As the crowds gather for the Grand Melee, Alya has seated herself on a stump which was situated in the middle of the wide grassy path, which was surrounded by the many stalls that shopkeepers had constructed in order to service the large crowd. The stump wasn't interrupting the flow of patrons, so it was the ideal position for a Bard such as herself. Some of the people in the crowd greeted Alya as they walked past, since they were also from Green Fall. Travelers who had passed through Green Fall also knew of Alya, or rather her nickname 'Echo'. As the stalls bustled with activity, artisans, hawkers, grocers alike, all calling out to potential customers. Through this noise, the sound of Alya's flute resonated, seemingly piercing through the noise pollution. The joy in her heart resonated with her music as she felt the cheerful atmosphere of the festival envelope her. People who had been drawn to Alya due to her magic and music tossed copper and silver coins into the little cloth bag that sat at her feet. Unexpected, but very much welcomed.

Echo, her somewhat newly acquired Dire wolf pup has also been reveling in the appearance of new prey. The meat stall. However, his appetite was sated as the butcher kindly offered him a sizable piece of meat. Satisfied with his meal, he decided to take a nap on the lap of his Wolf Mother. Despite his growth, he was still a pup, so lap naps were a common occurrence after a meal. However, this caused some minor disturbances among the crowd as it was unusual to see a dire wolf pup separated from it's parents and forest home, but since it wasn't causing a fuss, it didn't present any problem.

Things seemed to be going smoothly, if not for the blood curdling scream that echoed throughout the festival. Due to her more sensitive hearing, the scream felt like she was within the arena. The pitch and volume forcibly tore her away from her music, her magic, which she didn't know of until this moment, felt like it snapped. The flute fell from her hands and her body started to tremble. Her shaking hands slowly covered her ears, her eyes staring at the grass in front of her. It was as if the sound echoed within her mind, shrill and unrelenting. Naturally, Echo noticed his Mother's distress, waking up almost immediately. It let out a loud [i]YIP[/i] sound, which startled Alya enough to snap her out of her 'minor' mental breakdown. She wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes and hugged Echo, calming herself.

More screams filled the air, but these weren't as terrifying as before. Alya couldn't even begin to imagine what was happening, but panicked people had started to rush out of the arena, the stream of people seemed to run around the stump that Alya sat on, and she had no intention on moving.