~ 48 ~

The Start of the Party

I watched the form spread, thin, and dissipate into the water, leaving nothing of the strange liquid—or the beast that had inhabited it. Life returned in a blink. People walking and yelling, carts and carriages rolling from the pulling of horses and lizard-like creatures. The party approached behind me, not understanding my sudden stillness.

The irony.

“Big guy! Are you alright? Have you stubbed your claw on something?”

It was the voice of Seal. I turned, swinging my tail overhead, my steps all but cracking the ground. My shadow spread to the masses to the left as my side blocked the sunlight. I could feel some of their glares.

I felt out of place and at the wrong size.

“N-Nothing of the sort,” I cautiously opened, looking down at the two party members before my claws. They stood on the open, grey ground, warmed by sunlight. At the sides, there were steel bars that designated the large area. “Say... none of you experienced anything strange? No weird feelings?”

They looked at each other in confusion.

Then returned to me.

“Just that you paused,” Sebal continued. Then he threw up his hands. “But, all that flying and swimming has taken it out of you. I did not see you devour as many fish as I had been expecting. Maybe we could find you a nice herd of dying sheep for an afternoon snack?”

I held up a claw. “All good on that front. Probably just... an overactive imagination, is all.” I looked onto the streets wide enough to support two of me going in opposite directions. Swarms of people traversed the sidewalks, dressed in vintage suits or sailor outfits, a couple of booths set along the way with vendors shouting and selling their products.

I looked back to Sebal. “How come you never said beasts were accepted in these parts?”

Sebal chuckled. “The king said that it would be worth a chuckle.”