Chapter 151 - 147: A Wild Party

Chapter 151: Chapter 147: A Wild Party

The loud sounds and powerful natural aromas of my fellow beasts convey one thing: This is not a formal Beast Ball. This is a soiree where you let your fur down and go hog wild (apologies to Einswine). You let out your wild side.

Lightning stops our cubs from scampering off into temptation with a stern growl. [You two. Do not just go eating everything in sight. Stay where your father, I, or one of our beast family can see you at all times. Remember, Auntie Gussie and Auntie Peridot will be flying around watching you. That said, have some fun.]

Finn and Leonie only hear the word "fun" and scamper off, weaving through the throng of beasts. Instantly, Gussie flies after them, circling the pavilion along with her fellow flying creatures. Peridot also tracks them.

Lightning nudges me. [They will be fine. System itself said--]

I stare warily. [We all know what its word is worth.]

Lightning nudges me harder. [We need to relax.]

[Maybe bond with these beasts.] Lobo woofs, wagging his tail. [We need some of them to like us so that they won’t try to kill us like Janko.]

He does have a good point. I scan the furry and feathered and scaly heads. [Whom should we start with? NOT Ophion and Zuba.]

Lightning huffs. [They can wait. Let’s get something to eat now.]

My stomach growls, reminding me that other than small meals throughout the day, it has been a long time since breakfast.

A beast-level buffet sits on one side of the pavilion opposite the human buffet. And everything is on this buffet. I mean EVERYTHING. Seeds cascading from piles in dishes. Insects, live and dead, awaiting the insectivores. All kinds of creepy-crawly insectoid or nematode or other food to cater to a specific diet. Then greens and fruit and vegetables, both Earth style and Tanglewood varieties. Then animal protein, including eggs. Also, cheese. In observing, I notice that one of the dragons helps herself or himself to potatoes. Huh. I didn’t know dragons liked potatoes.

[What a spread.] Lobo wags his tail. [Did Gussie eat? Maybe we need to take a birdie bag home to Dag. He is missing this.]

Demos offers an "ufff" as he moseys toward the buffet. [Nice of them to separate all the varieties of food, but why did they put the fruit and fish at opposite ends? And where is the honey?]

The cubs smell the food and scamper over. [FOOD!]

Good, at least we’ll be able to keep an eye on them.

Lightning, Demos, and I make our way to answer the siren call of the meat, poultry, fish, and lamb. Einswine waddles over to the vegetables and roots and mushrooms. Gussie swoops down on the nuts and fruits, while Peridot goes to town on the section of whole big and small prey, freshly killed. There really is something here for everyone.

As luck would have it, Lightning and I end up next to a silver female wolf with metallic scales. In other words, an enhanced wolf. She grazes at one of the mounds of meat. Here with the beasts, it is not rude to eat from the bowls. In fact, it is expected.

[It looks good.] Her tone is warm and cordial. [Pardon my gorging.]

Lightning smiles, charmed. [You made it through your match. You fought well. Please, take all you like. After you.]

The female wolf sniffs at me. [You’re not injured after that awful crab went after you?]

Touched that she would ask out of concern, I puff out my fur. [Not as badly as what we did to the millipede. And not as badly as Einswine, my teammate.]

With a disgusted woof, the female wolf continues conversing between bites as she eats her fill. [What you did was completely fair given that burnt millipedes are poisonous. Their poison can kill even a large animal within minutes. Longer depending on the animal’s weight. Besides, many of us know how bad-tempered Janko and Wandi are.]

Too hungry to talk, Demos chows down on fresh fish, while Lobo eyes this wolf as both an ally and competitor. Thus, Lobo engages with her too. [Which house are you from? And does your house know House Jawara well?]

She responds with enthusiasm. [Lunetta of House Mooncloak. And no, we never see them outside of tournaments and balls. They live in the south. But the entire beast taming world knows how difficult they are. Their tamers are not bad sorts, for humans.]

My mouth waters, but Lightning and I boost the cubs up so that they can eat. Naturally, Finn and Leonie chomp the nearest portions of meat, making a sizable dent. Both Lightning and I caution them to slow down, but they flick their ears at us.

Lunetta woofs at them. [Little ones, you will make yourselves sick.]

Leonie glances up from her food and immediately is entranced by Lunetta’s silvery scales that give her a moonlit effect. [Pretty!]

Finn, also dazzled, hops down from my back to sniff Lunetta. Ever his partner in crime, Leonie joins him. They happily nuzzle Lunetta, who accommodates them without a second thought. A possible ally?

[Lobo! The player behind Lunetta--friend or foe?]

Lobo responds instantly. [Friend. There is a good chance one of our teams will end up facing her in tomorrow’s match. Socializing with her now is a sound strategy.]

Meanwhile, Lightning recruits Lobo and Lunetta to watch Finn and Leonie while we eat. The meat tastes even better now that I have worked all day for it. Dodging a homicidal crab is one way to work up an appetite.

At least we will not have to worry about Finn and Leonie getting lost. Every single beast from our combined house has gathered by the buffet, As well, Kaline, Hans, and Minette keep venturing over to look after us and make sure that we are eating. "Eat," Kaline urges, "you all earned it. Tomorrow--" And she breaks off.

Hans nudges her. "No need to bring up tomorrow." He checks her plate, beaming with approval at the array of food. "Let them enjoy tonight."

Lobo woofs. [What happens tomorrow?]

Peridot wiggles her tail, smug in her insider information from Niall. [Tomorrow is said to be the "Day of Brutality." The third day of elimination can go on for a week.]

I let out a "mrrrp" of frustration with myself. [Of course! The announcer said that! My brain really suffered from serious hunger.]

Lobo growls. [Finals that last for a week? How can that be?]

Peridot’s tail sways as she inhales her insectivore feast. [You saw how Janko turned sore loser. Some of the finalists, according to Master Niall, don’t concede defeat until they are unconscious and almost dead. Imagine getting to the final round and fearing that you might lose!]

Someone bumps me from behind. A hairy someone. A hairy baboon arm shoots past me to grab a piece of meat. The hair looks suspiciously like Zuba’s. Plus, the fur smells faintly of the stink bomb that Zuba and Ophion got hit with in their match.

Peeved, I growl, but I move aside. [Help yourself.]

Zuba snorts through his baboon nose. [About time you moved. The meat is for everyone.]

Demos growls. [And there are multiple dishes of it, yet you picked the one nearest us.]

With an innocent yet shrewd look, Zuba shovels meat into his maw. How crass. Even an animal should eat a bit more politely. [This is the best one here. Do you think that I’m about to let you keep it all for yourselves?]

This is one of those remarks that doesn’t require or even want an answer. I wonder if Ophion will partake of this complacent feast.

Peridot’s hiss clues me in. [Since when does a python eat hunks of meat?]

Ophion coils himself arrogantly. [I am not dining. I am stopping all of you from taking everything from my baboon brother’s hungry belly.]

I growl. [Rude.]

Ophion is brutal. [I agree. You are the ones who are rude.]

Gussie flaps her feathers in Ophion’s face. "Bad snake."

[Typical. Churlish, entitled, arrogant.] Ophion’s tail swishes back and forth. [But then, what can we expect from a house with such dirty deeds towards House Jawara?]

A growl starts up. First Demos, then Lobo, then Lightning, then me. Lunetta joins in. Indignant Einswine stomps off to alert Elandior. Suddenly, I smell the predatory and aggressive scents in the air, and I back away, scanning for Finn and Leonie.

Good. They are with Lunetta, full and sleepy, hiding under her belly. As long as my cubs are fine and fed, Ophion and Zuba can go jump in the nearest lake.

Begrudgingly, Demos, Lobo, and Lightning back away, leaving Zuba to his gluttony. Let the Bottomsleys worry about whether he overeats.

Kaline, Vedette, and Hans march over, identical glares targeting Ophion and Zuba. "Rude," Vedette declares. "They weren’t finished, and there is plenty of food."

Kaline sniffs at the pair. "Haven’t your tamers taught you manners?"

"Rude," Hans echoes Kaline, his ears wiggling.

Terrah Bottomsley’s voice could snuff out any light in the room and kill any party vibe. "Insolent children with your beasts. Someone ought to teach you all a lesson!"