When everyone else woke up in the morning, there was a massive garden party in the open grass outside the Guild House in the Tiny World, and the Naga were already present, playing darts with moving targets.
The ga had been a last-minute addition by Opal, but it had been an instant hit.
"What are we celebrating?" Dana asked when she saw the party decorations.
"Miss Opal made it to the Totem Rank last night, officially. It’s a bit unusual to have her decorate her own party, but she’s the best at it." Karl explained.
That made sense to Dana. She was born as a master of the Illusionary Domain, and as long as nobody was actively trying to damage her illusions, the butterfly could create any scene that she desired instantly.
The Naga had been shocked by the elaborate setup, but then Butterfly ca out in person, they imdiately recognized the slightly unstable aura that marked a recent upgrade.
{Oh, now I see why the fuss. A new Totem is an important day for any Clan. Even one as powerful as yours.} One of the Naga whispered to Remi.
Remi nodded happily. {More of us should make that point soon, as we all work together despite our different specialties. The goal is to have over half the group be Totem Ranked within the month.}
The Naga chuckled at her enthusiasm, then realized that she was completely serious.
Remi’s confidence that they would actually make it to Totem Rank was confusing, but infectious. The Naga was excited to have an alliance with a Totem Ranked Queen, as it would lead to great respect for his people among the surrounding tribes.
What he hadn’t realized yet was that Remi had no intentions of staying with their Clan after she visited the temple.
With Opal present, the party could get properly started, and Lotus started bringing out trays of snacks, while Karl did his best to mimic Opal’s illusionary abilities to set off fireworks in the sky of the Tiny World.
But true to her expectations, after saying hello to everyone, receiving their congratulations and floating around for a bit, she was ready to head back to her space.
But Cara had a plan.
[Sister, I set up an obstacle course. Co race .] The Chaos Badger insisted.
The course was a set of hoops on sticks planted around the garden at various angles and heights, but for smaller flying species, they were an excellent obstacle course.
[There is no set order, you just have to pass through them all.] Cara insisted, then frowned as she saw that Rae was going around the garden, turning the hoops so that they faced different directions.
That would completely change the most efficient route around the course.
Rae waved her human form’s hands over her head to get their attention.
[Line up side by side. Ready? GO!]
The two smallest flyers of the group dashed out around the garden, and Cara realized that even knowing the course in advance wouldn’t save her.
Sister Opal was incredibly fast, and her agility was on a whole other level.
Cara weighed close to fifty kilos, and even with her Skill to assist her flying, she still took so ti to turn.
While Opal was technically larger in wingspan, she weighed closer to five kilos, and most of that was her body, as her wings were paper thin without the need for bone structure.
Cara was only a third of the way through the course when Opal finished and the crowd burst into applause.
Nachtia chuckled. "We have a similar course at the Dragon Gods’ Temple in my hotown, and there is no way that any of us could beat a butterfly through an obstacle course. They look slow, the way that they like to float around, but they’re really not."
Opal ran away only three runs through the obstacle course later, ready to rest in her space and sleep to plan her next epic play.
None of the Naga were shocked by that. The Glasswing Illusionary Butterfly was reclusive by nature, and masters of invisibility. The fact that this one had appeared around strangers was already a great show of trust.
But it was also almost ti for the Auction to start.
{I will stay here with the Clan. I would like to know more about the temple. You can take the Dana Mage as your plus one.} Remi insisted.
Karl held out his arm for Dana, then returned to the room, where the Haint and the Epic Guard were still on duty, making sure nobody ssed with their room.
Dana transford into fox form and followed Karl out. It should be less conspicuous than showing up in human form in the beastkin tavern.
But she had forgotten about the side effects of Fox Charm, and the room fell silent when they walked into the tavern.
Everyone seed srized and afraid to speak until the waitress on duty curtsied and greeted them.
"Mister Karl, Lady Dana, were you staying for breakfast?" She asked, not sure where this lovely lady had co from.
Had Karl been hiding her sowhere? Keeping her for himself?
That was a sha. Such beauty should be revealed to the world.
Dana’s fluffy ears flicked in amusent at the awed voice of the waitress.
"No, thank you. We’re off to the auction. Karl listed an item, and we received an invitation." She explained, then tried not to frown as all the n in the room sighed the mont she stopped speaking.
{This effect is ridiculously strong on beastkin.} She complained with a System ssage.
Karl shrugged and winked at one of the beastkin as he led her toward the door, accompanied by the Haint and Epic Guard.
"Thank you for your hospitality. We may be back this evening after the auction, if we don’t head directly to the Temple."
The waitress smiled and nodded repeatedly, bobbing her head.
"I look forward to seeing you both again."
Karl stepped outside, and heard the waitress whisper to one of the patrons.
"I should have known. How could a man like that not already have a wife? But did you see her? Oh em gee. He must be fighting off the suitors everywhere they go."
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