Arthur: When A Tree Falls

Chapter 21: Celebrating Winter Term

Arthur woke up still tired. He didn't want to wake up for even more of the Autumn Fest, he was too tired. But unlucky for him, Elice was practically pulling him out of his bed. Finn was already up and ready, and both seemed to almost break with excitement. When Arthur asked why, both didn't want to answer because they wanted to keep it a secret. They walked out of their stemroom and walked downstairs to the Eagle Fountain, past the Tomato Soup door, to Arthur's great dismay. He tried to pry an answer out of his friends, to no avail. At some point Arthur looked down to the Eagle Fountain, and at the walls of the hall there were tables with food and drinks and the smell of bacon and eggs filled Arthur's nose with delight. Elice pulled Arthur by his arm and quickened her pace towards the hall. There, Arthur saw the feast that was breakfast, and was happy he'd gotten up. He sat down near the rest of the Uphlets and started eating. Elice then finally told him about the activities of that day. To celebrate the first days of Autumn, there would be a whole feast with food, drinks, and at the end of the night there'd be a dance, but no one had to dress up, which according to Elice, was the best part. Arthur asked what they'd do the whole day, and Finn added they would go outside to watch the first leaves fall, which every year was calculated by some of the smartest Yorns as to when it would happen. Arthur was surprised there weren't any of his teachers, and a Uphlet boy named Eric told him the teachers couldn't care less about Arboria, except for the wealth it allowed them to live in.

"Then what about Mrs Phillix and Mr Qillian?" Arthur asked, and Eric shrugged.

-"Reckon they're jus' actually concerned."

Arthur looked around and saw the happy faces of the other Arborians. Everyone seemed to be happy they were free of classes for a while, freed from all worries. As Arthur finished his toast with bacon and egg, Mr Qillian addressed the group from his podium again to invite all Arborians outside to see the first leaf.

The Arborians gathered around the tree, a happy buzz of people talking excitedly filled the air and everyone stared up at the tree in suspense. Some people sat down and after a while everyone sat, still waiting for that first let-go of a leaf. Then, it happened. The tree let go of a green-brown leaf. Arborians were jumping up, and it slowly flew down towards the teens, who looked at it in awe. Arthur found it beautiful, because the leaf was about as big as a car, yet it flew down as gently as every other leaf that fell in autumn. Then, several Wulixes were taking out bows, they lit the tips of their arrows and shot up into the air. The sound of arrows wooshing towards the leaf, and then lighting it on fire was mesmerizing, and a giant applause emerged as the leaf disappeared in flames. The applause changed to a cheer, and it felt like New Years back home. People were laughing and hugging, but mostly cheering. Elice hugged Arthur too, then Finn, who seemed to enjoy the hug much more than Arthur had. 

***

As time progressed they found themselves back at the tables, now enjoying lunch. Arthur already knew he would eat way more than he could handle, yet the food was all as good as the food in his favourite restaurants back home, if not better. Arthur also found himself talking to other Uphlets, besides Finn and Elice, when Finn suddenly took a whole bunch of Griphlet bars from his satchel. He handed out many pieces, and Arthur felt proud to be Finn's friend. He himself took a bite of a Griphlet bar and enjoyed the minty sensation on his tongue.

Across the room he saw Eylin smiling at him, and he smiled back. He wished he could go and talk to her, but he knew he'd be stopped because he was a Uphlet. It was interesting to see how the Uphlets were standing among themselves simply because they weren't allowed to mix in with higher branches, and the Vinchmans because they were too proud to. Yet from Wulix onward, everyone was standing all together, and it didn't matter whether someone was a Xinth or a Yorn. Ella stood in the middle of all of them, easy to see because she was tall, and had the brightest red hair out of everyone in the room. Sure, there were some people who had dyed their hair a silly colour, but none of them had hair that stood out quite like that.

***

It seemed as though the Autumn Fest couldn't go by any quicker, because dinner was already approaching, and to his surprise, Arthur found himself slightly hungry again. Being social with so many people required a lot of energy. He'd sat around laughing and talking alongside Finn and Elice most of the time, and at some point he was greeted by Kile, who it turned out, wasn't a teacher, but a Yorn. No one seemed to care about the fact that he was talking to him, because he did teach Uphlets. Mostly Arthur, since he had to start from zero, but he taught other Uphlets that either wanted to or had to perfect their swimming.

"How do you like the Autumn Fest so far?" He asked, and Arthur smiled broadly.

-"It's amazing! I loved to see the first leaf, and the food is ridiculously good." Arthur ranted on, and Kile laughed.

"I just wanted to say congratulations on catching that Naedylar. Not many Uphlets do this well on their first Autumn Hunt." He said, and Arthur beamed at him.

-"I didn't do it alone, my friend Finn helped, too." Arthur admitted, and Kile nodded.

"Well, still congratulations to you too, but I have to go again." He walked back towards the group of Yorns, Xinths and Wulixes he'd been talking to before approaching Arthur.

The dinner was even greater than the lunch and the breakfast combined, and afterwards Mr Qillian invited the Arborians outside again, this time to see the fireworks down in Silva, which was easy to see from the hill the Mother Tree stood on. The fireworks were in autumnal colours and some were even shaped like leaves. Arthur now felt entirely like it was New Years. The Arborians went back inside while the fireworks were still going for the dance. Music started to blast out from nowhere, created by Dreamer's Dust. Arthur expected it to be like a school dance, but it was more of a classical dance, and most of the Arborians seemed to know how it was done. Eylin suddenly appeared in front of Arthur, and asked him to dance. Arthur happily accepted. She took his hand and led their dance, and as soon as she let go, a loud yell filled the hall.

"DANGER!"