The door to the small, two story house opened with a creak as Elrah stepped inside, finally home. Her shoulders slumped as she shut the door behind her, weight of the day finally catching up to her. She paused for a moment, glancing out one of the windows that peered out into the street, seeing the first oranges and pinks of dusk. She smiled. There was still time. 

The home that Elrah shared with her younger sister was small, a townhouse squashed between two other buildings, barely enough room between them for a mouse to get past. The roof was slowly collapsing, and the rain often found a way into the tiny kitchen on the first floor. Even still, the small, shawty building was home. 

As Elrah stepped out of the entryway and into the main room, she noted the hearth, alight with embers that cast a warmth into the otherwise chilled home. She paused for a moment, taking in the calm quiet air. At last she raised her hand, calling out into the silent home.

“Kami, I’m back.” Her voice echoed, and for a moment Elrah was afraid there would be no answer, until she heard another call from the second floor.

“Good for you.” 

Elrah gave a huff, pinching the bridge of her nose. While some households cared little for the family traditions of The Dragon Festival. Kamira was definitely not one of those people. To say she was royally pissed would be an understatement. 

She made her way up the stairs slowly, beginning to hear the soft metallic notes of a music box. As she reached the second floor she noticed that of the four doors that lined the hallway, only was open, casting a thin trickle of light into the hallway. Elrah made no move to mask her approach, her boots creaking against the wooden floor despite her natural light step. 

Elrah pushed the door open into a small room, window facing the street below. A series of burnt out candles sat around a large painting easel, the wood stained with an assortment of colours. Before it stood Kamira, her back to the door as she painted her newest piece. The short girl's pale hands were covered in paint, her long straight black hair pulled back into a messy braid that Elrah had done the previous night. 

Elrah said nothing as she leaned against the doorway, quietly admiring the piece Kamira had been painting for the last few days, despite the mild unease she felt when she looked at it. The painting was large, easily as wide as Kamira was tall, and perhaps half as tall, depicting a massive city, alight with either flame or the dawn's light. Above, weaving through clouds were two scaled beasts of the east, their bodys long and thin, with large curving horns and a frill of scales around their neck. Kamiras' fascination with dragons of the world often made an appearance in her works. 

“Damn kid, that actually looks good.” Elrah commented, taking a few steps forward into the room. 

“I’m surprised you can see it, old hag.” Kamira shot back without skipping a beat, carefully tapping her paintbrush to the canvas, adding only the faintest highlights.

“Is it almost done?”

“Almost. Just adding the finishing touches.” Kamira cast a glance over her shoulder at last, meeting Elrahs gaze with a look of mild irritation. “So, you didn't tell me you had a job today.” 

Elrah went quiet for a moment, before she gave a hefty sigh. “It was a last minute thing. Paid a lot of coin.” A lie. Elrah had known about the job for a week or so now, and while she had been looking for an opening for a while now, she was sure that it would likely be during the Dragon festival.

“Hmph.” Kamira turned back to her painting. “That's not what Almander said.” She muttered, intentionally loud enough for Elrah to hear. Elrah gave a heavy huff, a mix of guilt and irritation. She knew that had Kamira known beforehand, they would likely have had an argument about it, something Elrah was keen to avoid. 

“Well what about you? How have you been feeling?” Elrah asked, trying to keep the edge from her voice. She could already see the symptoms of her sister's illness rising again. Her face was paler than normal, with dark circles resting under her eyes. 

It was a strange illness, one that no doctors could diagnose, yet had been plaguing Kamira for years now. The worst Elrah had seen her sister was a few months prior, when along with joint aches and a horrid nausea, Kamira seemed unable to sleep, despite being quite attached to her bed. It hadn't been easy for Elrah to watch, and it seemed over the years her more painful episodes had been getting worse and worse. 

“Fine. A little tired, but otherwise I’m fine.” Kamira responded quickly, sounding mildly irritated. 

There was a moment of quiet between them, before Elrah glanced back towards the painting. The amount of detail was incredible, from individual scales, to the windows in the city below. She had to admit, her sister was one hell of an artist. 

“Alright. Then give me a few minutes to change out of sewer clothes.” Elrah shrugged, catching a hint of the putrid smell wafting from her clothes. Kamira glanced back, unphased as though there hadn't been a heavy tension in the air moments prior. 

“Dragon Festival?” She asked, brow raised. 

“Yeah, why not. The stands at dusk are always more interesting.” Elrah nodded as she turned, stepping outside of the painting room. 

“Yeah, okay.”