, all she got in response was more blinking. She shifted her attention back to the hole to wait. She didn't have to wait too long.

The "caravan" came into view slowly, containing the exact things Meowth had predicted. It was the details that were interesting. Several of the wagons were extraordinarily tall and wide, and all were painted with the symbol of a red dragon inside a circle. Every Ponyta also had the same symbol branded on its' side. And every human in sight, whether they were walking, on the back of a Ponyta, or riding on the wagons, was wearing a brilliant red and white outfit of expensive-looking material, with the dragon symbol prominently displayed on the back. The group was moving very quickly because the long lines of Ponyta that were in front of the wagons seemed to be straining as hard as they could to pull them.

"Wow..." Jessie finally breathed when she got over her surprise. "It's a Dragon Festival! If there's a Dragon Festival going to Narla... oh wow, this is so great!"

"You mean... there are dragons in there?" James asked incredulously, indicating the huge wagons. Jessie looked at him in surprise, but then realized that she must have let go of his mouth in her excitement. It didn't matter, those wagons were making so much noise that they wouldn't be heard talking if they were shouting their words.

"Yes... where else would they be? I'd say it looks like they have at least four or five really big ones.. amazing."

"Why not just keep them in Monster Orbs? It would be easier, wouldn't it?" Meowth questioned.

"Because then it wouldn't be a Dragon Festival, of course. When a Dragon Festival visits a city, the dragons all get put into gigantic cages that the festival people put up. Literally everyone in the city goes to see them, since dragons are so rare and are considered good luck by many people. Then there are the shows they put on with the dragons, and there's music and food... oh, the food is the best... and it's basically just like any regular festival, except that the dragons are the center of it."

"When you say dragons..." James began slowly, "what kind do you mean?"

"Oh, Charizard, Dragonite... those are the biggest and most rare. Sometimes they have smaller ones such as Dragonair, too."

"You seem to know a lot about it."

"Well..." she said with a grin. "A Dragon Festival came to the town I lived in when I was ten. It was all so exciting, I could never forget any of it. The chance to see it again... well, it's just something you don't pass up on."

They watched as the festival wagons faded away from their view before they stood up to follow the road again. "Oh well," Jessie sighed, folding her arms up behind her head as she walked. "They wouldn't have had room for us to ride, anyway. Guess we walk the rest of the way after all."

"At least we know it should be easier to find a job for some money in the city now... The festival should create a few extra jobs, right?" James spoke up hopefully.

"Right," Jessie groaned. "Great... just what I need... thanks for reminding me."

"No problem," James smiled, oblivious to her sarcasm. Jessie couldn't help but groan again. It couldn't be... too bad, though...

"There is NO WAY! I'm not walking around, serving people food, with this getup on! I look like a... like a... like a cream puff!!"

"You don't look that bad..." James tried to soothe her. Like that would work. It hadn't been her idea to take this job waiting tables; no, it had been James'. It was all his fault that she was wearing a frilly, pale yellow dress with it's stupid matching apron. Not to mention the huge bow on the back. Not to mention the ruffles. Or the tiny shoes that pinched her feet. Or the abundance of lace. And the almost indecent length...

"James! I'm going to kill you!"

James' outfit was much more tame, a pair of dark gray pants and a shirt that matched the color of her dress, it's only decoration being the fact that the cuffs were ruffled slightly. He looked almost completely normal, otherwise. And she wouldn't have admitted it for the world, but those pants did fit him awfully nice...

"James! Come over here so I can kill you! I don't think I can walk over that far with these idiotic excuses for shoes on my feet!"

"Jess... please try to calm down, okay? We need to get some money, and this is the best job we could find. Really."

"Oh yeah? Then you wear this dress. You'd look better as a cream puff than me, anyway."

"Oh no, I'm not wearing another dress," he smiled. "Besides, you look cute in it."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"N... nothing..."

"Let's get Meowth and put it in the dress, then," Jessie snickered.

"We left Meowth outside, remember? And anyway, it's way too short for any kind of human job... We're just going to have to get the money by ourselves. We can do it."

Despite her better judgement, Jessie found herself believing him. "Okay, alright, whatever. Let's just get out there and get this over with," she said, barging on through the dressing room door and out into the kitchen. James followed, a slight smile on his face.

The "Gilded Pidgey", as the name supposedly suggested, was a refined and elegant restaurant which had been serving rich nobles for over 20 years. So why the hell it had a fat, stupid-looking head cook was beyond Jessie.

"You two, it's about time! Get yer lazy butts in gear! All these orders are already ready to go out! The table numbers are on the trays! DON'T DROP ANYTHING!" And with that, he disappeared into the forest of other cooks that filled the kitchen.

"Guess that was our training," James remarked, obviously trying not to laugh.

"I'll kill him. Just let me get Ninetails out, and I'll kill him," Jessie muttered threateningly. James nudged her with an elbow and shook his head. Growling, she grabbed a tray with each hand and stomped out the door to the seating area.

The first three hours or so went well. Comparatively speaking. Jessie's shoes were pinching horribly, and each smile felt a little more strained than the last. Now she was starting to feel like she was just grinding her teeth. Maybe she was, with the way people kept staring at her.

James was certainly doing a lot better than her; she noticed that during the rare times she had the opportunity to watch him. Maybe it was the way he smiled constantly, a completely genuine smile, or the way he leaned down toward each person as they ordered as if to make sure he was hearing them well as he wrote it down, or the way he walked ever so carefully, and never dropped a single thing as a result. Jessie would have thought he'd have broken all the dishes in the restaurant by now.

Whatever it was, every girls' eye was glued to him when he passed nearby, which strained Jessie's smile even further when she realized it. Then again, maybe the only reason was because they had noticed the way his pants fit, too...

She slammed the tray she was holding down on her next table with barely even a glance at the people there. She'd had enough.

James came back out of the kitchen, a heavily-laden tray in each hand. Jessie grinned coyly and started walking back toward the kitchen, as natural as you please. But her foot was sticking out just a bit too far as he passed by her. He tripped, sending everything he was holding straight to the floor, with him landing in the middle of it.

"Jessie, why'd you do that?" he wailed, tears gushing out of his eyes like twin waterfalls.

Needless to say, they were fired.

*****

"I can't believe you! You were doing well! But you, you were awful! Waitresses are supposed to be friendly toward the customers, what part of that don't you understand?!"

"Ah, what do you know, pops? You were in the kitchen the whole time!"

"I KNOW what goes on in this restaurant at all times! Both of you get out of here now before I call the City Guard!"

With the Gilded Pidgey's back door slammed in their faces, Jessie and James turned away to look at Meowth, who was wearing a bland expression.

"It can never be simple with you two, can it?"

"Stuff it," Jessie responded, plopping down on the ground to count the money they had made. Well, the money they had made after they had paid for everything that ended up broken. At least she was feeling a lot more comfortable back in her regular clothes. James sat down slowly beside her. He didn't seem too mad about what she had done, but he never did get mad easily.

"Ohhhh.... crap. We don't have enough left for rooms and a meal for even just one night! I can't believe this!" she cried at last, after counting the money twice to make sure. James sighed a little and reached into the pouch he carried around his waist, coming out with a fistful of gold coins that he held out to Jessie.

"Where... did you get..."

"Tips," he shrugged.

"Tips!? I didn't get any tips!"

"I don't know... a lot of those girls wanted to give me the money, so I took it. We needed it, anyway."

"Yes," Jessie began muttering under her breath, "but were they tipping you or your a--"

"Can we get going? I assume the inns will fill up rather quickly with this... 'Dragon Festival' in the city," Meowth interrupted.

"Fine, let's get out of here. I never wanna see this restaurant again..."

*****

As it turned out, they were only able to find one available room. Jessie normally forced James and Meowth to get a room of their own whenever they stayed at an inn, but it was either take a single room this time or sleep outside. And it really didn't take too long to decide between rocky ground or a real bed.

After a noisy dinner and a not-so-leisurely bath (the dinner they ate together, but the bath definitely wasn't shared), the three friends were finally settled into their tiny room. The bed filled almost the whole space, but even that wasn't very big. Of course, it was never a question of who would get the bed. James and Meowth immediately arranged their own beds out of blankets on the floor without much discussion, in order to avoid a battle they would surely lose anyway.

Jessie yawned and stretched atop her bed, then just lay sprawled out on her back to stare into the semi-darkness.

A Dragon Festival. She still couldn't believe her luck.

Her two companions had taken up positions on either side of the bed; rolling over onto her left side, Jessie could see Meowth curled up like a lump in it's long gray cape. It snored lightly, but didn't move much except for the rise and fall of it's breathing. She watched it for a time, then rolled over again to look at James. His eyes were wide open, staring at her.

She gave a little shriek in surprise, but soon scowled down at him instead. "Quit that."

"Quit what?"

"Staring at me! Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I wasn't staring at you. My eyes were open, but I couldn't see you until you looked at me."

"Don't get technical," she sniffed. She continued to look at him, her eyes just peeking over the edge of the bed; he regarded her solemnly in return.

"Sorry about what happened at the restaurant... I guess I probably shouldn't have tripped you like that."

"Yeah... I'm sorry, too. It was kind of fun for awhile."

She reached down to smack him gently across the face. His eyes widened further. "What did I do?"

"Absolutely nothing," she replied with a wry grin. She still wasn't ready to admit the reason she had really tripped him. Jessie Inverse would never admit to jealousy. "So, excited about seeing some real live dragons tomorrow?" she asked quickly to change the subject.

"I've seen a dragon before," he told her sleepily.

"You mean that bizarre two-headed freak of nature? I wouldn't call that a real dragon. These dragons are big... and beautiful... so strong and noble... I would love to have a dragon... I bet I'd be the most powerful Summoner in the world then for sure... James?"

She sighed. He was asleep.

Jessie rolled over onto her back again after looking at him only a little longer. It would probably take her a lot longer than that to get to sleep. Images of dragons filled her thoughts, calling out to her; even when she did fall asleep, she would probably dream of them.

Now if only she could figure out how to get one...

I will now demonstrate my amazing talent at reading your mind... here I go... "Gee! I think I'll send Cori-chan some comments on this story! I think I'll do it right now! Yeah... yeah!" Amazing, isn't it? I know exactly what you're thinking! (So what are you waiting for?) ^___^

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