"I'm sure your time would be better spent amongst the other humans below, young one," a suave voice emerged from a place unseen.
"Chancellor Bune..." said the meek jester. The lizard like creature stepped out onto the balcony, their talons clicking onto the white stone. They were dressed in wraps resembling the royal regalia, deep purples and the rose red. One of their heads, that of a dog, looked over the balcony. Another one of their heads, that of a griffin, looked over their shoulder behind them. Their third head, a human head, pointed its attention at the white faced jester that called their name.
"You are a performer no? It would be best to spend it amongst your professional peers and revelers," the demon's dog head spoke, staring down at the parade moving through the streets.
It was The Festival of Light, an annual holiday in which the people of this land celebrated the gift of light from the gods, granting them the power to push back the darkness of the demons that threatened their livelihoods. It represented the power of faith and goodness said to be innate in the human spirit, the true weapon that every person had against the demonic hordes.
"I've celebrated it before with them, in the years past I mean," said the jester. "It feels odd to... participate when I...." they trailed off.
"When you are officially employed to be a merry man? When you have gained demonic allies?" Chancellor Bune offered.
"Well... Yeah. I guess so. It's such a strange holiday, and I never really thought about it before," The jester mused, chewing their lip. "We celebrate our victory in the war against demons and yet, there are demons everywhere in this castle, and some in the castle town on the average. We celebrate your..."
"Annihilation. Control. Subjugation." Bune's words from the griffin head were cutting.
The jester was silent, but that was answer enough.
"To be human, to be a demon, is to be a being of contrasts. In the hells we have holidays celebrating the cannibalization of the young," Bune said too flippantly for comfort. Upon reading the jester's expression, Bune followed up with "Apologies, I have resided here as Chancellor to The King for 30 human years and I am still not fully familiar with the customs of humor."
The jester relaxed a little and a patient smile crossed their painted face. "I understand, Chancellor Bune."
There was a roar of cheer down below and the four heads turned to look, a drinking contest had started at one of the feasts taking place in the courtyard of a public house. The loud chanting danced across the rooftops.
Bune watched the jester for a moment before speaking. "Regardless of what this day means, you should join them. It is a day for merriment, barely a day for celebrating slaughter and war a thousand years past it's inciting incident."
"What about you?"
"I am tied up in my duties and work. It might not be a holiday as you expect, but I enjoy the times when the castle is empty and I can devote my time to--"
Bune could not even finish the sentence before the jester sprang away from the balcony, their expression bright. They wrapped a hugging arm around the three-headed demon as they passed and leaped down the hall.
Bune ran a talon through their human head of hair, took three simultaneous deep breaths, and went inside.
(i wanted to try writing a prompt instead of drawing one. i had some Thoughts about the world that my new jester occupies and i thought this would be a fun way to explore it. also i guess chancellor bune and the jester both use they/them pronouns. maybe that'll change! idk, i had like one new character 2 days ago and now i have another in the same universe! im figuring it out, the jester doesnt even have an official name yet lol)