World Walker Park [Magical Amusement Park Base-Building]

Luka stifled a yawn so as not to wake a sleeping Leo. The pup was curled on top of his feet, tuckered out from the harsh day of playing with all the animals brought to the World Tree Inn. Meanwhile, Luka worked, creating the Bestial Grove at a steady pace. He wasn't slow by any means, but without many of the plants to fill the area, sometimes things looked strange. It was a perspective thing, the area felt naked. Luckily there was growing magic to help, he just needed the plants to arrive.

Leo's ears abruptly perked up, waking the little guy. He looked off into the forest, drawing Luka's eye. People were coming, specifically a pair of elderly orcs. Tram and Ben broke the tree line and adjusted their paths toward Luka.

"How is everyone?" he asked.

Ben answered with a smile; Tram answered with words. "Good."

Luka raised an eyebrow. "We've reincarnated a dozen villagers. That's only 'good?'"

Tram pursed her lips like a drowning fish. "I've never been one for showing my feelings. You know that."

He chuckled. "So, it's going super-duper amazingly."

"Quite so."

Ben jumped in. "They want you."

"Do they? I figured they'd have forgotten about me for at least another few hours," Luka said sarcastically, a smile of his own draped across his lips.

They were obviously referring to Eve, Sol, and Franky, Luka's second family. With their parents and sister reincarnated, it was understandable if they forgot about Luka for a whole year, in his eyes. The sun was hardly set at this point; it had only been a few hours since they were back from the dead.

"Annie?" Luka asked, ceasing his magic. Blocks of wood fell out of the air; skeletal rafters speared the grass. He would have to come back later to finish up and add the illusionary glyphs, but that was perfectly acceptable in his mind.

"She's already up there. She and Vlad brought dinner," Tram said.

"What about you two?"

"Bed!" snapped the elderly woman. "We've had enough emotion for the day, thank you very much. Now it's your turn to deal with it."

Ben and Luka both smiled.

Luka departed the pair at the crossroads between the World Walker Inn and village, Leo right beside him. They practically skipped down the cobble path, the night air cool and crisp. The park had closed an hour ago, leaving the place calm and serene. Forest noises filled the air, clouds gently covered the stars, Ressen hung over head like a guardian angel.

At night, an illusionary fence stopped guests sleeping in the World Tree Inn from entering the park… and a physical fence stopped those who saw through the fake one. Luka unlatched the hook, walked through, then relatched it. He and Leo took another step, and suddenly they were exiting a faux forest. To any onlookers, they looked as if they were dryads waking out and exiting their tree-beds. To them, they walked through nothing.

Up into Ressen's trunk, in the elevator to the penthouses, and through the doorway they went. Annnnnd there was screaming. Lots of childish screams. Luka and Leo entered the man room, finding a dozen children flailing about. The furniture was pulled to the side and a triplet of magical glyphs were freshly etched into the floor and ceiling—likely courtesy of Eve or Sol.

The glyphs produced sounds, beams of light, and fog, turning the room into a nightclub of sorts. But where dancing and expensive drinks would have flourished, giggles and candy wrappers thrived. The kids ran in circles, tagging each other before the horde of not-its sprinted away. A few parents were involved as well, acting as beacons for respective teams. Apparently, get tagged too many times you had to touch a beacon… or something. Luka wasn't up on the rules.

The other parents watched from the periphery, smiling like today was the best day of their lives—which it likely was. It wasn't every day you got reincarnated. Some families remained together, holding each other tightly. Others sat a bit more distant but sitting close to one another. Ren was part of this group; it seemed his water works from earlier did not fix all the resentment he felt for his mother leaving—even if her death wasn't her fault.

Luka was hopeful, however. Kids were resilient. And now they were back together. Time would fix things; he had no doubt.

"You okay, Ren?" he asked.

The little guy nodded, his eyes red and puffy. His mother had the same eyes and looked at Luka thoughtfully.

"So, you're him."

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"Whatever Ren has told you about me, I season my smashburgers quite well. He lies."

The statement made both mother and son pause. Obviously, smashburgers were not the forefront of what Ren had told his mother since she returned… even if he loved to talk about food. Some things were for telling the next day after a loved one is reincarnated.

Luckily, the statement had the effect Luka was hoping for.

"But you do!" Ren snapped.

"I do not!"

"You do so! And only salt? You need something else, man. Like pepper! Freshly ground, of course!"

Luka smirked, feeling very accomplished. He turned to the mother. "One of the first times I met Ren, he told me about your cooking and how much it inspired his love of food and cooking. Now, Ren's the seal of approval on all menus we create for the park. He often has a lot of notes."

"I do not!"

"Don't make me get Nicole over here. She'll tell your mom you're a liar!"

Ren froze. "Okay fine. I have a lot of notes. But they're needed! You suck at cooking!"

"Renfield!" his mom yelled. "You don't insult people! Especially not him!"

Ren cowered back. "Sorry," he muttered.

This was just great. Luka and his dumb mouth getting the kid in trouble. He sighed. This was the opposite effect that he wanted.

"It's okay. And besides, Ren's right. I do suck at cooking. Especially utilizing local ingredients." Luka paused. "I didn't know your name was Renfield."

Quietly, so quietly Luka could barely hear, Ren mumbled, "Only mom calls me that."

Luka chuckled and fished through his pocket, producing a half-scribbled menu for a few of Bestial Grove's restaurants. "Here. There're not finished, but I figured you might want to show you mom how you help the park?"

Ren greedily snatched the paper and began reading through the options. "Grilled chicken? Seriously? We can do something more inventive than chicken."

Luka smiled and turned to his mom. "Hi. I'm Luka and I deserve no special treatment. I like Ren. He and Nicole pulled me out of a slump when I first arrived in this world. I don't know where I'd be without them."

"Dead, probably," Ren muttered.

"Not helping, dude."

Ignoring her son, she said, "Call me Thyna. And yes, yes you do. You brought so many of us back—"

"Let me stop you right there. Goddess Tippy and God Neb are the ones you should direct your respect to. Without them, none of this would have happened. I was just the mortal they used to get things done."

Thyna's eyes widened. "You speak as if you know the gods personally."

"Tippy stole a smashburger from him," Ren unhelpfully said.

"Again, not helping," Luka said. "But yes. Goddess Tippy and God Neb frequented the park, the other gods got jealous and banned them from appearing without special circumstances—"

A presence interrupted him. "That is a vastly understated explanation for such a required response, Luka."

Luka held out his hand and gestured at the goddess' sudden appearance. "See what I mean?"

Thyna did not. Ren, however, had a question, "Goddess Tippy, do you want to help create a menu with me and mom? Luka needs all the help he can get."

Just like that, a table appeared, etherial and faintly glowing. Tippy pulled up a chair and sat down across from Thyna. Ren slapped Luka's notes onto the table, a pencil in hand. Thyna gawked.

"He wants to have another chicken dish. I think we can do better."

"Certainly. Have you ever had the dish called 'bhun 'o lhun' from the Kingdom of Glass?"

Ren considered. "Is that like spaghetti?"

"Er, no. It's a magical dish that creates a mirage of the eater. In essence, you gain a twin until the magic fades."

"But it's not like spaghetti?"

"It's closer to a flatbread."

Ren shook his head. "No. We can't add any more pizzas to the park. We have too many already."

Thyna found her voice, albeit quietly, "Ren, honey…"

"Besides," the little guy said, not missing a beat, "I can't cook magical dishes yet, so."

Tippy pursed her lips, looked to the sky as if communicating with a dozen other gods, and said, "Would you like to?"

"Of course."

Tippy reached out and took the menu just before a bolt of radiant magic blasted from the ceiling. To those in the room, it looked like any other beam of light from the nightclub glyphs, but to Luka and Thyna, they knew differently. The light bathed Ren from head to toe.

"There. It is done. Enjoy Olram's blessing, it is rare for the God of Food and Meals to hand them out."

"That was very kind, thank you," Luka said, speaking for the mother and son.

"Thank you!" Ren quickly added before looking up and yelling, "Thank you God Olram!"

A single bite of food landed on the table, courtesy of the God of Food. Ren's eyes widened and he quickly swallowed it. A second Ren appeared; eyes wide.

"Woah!" they both said at once.

"Well then," Tippy said, "that's all I can stay for. Until next time, Luka, Ren. It's great to have you back, Thyna."

The motherly orc slowly nodded. "Uh, likewise."

Tippy chuckled, disappearing from this realm.

Luka shrugged. "You get used to it." He tapped the menu on the table. "But seriously. I think both of you working on this for the night will be helpful. A nice family bonding experience."

Thyna slowly regained her composure. "I have to agree…"

"Good. Find me when you're done with it, be around."