Letitia had been on the road for a few days now, so she was finally glad to have reached her destination after so long. Right on time, too. The Festival seemed to be in full swing. People from various different lands and cultures had all come together to celebrate the occasion. The Homunculus blinked. This was... strange. There were more people here than she had ever seen before. More than she could count, perhaps. No, she could count them all, it would just take far too long. She knew she had to find the Seraph, but...

There were so many people. So many lights. Sounds she had never heard before. It was an assault on the senses.

There was simply so much to see.

Pulling up the hood of her ill-fitting cloak, the Homunculus blended into the crowd. Back then, she could count the number of people she had seen on her fingers. Nine, to be precise; eight Caretakers, and Father, of course. She had no idea how to get around, but she simply stayed quiet and funneled into a group of people, following what seemed to be a 'flow' of foot traffic. Soon, she found herself within the Glorious Market.

She could feel a slight rumbling in her stomach and recognized the feeling of hunger. Ever since she had left the tank, she could feel it and would need to eat to make the pain disappear. Homunculus could, of course, go without food and drink much longer than normal humans, simply subsisting upon their stores of mana, but that did not make the act any more enjoyable. Her senses brought her to a stall where an older man peddled his wares. Unlike many of the things here, Letitia actually managed to recognize one of the pieces of food that were on sale: an apple.

Apples were, for lack of a better term, her favorite food. While she was in the laboratory, she was typically given bread or porridge to eat.  Sometimes, she was instead given a direct mana injection, so as to replenish her energy. It was only when Father had snuck in an apple for her that she had had her first taste of other food. The apple in front of her looked... strange, however. It seemed to be coated in a strange, brown substance, and it had a stick embedded onto the top of it. It still, however, looked quite appetizing.

The store vendor seemed to notice her gawking and called out to her. "You want a candied apple, miss? It'll only run you a couple of coins, and they're pretty damn good if I do say so myself." 

Letitia tilted her head at that. Ah. Coins. Currency. The carriage driver had asked for some, too. It seemed like she could exchange those decorative metal chips in exchange for goods and services. The Caretakers did not use currency while in the labs, but thankfully, a concept like this is... easy enough for a Homunculus to understand. It was good of Father to provide her with a bag of such coins before he sent her away...

...

The artificial Human groped around her side in search of the bag but found nothing. As if to confirm it, she double-checked her rucksack, but again, it was not there. Strange. Had she misplaced it? The man at the counter gave her a look of pity. "Looks like someone stole your coinpurse. Tough break, miss." She did not understand. 

"To steal is to take possession of, yes? If so, why did someone take it from this one when it does not belong to them?" Letitia asked.

The man scratched his head at her sudden question. The way she spoke drew some attention, too. "...you're not from around here, are you? Sometimes, thieves make off with other people's stuff. That's just how it is." As if to address these concerns, the man reached down towards the counter and offered her one of the candied apples. "Here, on the house. Try and enjoy the festival."

She did not understand, but she complied. Letitia gingerly took the apple from his hands, examining it for a moment before biting down on it. [i]This is..![/i] She thought as an explosion of flavor graced her tongue. It was much, much sweeter than the apples that Father had given her, and it was easily the tastiest thing she had ever eaten in her life. The Homunculus discarded the fact that she was stolen from shortly afterward, instead opting to enjoy the candied treat. The vendor chuckled at the sight of it as she found her way to a nearby stone bench. Letitia was about halfway through the impromptu meal when she heard a familiar voice in her head.

[b]“… You… You are here! A… Oh how wonderful! Please… Please find my child…! Aaaalll… All will be made, clear… yOu must trust me.”[/b]

It was the voice from her dream. Homunculi do not dream, and yet, here she was. Was she dreaming again, in spite of being awake? She did not understand, but she remembered why she had come. She needed to seek out the Seraph. She needed to know. Letitia quickly finished her apple, before getting up to walk around some more. She did not know who or what she was looking for, exactly, but she figured she might be able to identify him once she saw him.