The guy looked like a tank, a wall of meat sporting rich ochre skin and thick bull-like horns. He had cropped hair, short and spiky, while his eyes glowed a dark yellow muddled with brown. Surprisingly enough, he had no tail.

He crossed his arms and stared. A woman, who looked similar but with lighter shades of amber and pointy, dagger-like horns and an equally sharp tail, tapped the armrest of the couch.

The last two had shades of entirely different skin. On one side, a dark blue Felkin man, distinguished by four short horns and glowing white eyes, his long white hair flowing down to a shark-like tail. Beside him sat a woman with pale skin, her long green hair framing a face with backward-curled ram-like horns and piercing green eyes. Her tail, subtle, coiled around her waist.

They all wore fancy clothing but were different from the nobles downstairs. Rather, they had plain dresses tailored to their bodies and well-made tunics that caught their muscles at the right angles.

Sereza very lightly tapped me with her tail.

"I suppose I am. Are you the pride-spawn Sereza told me about?"

The man's eyes narrowed, and the woman sitting beside him, her lips twitched upward.

The other two didn't react.

A roar of laughter rumbled out of the man's broad chest. "It's nice to know you have a backbone! I've met several who would balk at my appearance, but you sling an insult the first we hear you speak!"

I didn't know it was an insult, but okay.

He stopped laughing and grinned but kept his arms crossed.

"Why the mask? We're curious to meet the new Felkin. It's been several years since we had another join our ranks."

I glanced at Sereza, but she remained silent.

"Is this room private?"

"Myleen?"

The Felkin woman on the couch stopped her tapping. "The room is secure; as far as I know, there are no enchantments for scrying or recording. No active ones, at least."

"Well, there's your answer."

With a shrug, I reached up, removed my mask, and slipped it into my hoodie pocket.

Myleen sat forward, tapping her chin, while the two on the couch turned their heads.

The brute standing up looked at me suspiciously.

"Is there a problem?"

Myleen spoke first. "I can't tell what kind of mana you use. There are no obvious markers."

"No tail either," remarked the other Felkin woman.

The other man stayed silent, and the brute uncrossed his arms. "Could have a really short tail."

I spun around. "Sadly, no, no tail yet."

A look of pity adorned the shark-tailed Felkin's face. "Unfortunate. I'm sure your next evolution will get you one."

Deciding that I was done standing, I walked over to the empty couch and sat down. Sereza joined me with a slightly amused expression.

"I'm Cyrus. Pleasure to meet you."

The brute grinned again, as did Myleen. "You know Myleen's name. I'm Fuldro. The one with the fishtail is Julgaern, and my other beautiful sister is Ilyena."

"Brother. Take a seat; your pride is showing," Julgaern said.

Fuldro scowled but sat down, and I didn't miss the strange inflection in Julgaern's voice.

Julgaern leaned forward, his white orbs staring intensely into mine. "Sereza has mentioned fairly little about you. We all had a bet placed on what kind of child you are. Care to enlighten us?"

I ignored the almost demanding tone and sat back. "What do you think?"

"You dress rather fancy; I went with greed."

"Envy," Ilyena chimed in.

"Pride," Fuldro declared.

There was a slight pause, and we all turned to Myleen, waiting. Eventually, she stopped her tapping and smiled. "I think you are a child of wrath."

Fuldro snorted. "He seems like one of us. Weren't you also guessing pride before?"

She clicked her tongue. "Maybe. But I don't think so."

They all stared, and I smiled before nodding to Myleen. "You'd be correct."

Looks of disbelief crossed Ilyena and Fuldro's faces while Myleen showed her fangs. Only Julgaern showed restraint.

"So all we are missing are sloth and gluttony. Interesting," Julgaern muttered.

"Beyond what inner demons we all carry, what exactly is it that you guys do?"

Fuldro preened as if he had been waiting for me to ask that particular question. "I'm an adventurer like Sereza, but I work with a company as part of the vanguard team."

Is he... flexing for me?

His muscles bulged, especially his arms, and I noticed Fuldro subtly posing.

"And the rest of you?"

Myleen rolled her eyes at her brother. "I work with Ilyena at the castle. We tend the gardens."

I must have looked confused because Julgaern snorted.

"It's an honor to work with the royal family. Though demons like Sereza and my brother would find it beyond stifling." Beside me, Sereza stiffened, and he smiled. "Please, Sereza. The others already know you'd rather tear that dress off your body and put on blood-stained leather. Stop pretending to be what you're not. Your father isn't here."

Sereza's tail lightly thumped the couch, and she lowered her hands into her lap. "But gossip loves to travel in such company."

She had an edge to her voice that carried across the room.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Julgaern's tail loudly smacked the back of his couch, causing Ilyena to scowl. "Maybe, but we can be silent for this night. It would be rude to the newcomer."

Yeah, I don't like you, buddy.

"What about you? The others have mentioned what they do; only you left," I asked, staring directly into his eyes.

He slowly lost the grin. "I have other duties, but I too, work at the castle."

"Yeah, I'd find it stifling as well. I'm just a simple adventurer."

Sereza's lips briefly jerked upward before she squeezed her fingers together.

Julgaern stared, as did Myleen, but Fuldro beamed.

"Another adventurer? Interesting! Now I'm really curious about what kind of skills you use."

"And I'm curious about what you do. You said a company; what is that exactly?"

"You don't know what a company is?" he asked suspiciously.

"I haven't really been an adventurer for long. I'm still learning what terms you guys use here."

"Right," he blinked. "A company is part of the guild. Instead of being as small as a singular team, a company is made up of several teams. I'm a member of Skyscales, part of team three."

"What's the point of being in the company?"

"Benefits of having a bigger backing. And when it comes to the guild, we're recognized as an official group. It helps us in terms of reserving slots for rifts and dungeons."

It was a lot more thought out than I had imagined. A company didn't sound bad; it made sense that teams would group up for some of the bigger rift expeditions.

The Felkins stared, each one watching me with a different expression. The lack of a mask on my face made me a little uncomfortable, but I grabbed one of the fruit tarts on the plate and tossed it into my mouth.

Julgaern frowned disapprovingly, but only him. Fuldro stared at my plate, and I offered it to the big man. He happily took it and began snacking. Myleen rolled her eyes once more while Ilyena pouted. Eventually, Fuldro handed over what looked like a small pie that made her grin.

Myleen cleared her throat. "Have you met anyone else in the city? Or are we your first?"

"He met Daergo, Ernor, and Metza. Lezka was absent," Sereza answered.

Ilyena lowered the half-eaten mini pie. "Is the boy in trouble again?"

Sereza sighed. "I don't think so, but he hasn't been seen for a couple of days now."

"He'll be fine. I was just as adventurous at his age," Fuldro said.

"More like stubborn and reckless," Myleen countered.

I sat back and listened to them banter, feeling strangely out of place between them. And Julgaern kept staring, making no attempts to hide it.

After nearly half an hour of politely answering questions, Julgaern clapped his hands, and we all turned to stare.

"I've got to go meet with an associate. It was a pleasure meeting you, Cyrus. Welcome to Solunaria," he said before standing up.

He gave Ilyena a quick hug and promptly left the room. Myleen glared at his exit while Ilyena pursed her lips.

He said Solunaria...

"I apologize for his staring. He can be a bit rude at times," Myleen apologized.

I waved her off. "No worries. I'm rather used to it if I'm being honest. Besides, you should have seen how we got to the manor."

"Got to the... Wait, people kept gossiping about the ship outside. Was that you guys?" Sereza asked.

"Yep. Teddy's parents are crazy. Apparently, we had to arrive in style."

She shook her head. "From what people said, it was certainly eye-catching. So that's what his family is like. I want to meet them."

"You should. They're a blast."

"Teddy? Do you mean Theodore Lightcrest? You're friends with the Lightcrests?" Myleen asked.

"Uh, I'm friends with their son. I've been traveling with his team for the last few months."

She was about to ask another question, but Fuldro interrupted by tossing aside the cookie he was about to eat. It landed on Myleen's lap, and she glared daggers at the brute.

"You know Broken Tower? Really? What are they like?" he demanded.

I blinked and looked up. "They're normal? The rogue is a little ornery, but outside of that, they're alright."

The big Felkin nearly vibrated. "Normal?! They're famous!"

Really?

"They are?" I shrugged. "I guess there was the one time they had a few reactions, but I didn't really pay attention at the time."

"I..." he regained control of himself and smoothed out his tunic. "Excuse me. The company would murder me if I didn't try to talk to them."

Fuldro hopped off the couch and swiftly left, leaving me alone with the women.

Ilyena stood up and took the recently vacated spot to pick at the snack plate. "At least he's passionate about something. I'll never understand the need to put oneself into danger like that. At least at the castle, I get to make beauty flourish."

"I have to agree. No offense to you two."

Sereza waved her off. "I enjoy what I do. And I can't wait to get back to it."

The other Felkin leaned forward and patted her knee before sitting back. "You know the rules of the world. Become strong enough that nobody can tell you no."

"Not the worst saying. So, I know why I'm here at the party, and I kinda know why Sereza is too. What about you two?"

"Appearances for the family, and beyond that, a small day to relax. Whatever the Dawnbornes have planned to reveal soon, it'll be big enough to affect the noble houses."

"They've been tight-lipped for a few months now. I believe it was after a return from a big rift expedition. Several noble houses participated in the clearing of three special rifts that appear once every century," Ilyena added.

"This sort of thing happens often?" I asked.

"No," Ilyena shook her head. "So whatever they managed to loot inside, it has the royal family interested."

Maybe it'll be something amazing.

-----------

Eventually, I left with Sereza as she had to say hello to several people. I could tell she wanted to do anything but. The dead-inside look in her eyes told me all I needed to know about how she would spend the next hour or two.

Without company, I decided to wander around until I found a familiar rogue storm out of an adjacent room. His face was stormy, and the shadows beneath him clawed at the air.

When he turned to leave, he came to a stop right before me, and his eyes widened in surprise just as a female voice called out.

"Isaac! We are not done talking!"

His eyes grew furious, but I slung an arm around his shoulders before he could turn around.

"Isaac! There you are! The others are looking for you! Come on, let's go," I shouted over the bustle of the party.

From the room came two people, the same two people at the door when we arrived.

"Wh-" Isaac started.

"Hey, seriously, you know Eodyne; she gets rather prickly if we keep her waiting too long!"

I had my mask back on my face, so I easily watched the man and woman stare directly at our backs as I led Isaac away. The rogue stayed silent, but I could feel how tense he was underneath my hand.

The two didn't chase after us, but the man stepped in front of the woman and forced her back inside the room.

Once we entered a relatively emptier hallway, I released Isaac and leaned against the wall.

"I won't pry, but if you know where the others are, that'd be cool."

His mana calmed down, and his shadow returned to normal. After inhaling for several seconds and releasing just as long, he slumped against the wall. "I know Celanae and Eodyne are in the gardens. I don't know where everybody else is."

"Alright. Wanna head to the gardens then?" He stared, and I raised my eyebrow. "What?"

"Thank... you. You didn't have to do that."

I scoffed. "Yeah, that's dragonshit. Seriously, let's go. I can only handle your awkwardness for so long."

His jaw clicked, and he rubbed his temples. "Follow me."

He led us through the manor in record time. I watched his back as we moved, but he finally lost the last of his tension right before we exited into the lush garden.

Instead of leading us deeper into the mini hedge maze, he had us round the corner and then stopped. He pointed up, and I saw a small nook built into the stonework.

"Can you climb up on your own?" he asked.

"Probably."

He said nothing and sank into the shadows. The wall was pretty easy to scale. The physical boost my passive skill gave me let me quickly climb to the top, where I found Celanae, Isaac, and Eodyne waiting.

I began pulling myself up and felt a rush of air help push me past the last foot. After dusting myself off, I pulled myself deeper into the overhang and joined them.

Celanae activated a skill, and an amethyst barrier appeared, blocking us off.

"So this is where we're hiding. What's up with that?" I asked.

"I enjoy the peace and silence," Eodyne whispered.

"There's a limit to how many people I am willing to politely put up with when they couldn't care less about me or my interests and rather my name and position," Celanae muttered.

She quickly glanced my way when she realized what she had said, but I shrugged it off and summoned a small pillow and some snacks. Eodyne sat up and pilfered the steaming fries while I slowly spread out my legs and settled in.

"Teddy and Igas?"

"Teddy is the socialite, so he's in his element down there. His parents disappeared, probably planning for whatever part C is. And Igas..."

Isaac blew out his tongue. "Don't mistake the oaf's usual silence. He's probably down there talking to some of the noble folk and trying to get more donations for the orphanages."

"Wait, what? Since when did Igas care about orphans? And does this world not have state, uh, kingdom-run programs?" I asked between bites.

"The orphanage is well taken care of, but Igas came from an orphan background. He spends much of his time in the capital, between there and getting more donations sent so they can have a better life. Sometimes, he gets kids sponsored with skills and sends them to apprenticeship programs."

Hot damn. That's hard to picture.

"Huh. Maybe in the future, once I'm all rich and loaded with loot, I'll help out. Sounds like a good cause."

"He'd love that. And we're not that rich."

I waved her off. "Semantics. Potato-putahto. Anyone want to try some screaming elixirs?"

"What?"

"Me."

"Sure."

At least there's some fun to be had at this party.