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At the end of The Party– not just any old party and unlike any party before it, but rather The Party- Yarnville, Bandle City, and all of the Bandle Woods as a whole, had gone quiet and still. As much as the place could, at least.
Night blanketed the town, heavy with condensing dew and filled with the chatter of spottybugs and chirping night birds and croaking frogs. Yarnville had always been a distant observer of the Bandle Woods, offering a calmer atmosphere than the fast-paced city or livelier districts surrounding it. Making your way back home, to the overlook you first started from, after finally being able to get out and set off on your own, the air was peaceful after so much bustle. The grass swayed, yarn balls catching in the breeze and piling up in corners, the distant lights of Yordle portals bright against the indigo and violet sky. The leaves rustled on towering branches, a low hum under the night time din, quiet and soothing like a slow lullaby. The dim yellow of glownana trees, the flickering oranges of fireflies, the blue of crystal lamps, and green of light-up flowers all matched the starlight beaming down, lighting the way up the hill to the overlook. From there it took only a brief unbuttoning and a little unfolding to get your trusty knitter's pack back up and ready, the movements as familiar as knitting a sock. In just a moment, your house was standing tall, curious snailcats inching their way over to take a peek and find some decor inspiration of their own. Hopefully you wouldn't need to relocate any more of them, prime real estate was in high demand and you were running out of ideas.
Despite everyone else mostly having packed up for the night, the faintest sound of relaxed melodies and bright laughter carried over from afar. Some Yordles just couldn't resist a good celebration, or any excuse to get together and party. Not that you could blame them. As the newly-crowned ultimate festival-thrower, you knew a thing or two about how amazing parties could be. Food, music, conversation, dance, food - you were saving one of Winstock’s baked beets for breakfast, but at the rate you were reminiscing it would end up as a midnight snack before long. All those grueling hours spent learning how to cut and cube and bake and mash and stir were well spent, especially if the rush for culinary perfection caught on with all the aspiring chefs running around. Maybe now you could give Winstock some pointers, although you have a feeling he'd take over your kitchen once you showed off all your fancy new equipment. Not that you would mind- especially since you'd have first dibs on whatever he cooked up, and supplies were hardly an issue these days too with how hard you had worked. You'd gathered up a sizable stock of goodies as you perfected the art of food stalls, mastered crafting, championed vending, and became quite the avid gardener… or farmer? You still couldn't tell the difference between the two, but Rosaline would be so proud. You'd need to stop by and tell her all about it tomorrow too, maybe show off all the cool seeds and produce you'd come across.
You had so much to tell everyone- you'd hardly scratched the surface at the party and on your rare check-ins between solving all the many, many, many problems popping up and resolving all the situations Yordles kept getting into. Which, wow those Yordles could get into some weird situations! Most could be blamed on the portal network collapse- but certainly not all of them, and they were all so strange! Talking rocks and missing socks and secret societies, guest lecturers needed to quell revolts and chefs working overtime to feed a single very hungry hilltop, and mecha fights put on pause while evil Yordles did… whatever evil Yordles do- you couldn't wait to tell Clover what all she'd missed out on, all the adventures you'd had, all the places you'd been to. Even before the network collapsed, you'd both spent so long in Yarnville… There was a whole wide world out there now, and you could go to so many new places, see so many new sights, and meet so many new people. Everything was new!
You could already think of a dozen places to take her to- maybe the Root Market? Or Bandle University- maybe the tunnels of Inspiration Isle or the scrapyards of Gadgeton. She could properly meet Tristana and Corki, and you could both take Teemo up on his offer of an expedition with the other Bandle Scouts- even though you were pretty sure that was just a thinly veiled request for a picnic. Or you could go to Rumble's next mech-fight at the arena (even though it's pretty obvious he'd win). There was also that standing invite to one of Lulu's tea parties, although Pix's warning about the scones made you just a little hesitant to try anything she cooked up. Then there was Veigar- well, maybe hanging out with him could wait a little while longer. But you'd bet she'd love to meet Yuumi! Not just because she's a talking cat with magic, which is already pretty cool, but for plenty of other non-talking cat reasons too. You'd have to tell Clover all about it, about everything.
And… maybe you could tell Gramps too.
Of all the people here in Yarnville, of all the Yordles supporting you, he was the first. He was the whole reason you were able to go out and do what you did in the first place. And even when he wasn't happy, he still helped you at every turn. You knew he'd be proud of you, he always was. You could show him all the new things you could knit and make, or cook him a breakfast of his favorite baked beets, or invite him over for a tour. You'd made this old, once-abandoned knitters pack a true home. He'd love it, you just knew it. Maybe he could be your first stop tomorrow.
With that in mind, you make your way to your bed, setting down your knapsack and tools on the well-used workbench and giving your resident Poro a pat on its fluffy head as you pass both by. The moonlight streamed through the windows, bright against the cloudless sky. With every step you took the exhaustion of the day began to creep in. You'd been running around and doing so much… your bed had never looked so enticing. But it was far from a bad thing, instead you found it was a satisfying type of tiredness. You'd accomplished so much, went from a homebody to a hero in record time. It was with pride and a small "oof" that you flopped onto your bed at last.
You'd saved the day, threw the greatest Party in Bandle City history, and become a truly exceptional Yordle. And tomorrow?
You'll do and see even more awesome things, make even better stuff, meet even more people. The next Party… was going to be spectacular!