"It's almost seven." Mina bit her lower lip, irritated by the delay.

"You can go first." Petra shrugged. Before Gwen had brought the party together, she had spoken to her second cousin no more than a few minutes per Chinese New Year.

"I'd rather not. The two of you wouldn't make it in time," Mina replied, anxious with agitation. "Tao's performance starts at eight. It'll be pointless if we arrive and he's already given up the match."

"Gwen is on an important call, be patient." Petra regarded Mina. It wasn't that she was looking down on Gwen's paternal cousin, though that was certainly true due to their height difference. She felt the wallflower wasn't on the same Plane as Gwen and herself.

Since the island, Petra had Gwen's companionship because they were alike in many ways. They both came from difficult familial circumstances. They both had dealings that tied them to Towers. They both had coveted magical abilities. They both had futures filled with conflict and uncertainty.

Their parallel paths made them perfect comrades.

But Mina and Tao?

Two greenhouse Fu-er-dai in a Tier 1 city, not knowing wind, rain, hunger or pain. Their greatest trial would be who to marry and how many kids they should have; their violent reckoning was whether or not keeping a lover was a plausible balance between wanton desire and etiquette.

Mina stamped her feet, striding up and down the corridor.

"These damn shoes are killing me!" She hissed, suddenly displeased with her luxury.

Petra shook her head imperceptibly. Even if Tao were to lose his bet, it was nothing Petra would consider worthy of her sympathy. The bruised ego of an Illusionist nobody, and the loss of a car. Who cares about a car? A quasi-magical device made for NoMs and Mages alike? In the future, Gwen and herself would be free to use Flight as they pleased. On that note, Petra wondered if Gwen could fathom the value of the Regeneration Cube she had expended on Lulan. At the right moment, in the right hands, the spell in that cube could have secured a whole demesne.

Human life, after all, was priceless. The higher the power one amassed, the more wealth one accumulated, and the more value one placed on life.

DING!

The levitation platform slid open, revealing a sprinter's figure in shorts and a tank top.

"Miss Kutznetsova!" Lulan's eyes swept over Petra, dumbfounded by her revealing attire. "H-Hello!"

Speak of the devil. Petra hailed the Sword Mage amiably. Compared to Mina, Lulan was more on her level.

"Hello, Miss Li. What's the matter?"

Lulan held several takeout boxes in her hand.

"I brought some sweets for Miss Song." She tore her eyes away from Petra to greet Mina. "Greetings, Miss?"

"Mina. Mina Wang. I am Gwen's cousin."

Lulan bowed hastily.

Petra's lips curled sardonically despite herself. Ten Mina Wangs would not be able to resist a single full-forced blow from Lulan Li.

"Gwen, Petra and I are all going out together," Mina stated, her tone unconsciously more churlish than she intended. "She's on a call right now."

"I'll wait." Lulan stowed the takeout boxes in her ring.

Mina's well-honed eyes of appraisal narrowed.

"Nice. A Large Storage Ring?" The rich girl knew her exorbitant rings like the back of her hand.

"Yeah." Lulan paid the question no mind. "Where are you all going?"

"To the Astoria, for the Battle of Rhymes." Mina's tone took on a less critical demeanour. A girl with a rare ring couldn't just be anybody. "My brother's competing."

"Oh, a duel! I do love those. My brother and I often compete," Lulan boasted a little sheepishly, perhaps thinking of their loss to Gwen. "What's the Waldorf Astoria?"

"Hah—?" Mina laughed. "It's a hotel, one of the oldest in Shanghai. It was built in the 20s in the International Quater by British expatriate Mages who wanted it to be the grandest establishment in the Pearl of the Orient."

"Oh? That sounds amazing." Lulan's expression suggested that Mina's words were as cryptic to her as ancient sorcery.

"Why don't you come with us?" Petra cut in unexpectedly. She was bored of Mina's antics already. Perhaps Lulan could liven things up. "Gwen would love it if you could come."

"To the duel?" Lulan's eyes lit up, clearly misunderstanding the word.

Mina caught Petra's attention, then blinked rapidly.

"Something like that." Petra smiled cruelly. "Mina, you don't mind, do you? Lulu is our new friend. She's a brilliant Sword Mage and an important asset for Gwen."

"You're a Clanner?" Mina's brows furrowed.

"Not anymore." Lulan shook her head stiffly. Compared to before, the girl appeared lucid and self-conscious. Petro understood the feeling well. A step into the unknown world was full of anxiousness for a girl who had just lost all their familial connections. When she had left the Tower, she felt the same thing.

"It's complicated," Lulan replied uncertainly.

Thankfully, the group's awkwardness was short-lived.

"Lulu!" Gwen's voice called out as the door to 2204 clicked shut behind her.

Their Message devices currently measured 7.20 PM. They could make it if Mina dodged and weaved through traffic.

"Let's go!" Mina had no more time to debate the merits of including a fourth member. Together, the crew descended into the garage. "Come on, Lulu."

"It's Lulan…"

"Whatever, get in, Clanner. We're going clubbing!"

[https://i.imgur.com/luJKtxr.png]

Shanghai

One the Second Orbital Ring, Mina's sedan cruised through the traffic, catching the splendiferous reflections from the neon, Illusory billboards.

Saddled in the backseat between her saviour and Magus Kutznetsova, Lulan felt her chest grow hot. Foremostly was the fact that the sorceresses she had battled previously wore not battle garbs but something far more intimidating.

In her mind, Gwen was a Battle Mage, a summoner of friends, a flying avatar of lightning and thunder sowing death amongst her enemies.

But a party dress? Lulan felt as though she was seeing her saviour for the first time. What was she wearing? Her footwear offered no protection! Those heels looked like chopsticks! Her thighs were dangerously exposed! Lulan's mind flared with confusion, simultaneously scandalised and over-stimulated.

Compared to the car full of perfume, Lulan had never been told to be feminine. The most daring thing she had ever done involved a makeup kit she'd discovered in one of the servant's quarters. When Lulan had examined the result of her curious labour in the mirror, she quickly reached for a towel and wiped away any evidence of her experimentation.

"I am so glad you're coming with us," her saviour gushed.

“No-no-no!” Lulan waved her hand frantically. How could she stand beside one so generous? By the Iron Sword! The very thought of it terrified her. It was incredible that Gwen and her cousins would witness a Mage duel in those shoes and that dress. What happens when a melee ensues? What if one of them received an elemental attack that penetrated their barriers? Lovely as their mundane clothes were, they were as flimsy as they were beautiful. Also, her wardrobe consisted entirely of exercise clothing, which was why Gwen had lent her magical clothing that refitted itself.

As dusk fell, the sleek Audi roared like a Magical Beast, punching its way through the traffic on a mission to save itself.

[https://i.imgur.com/luJKtxr.png]

South of the Bund, bombastic beats reverberated through the basement of the Astoria.

"Yo-yo-YO gonna give it up, Son?" Sammy Gu, Big SAM, wordsmith extraordinaire, mercilessly mocked his rival, Big Peaches, AKA Peaches, AKA Tao Wang of Wang Xing Enterprise.

"Fuck you, I ain't no liar!" Tao retorted. "How about you pop some wicked rhymes, and we battle it out like real men, huh?! You wanna be the king, or you gonna pussy out?"

"That's a bet you're trying ta worm out of, fool, don't play me with your third-grade bull, little man!"

"Peaches don't need no bitches to beat your ass down to a pulp! Your rhymes are so lame, ya choke on yer lyrical vomit, buta!"

"Ooooh!"

"Kick his ass!"

"Nice one! Peaches!"

The room was dim, hazy and filled with moving bodies; the air was rank with tobacco, body odour and a hint of forbidden medicinal herbs.

Usually, the establishment would have refused to lease the subbasement level to individuals such as these, whose presence would bring infamy to the noble visage of the Waldorf hotel chain—but the one who had made the request was the sole heir of the Wang Xing Group.

That was why they were in the basement car park, now converted into a stage. To the confused patrons above, these young folk were out of sight! And thus, out of mind. Out of pocket, the hotel had even set up Silence enchantments above and below so the youths' riotous foreign music would be contained within the sandwiched aural fortification.

However, things were not going so smoothly for the organiser. Thus far, Tao had been talking crap for almost ten minutes straight. Their match had begun nearly half an hour ago, but Sammy Gu refused to participate due to Tao's poorly contested gamble. Unless Tao could prove Petra Kutznetsova, the "Flower of Fudan", and Gwen Song, the "Mongolian Death Worm Handler", were his Hos, Tao had to apologise and confess to his clowning.

"Come on! Come on!" Tao was sweating buckets underneath his mocking demeanour. Where the fuck was Mina?! She'd promised to bring the girls!

"Such a little bitch, Peaches." Sammy shifted his weight impressively. "I think you're lying about them cuz yo face is as ugly as Miss Petra's ass is FINE!"

"Woop! Woop!"

"Yoga pants!"

"Sammy, you suck!" The crowd's boredom was growing palpable.

"TICK-TOCK! Mother fucker! I have no idea how a fine thing like yo mama gave birth to a stain like you, Peaches. You so ugly, you went to the Northern Front, and they mistook you for a ghoul!"

Tao's head grew hot. His brain felt as though two llamas were taking turns mounting each other inside his skull. His usual mastery over the lyrical had become a hodgepodge of stir-fried syllables. He could undoubtedly fire off a few more mud grass horse insults, but those were the lowest common denominator. Looking at Fat Sammy there, his rival could probably K.O. him just by sitting on his chest.

"Peaches, what's the plan, man?" Mack-Daddy was balls out and still sweating profusely. "Is Miss Kutznetsova and Gwen going to come? If not…"

"You gotta have faith, man!" Little-Dog insisted. "I believe in Peaches, who believes in Miss Song!"

Tao felt unsteady, his knees weak and wobbly, wondering if he should vomit forth his mum's chashui-mien already.

Come on, Mina! His perspiring eyes scanned the lift.

Then, he saw the green light.

The lift was moving. MAO's BALLS, it was opening!

DING-DONG!

The door opened.

Tao's voice caught in his throat.

He saw—a concierge in a red vest.

FUCK! Tao groaned. I am FUCKED.

Then the bastard stepped aside.

[https://i.imgur.com/luJKtxr.png]

"You look wonderful, Lulu," Gwen assured the Sword Mage.

"Lovely," Petra agreed. After a short pause, she added. "Don't let your brother see you in that if he's as tight as you say."

Gwen observed her handiwork.

Lulan was reborn.

The Sword Mage was a pretty thing, but even the best gems needed polishing and cutting to bring out their lustre and shine. From the girl's eyes in the car mirror, Gwen could see that a new world was opening up for Lulan, one that would drive Kusu up the wall shortly.

Presently, Lulan had snuggled into a dress Gwen had lent her—a simple sundress that suited her clean-cut, athletic figure. Like all high-affinity Earthen Mages, Lulan possessed a hard and lean musculature, with abs hard enough to shatter stone slabs.

With a whine, Mina's Audi pulled up in front of the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai parking bay.

Several bell boys immediately approached the car, headed by a well-dressed concierge.

"Miss Wang!" the concierge greeted Mina with a bow as she escaped the driver's seat. "What may be your pleasure today?"

"We're late," Mina commanded the handsome young man dressed impeccably in his vermillion vest. "Take my guests down to Basement 2."

"Where Young Master Wang is hosting his friends? Of course, Ma'am, right this way."

Lulan stumbled from the back seat, helped by Gwen and aided by a bellboy, struggling to balance on her wedged shoes.

When Gwen emerged, the staff's eyes lit up.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Then Petra emerged, and a respectful silence descended upon the parking rotunda.

"Come on!" Mina urged them, watching the minute hand ticking toward its inevitable destination. "I've half a mind to have the two of you Dimension Door down there!"

The girls made their way across the lobby, guided by the fleet steps of the concierge and drawing eyes from across the room. The grand foyer of the Waldorf Astoria was four storeys tall and lit by Daylight spells playing beautifully through a panoramic array of French window skylights. At the elevation platform bay, Greco-Roman statues in white marble added a touch of the classics to the otherwise Art-deco facade.

Ding-Dong!

The 'lift' was a brass and glass contraption which moved without sound. It was a relic of bygone days when master craftsmen built the elevation platforms, not prefabricated spell Glyphs installed by technicians.

"Level B-2," the concierge told the operator, who bowed, then returned to the stoic labour of cranking archaic ivory-handled shafts.

The party could hear the thumping of bone-throbbing bass as soon as the lift penetrated the wards. When the brass-wrought retro doors finally opened, Gwen and the girls found themselves amid a haze of dubious smoke.

"YOU'RE HERE!" Tao's voice could be heard projecting across the room via an empowered Ventriloquism. By his tone, Mina's brother sounded as though he had finally found Godot. "FUCK YEAH@ MAH HONEYS HAVE ARRIVED!! PEACHES IN DA HOUSE! HE AIN'T NO LIAR! BRINGING IT DOWN! SUCK IT, SAMMY G!"

The thumping bass reached a new high as a path opened between the stage and the girls. Gwen's eyes scanned through the crowd, noting the entire 'show' was a product of Tao and his gang utilising Illusionary magic.

BOOM-BOOM—Chic

BOOM- Chic—BOOM-BOOM—

Once her curiosity in spellcraft was satiated, she craned her neck to inspect Tao's audience. As her hazel eyes took in the scene, her lips fell half open with growing dread.

Beside her, Lulan appeared to have entered a whole other realm of shock. The music! The thumping! The beat! What an atmosphere! The girl's blood was boiling!

"Mao!" Lulan shouted in her ear. "THIS IS AMAZING. I feel a melee is going to break out at any moment! Do you think there's a prize for the most Mages disabled? But why are there NoMs here? How are they going to defend themselves?"

BOOM-BOOM—Chic

BOOM- Chic—BOOM-BOOM—

Gwen, however, was noting something else entirely.

There was a big crowd, sure.

But where are the women?

Were they the only women here?

"Mina…" Gwen reached out and shook her cousin by the shoulders. "It's a sausage party, Mina! Do you hear me?! A sausage party! What have you taken us to!"

Gwen's trembling voice was choked out between gritted teeth.

Mina's watering eyes struggled against the smoke, which, unfortunately, was as much atmospheric Illusion as second-hand cigarette smoke, with a tasteful hint of Chinese herbal medicine.

"Peaches…" her cousin's face grew twisted with malice. "I am going to kill you."

[https://i.imgur.com/luJKtxr.png]

The beats grew quiet, starting with the peanut gallery closest to the levitation platform. One by one, their voices choked as the foursome of girls emerged.

First, a lovely but flabbergasted girl exited the lift with a stupefied expression. Then a short Asian girl with adorability dialled to ten, which many of the crowd recognised as Tao's famous sister.

Then...

Then the observers' heads went white with noise.

Slowly, the crowd parted like the Red Sea before a proverbial Magi.

Tao's boastful voice reverberated through the basement, adding to the ambient noise. Sammy Gu's face dropped, looking like he had been forced-fed spoilt sushi.

The Flower of Fudan and her peers moved through the open lane like an empress surveying her domain, stepping over paper cups and smoking butt-ends. Those from Fudan who knew her reverently muttered her name, informing the others. Those whose knowledge had been lacking now branded the moniker upon their brain.

Gwen took Lulan by her hand and moved up the aisle. She wanted a flashy entry, but Petra had forbidden all magic. Their Sword Mage followed like a puppy, stopping at the stage's edge.

The spotlight moved from the stage centre and landed where the group stood, bathing them in white illumination.

The sound of breath being drawn echoed across the room.

Amazingly, Petra motioned for the vox phone.

Obediently, the adjudicator MC handed her the Ventrilo device.

"We're here," The Flower of Fudan stated flatly, her voice ringing across the basement. "Now battle. It's getting late."

Gwen figured she may was well play the part. Peaches' punishment will come later, but there was no need to embarrass him now.

"You can do it, Peaches! We support you!" she made her best impression of a fangirl. Her voice echoed across the basement, punctuated only by the soft thump of bass generated by modifying Illusory Sound incantations. "Come on, Lulu. You do it too."

"Why is his name a fruit?" Lulan's face was aflame with shame and unspeakable embarrassment. "Is he going to battle now? Is this a part of a ritual? Dark Ritual? Is someone being sacrificed?"

"Woooo!" Gwen's reply was lonesome and desolate. "We love you, Peaches! Come on, Pats!"

"I don't understand," Lulan continued, confused as ever. "Are they fighting? How? Their mana signature is less than novices? In Huashan, such individuals could only assume the role of menial labourers."

"Go on." Petra's voice was like ice dropping onto cold marble. "Get on with it. We're here to support you."

Finally, in triumph, Tao turned to Sammy, his rival. His face flushed with excitement. "Time to get it ON! BITCH!"

Tao launched into a bombastic beat-box rhythm to set the tempo of his Project Image. His lips unleashed a torrent of cognitively dissociative bitten syllables clashing with deliberately mispronounced homophones. Mack-Daddy and Little-Dog soon joined in, dimming the lights and providing vocal backing.

"When the Firestorm clears, it won't be

So fuck'n difficult to hear,

'til then hopefully ya

Little gobos get over your fears

It's OK to be spooked, bitch.

The Magister said I'd trigger ears

My Illusions, ya see, they bring tears,

my whole career's

A stroke of tactical genius, Illusory magic,

pimp sorcery, year after year..."

Tao was good, Gwen had to admit.

The Illusionist was riling the crowd up, getting them distracted from Petra long enough to start bobbing their heads and moving, itself an impressive feat.

Maybe, if she could recall some of the classics from her old world, she could push Tao in the right direction. If Tao could master higher-tier Illusions or parallel casting, he could combine his 'show' with visual and audio spectacles, like Light Balancing or clones of himself breakdancing.

Being the victim of Tao's verbose spit spray, Sammy's jowls quivered.

Try as Tao's rival might to recall rhymes to beat back the Peach, his expression looked as bad as his half-formed innuendoes. Each time he tried to fathom a connecting rhyme, he stared instead at Petra. When Sammy attempted to shift his eyes away, his ocular muscles revolted, telling him to keep staring. Even as he pinched his arms black and blue, all the man could do was shift his gaze to Gwen, then back.

Gwen felt her skin crawl.

The man was sick, she felt. From the way he gawked at them, the bloke was thoroughly enjoying Tao's abuse.

[https://i.imgur.com/luJKtxr.png]

"I AM SORRY!" Tao apologised beside the girls with a deep bow.

"Don't be. It was fun." Gwen laughed with genuine affection. "It was interesting to see you beat down that Sammy guy."

"Still, I had no idea that dawg was such a pervert," Tao confessed miserably. "I mean, Sammy's wanton dude, but Mao, that was something else, even for him! Who'd thought he'd unbuckle and flash Petra the goods..."

"Aha..." Gwen's expression was unreadable.

Petra's was petrifying.

Following Tao's one-sided thrashing of his stunned' rival', Sammy lost it. Maybe the idea that Petra and Gwen were Tao's 'fans' was too much for the prideful gangster, but the daze bloke's low-riding pants fell to the floor, all the while stumbling forwards.

Petra immediately erected a crystalline wall that caught the large man mid-stride, catching his crotch, crushing the poor sod's mouse between a crystalline block and a hard place.

Though hastily resolved, the incident quickly turned into a riot of jeers and insults. Despite Gwen's best efforts to dissuade Petra, her self-proclaimed bodyguard removed the girls from the scene.

Soon after, the party retired to the famous "Bar Astoria".

"So, they battle with words only? Like a debate?" Lulan was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that several hundred individuals got together in a dark basement, set up a stage, squared off, and then walked away after half an hour of shit-talking. "No spells? Could Even NoMs participate? Wasn't that man challenging us? I was going to use a Sword-Wall..."

The entire party winced. Tao crossed his legs.

"Stupid Peaches." Mina was still furious that Sammy, a close family friend, turned out to be such a pervert. She promised the girls that everyone in her social circle would know and shun Sammy from this day forth.

Gwen told Mina to forget about Sammy and get the drinks started. As Mina ordered the group, her eyes scanned the historical setting of Bar Astoria. During the day, the French windowed balcony doors were opened, offering a vista of the Huangpu River and the Bund. At night, the panes were shut, creating a cosy lounge. Beyond, the arc of the Bund's bay ran from left to right, paralleling the length of the white quartz bar that stretched the entirety of the bar lounge.

"Young Miss, your drinks."

A bright-eyed young man with the standard red vest of the hotel staff bowed stiffly, lowering himself to allow the girls easier access to their drinks. When they each took their orders, there were two that remained, purple-orange creations with flecks of gold circling within.

"From the gentlemen by the window, Miss." The waiter motioned subtly, drawing Petra's eyes to the windowpane, where a suited young man seated with another male companion raised a glass.

"The second is for you, Miss," the waiter spoke with a whisper. "From the other young Sir."

Lulan's eyes sparkled. "Mao, Gwen! Isn't this what happens in dramas? I've seen this on Kusu's favourite shows!"

Gwen shook her head.

"Please return both drinks to the gentlemen and thank them for the offer. We're not socialising tonight." Gwen smiled and placed an LDM on the tray as a tip for the waiter, intervening before Petra could dismiss their admirer with far less diplomacy. "Thank you."

"Of course, Ma'am." The young man was very professional.

"Those Dragonfruit Daiquiris are 4 HDMs per serve, you know," Mina hinted at the prospect Gwen had rejected out of hand.

Lulan took her Sunrise on the Bund and gingerly sipped the viscous liquid.

"Oh my!" Her eyes lit up. "Delicious! I've never had a drink like this before."

Gwen observed the bright-eyed girl sipping away happily but couldn't quite put her unease into perspective.

"So, where did you dig this one out from?" Mina couldn't help but ask, distracting Gwen from her thoughts.

"There's a pretty good story there. Do you guys want to hear it? Peaches?" Gwen was now ready to deliver the story she'd withheld during lunch. Once certain elements were filtered for family-friendly listening, the tale would provide at least an hour of rapport and laughter.

"I am all ears. Maybe you can rap it out?" Tao pulled up a chair.

The wannabe hoodlum cut a strange figure in the bar. The girls were all delicate fabric and dazzling white flesh, while Tao was attired in white sneakers, Adidas tracks and a shirt two sizes too large. The contrast, especially, made his presence unique.

"Well, gather around, folks." Gwen crossed over her heels and straightened her spine, sipping her glass of Saffron gin & kumquat tonic, infusing her tongue with the tartness. "It all began when Kusu, Lulan's brother here, asked me for a duel. Yes, Peaches, the real kind..."

[https://i.imgur.com/luJKtxr.png]

The waiter left the 4 HDM beverages with their despondent buyers.

The young patron examined himself against the French window. He wore an Italian suit tailored to fit. In his reflection, he resembled a magazine model.

Looking over at the far table, he couldn't help but notice that the single young man with the troop of stunningly gorgeous girls wore Adidas trackies and looked as though he should be squatting somewhere, bumming a butt-end.

Did I dress wrongly? He wondered to himself. Am I doing the wrong things to attract girls of that grade? Had the trend changed that quickly? The yellow-teethed Adidas man had a face that looked like two soft-boiled eggs socketed into a bony skull. Maybe that is the new trend?

"Say." He turned to his companion. "Did you say they were having a battle in basement 2?"

"Some American thing, yeah," his companion replied. "Why?"

"Should we…" The young man's eyes darted between his reflection, the chav, and the girls. "Should we go and see what it's all about?"

[https://i.imgur.com/luJKtxr.png]

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Lulan hugged Gwen's arm against her chest as she snorted and shrieked hysterically.

"That's FUNNY, Gwennie!"

Gwen was a little buzzed and had not noticed Lulan trying out half a dozen mixed spirits within the hour. The girl had no idea of her limits, which made an unfortunate cocktail combined with the bar's limitless concoctions.

When she had caught on, Lulan's cheeks had taken on the hue of the Moschino cherry she had gleefully suckled between her flushed lips.

Beside the intoxicated Sword Mage, Petra's ability to put away alcohol was as stoic as her stone-cold mien, packing away at least a dozen shots without a shade of scarlet touching her cheeks. Unlike the others, the Mineral Mage was a true Russian.

"A toast," Petra raised her shot glass. "Bottoms up."

Gwen wasn't sure if the Vodka in this world was the product of magical Druid-grown potatoes or what, but if Petra extolled its virtues, then she wouldn't mind giving it a go.

"Here's to the Void."

Toasting to difficult days to come, she slammed down the shot. The Vodka was like a string of fire running down her throat.

"Woa…!" Gwen took a second to master herself. "Strong."

Her abdomen filled with a flush of warmth.

"I want to try!" Lulan eagerly offered herself as a tribute. As she reached for the shot glass, Lulan stumbled and had to brace herself against Gwen's hip.

"She drunk as a goose, dawg." Tao chugged the rest of his beer, flaunting his iron liver and generous bladder. "She's tots wasted, Cuz. She looks too young to be cruising, dawg."

Suddenly, the disquiet that Gwen had felt earlier came to Gwen.

HOLY SHIT, she realised. Lulan is still sixteen!

Thanks to Lulan's capacity for ultra-violence, Gwen had not once recalled that Lulu was a high school student.

Gods! They took a kid to a bar and allowed her unlimited access to the sauce bottles! What a crime!

"I think we better go." Gwen sobered up at once. She propped up Lulan's flaccid, limping body with one arm. "Someone get me a spare bag as well. If I know my alcohol."

Despite the apparent risks, Mina offered to drive them home in her car. Tao left to rejoin his friends, boasting that he 'told them so'.

Gwen's foresight proved fortuitous. A few minutes into the trip, Lulan failed her constitution save.

"Bleeeeaarrgh! Oh… oh… I am dying… Gwen… Errrgh…. Bleurgh! Tell Kusu… tell…”

All four windows were drawn downward, and an odour-filtering magical trinket was placed in the middle of the car. Even so, the volatile mix of fruit juice, alcohol, stomach acid and whatever Lulan had for dinner was plain for all to experience.

Thankfully, real friends let their acquittances vomit in their Audi. Still, she felt sorry for her cousin, for she could see Mina wincing every time Lulan purged another Secret Peach & Tonic.

When they stumbled up to the sky garden, Kusu was waiting for them.

"Oh, MY MAO!" Kusu had never seen Lulan this vulnerable in his entire life. "Is she poisoned?! Did someone envenom your food? Are you all alright?"

"She's had a little too much to drink," Mina apologised.

Gwen figured she had better not let Lulan stay with Kusu. The sheltered Clanner had never dealt with drunk teens before. If Lulan was left to her own devices, she could pull a Bon Scott of ACDC fame.

Lulan's brother nodded eagerly, his head bobbing like a nodding chook. The man most definitely preferred not to be the one who had to strip Lulan and wipe down his sister's vomit.

The girls thus brought Lulan back to Gwen's apartment, with Mina bidding them goodbye after ensuring the Sword Mage didn't need medical attention. Petra asked Mina to leave a few minor healing spells with her, then bid Mina goodbye. It wasn't until after Gwen and Petra dragged Lulan into the bathroom for another hour of purging that she resumed control of her faculties.

"S-sorry…" Lulan had lost her voice as well.

Having had some experience with the matter, Gwen rinsed the tub, ran a cleaning cantrip, the dispelled the stink.

Near the early morning, when Lulan reappeared before Kusu, she was pale and unsteady but lucid. Petra had popped a Healing Word from Mina to smooth out any physical ailments, which helped.

"Drink lots of water and sleep it off," Gwen advised them. "How did the housing situation go?"

"No good," Kusu admitted despondently. "We'll keep looking on Monday."

Gwen nodded and told them not to worry, then reiterated that Lulan should be kept under strict supervision and be given plenty of fluids.

Returning to her apartment, she found Petra running the filtration trinket in the bathroom again. Her cousin could be an incredible hypochondriac sometimes.

"Mayuree's maid is coming over tomorrow at noon to clean," Gwen informed her cousin. "I'll be away at babulya's at the PLA hospital. Do you want to come along? We can have lunch after."

"Sound's like a plan." Petra crossed her legs tiredly. "How are you feeling, by the way?"

"Much better." Gwen smiled weakly. "It was good to do something so, hmm."

"Mundane?"

"Hahaha, that's it exactly. I needed that."

"You're the type to want to feel grounded, huh?"

"It helps." Gwen chuckled. "Magisters. Magic. Mages. Magi. Up, up and UP. There's not enough air up there. It's suffocating."

"But there's much more space up there too. The sky's the limit." Petra's smile was infectious.

"I know…" Gwen tried to think of something else to say, but nothing came to mind. She needed to sleep off the buzz. It had been a good night. As for tomorrow... tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow...

Tomorrow will be a long day.