Having been focused on where she was putting her feet because of the unevenness of the ground, Zoey didn’t notice the tall dark-haired man standing in the doorway and lighting up a cigarette.  “No, I’ve got it,” she replied with a smile, a little nervous about him coming closer with a lighter and lit cigarette.  “I’m not really sure if they’re legal either.  I’ve got a license, and I didn’t import them, so I don’t know how the law will view that.”

As she was responding to the man’s question, a tallish woman, at least compared to Zoey, with blonde hair on the right side of her head and a shaved area on the left came through the doors, complaining when she walked right into the smoke from Des’s cigarette.  When she spotted Zoey, however, she seemed to lose interest in Des and step forward, correctly guessing that the box contained fireworks.  “I’m not sure why he still has his lighter out, but I would have told you that there were fireworks in the box if you would have just asked,” Zoey responded.  “And yes, I do have a couple of barium ones, though my personal favorites are the purple ones.”

The girl’s curiosity sated, she turned back to Des after walking a tiny bit farther into the field, asking him what he had wanted her to do.  Before he responded to her, he made sure to introduce himself as Desmond and the woman as Astrid.  “I’m Zoey,” she responded, nodding politely.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”  But it seemed that Des was focused on answering Astrid’s question, spinning a tale about the machines breaking down, which was true according to the new sources Zoey had seen about it, and the workers dying, which was far less likely.

Regardless, while they chatted, Zoey looked for a good spot to set up for the show.  The stairs and patio off the back of the castle would provide adequate seating for a good number of people, leaving the ground for anyone who couldn’t fit on the patio.  Now all that was left was to find a good patch of level ground to set up on.  Level ground was important for making sure that the fireworks didn’t go off at an unexpected angle or something and end up hurting someone.  Des’s comment about burning the forest down elicited a nervous chuckle as she worked, partly because she wasn’t sure if he was serious or not.  The forest certainly wouldn’t be burning down on her watch.