World Walker Park [Magical Amusement Park Base-Building]

Leo found King and Gilded Beast Orris sipping plum juice next to his castle. The crowned opossum lay on his back, lounging with a pair of Luka's sunglasses loosely placed on his face. They were too large for the relatively small beast, but that didn't seem to bother Orris, not when he had two helper companions slowly dipping bunches of grapes into his mouth.

Leo stopped and stared for a moment. Seriously, again? He stomped over and said, "Orris, have you been digging the divine flower beds again?"

The opossum startled, dropping his plum juice and knocking his sunglasses off. "Oh, it's just you, Leo. What do you want now?"

"I asked if it was you digging in the flowerbeds again."

The Gilded Beast pursed his lips. "No, can't say I have."

"Uh huh." Leo trailed his eyes down the mythical creature, finding dried dirt caked to his paws. "Must be all those mud pits we have around the property, huh?"

Orris rolled his eyes, adjusted his crown, and waved his servants away. They left with their heads held high and looking down their noses at Leo as they passed.

"Whatever mud, dirt, or clay is on my paws is no business of yours," Orris said flatly.

"It is when I've told you not to dig the flowerbeds before. Those are a gift from Goddess Evergreen, and I would have thought a Gilded Beast such as yourself would want to cherish something so gilded."

Orris laughed. "That's exactly why I dug their roots! They're so sweet and they crunch so well."

Leo raised a bushy white eyebrow. "So, you admit it was you."

The King of Beasts hesitated. "I didn't say that."

"You pretty much did."

"No! And I will deny, deny, deny!"

With a sigh, Leo said, "We can ask Goddess Evergreen. Surely she'll tell us."

"Go ahead!" Orris snapped. "She's a goddess! She doesn't have time for something as petty as solving the case of who dug in the flowers!"

That was potentially correct, but Leo had seen the gods of this world do some incredibly petty things. It wouldn't hurt to ask… although Leo knew of a better way.

"You're right," he said. "I'll get Mira instead."

With that, Leo trotted off, Orris stumbling to catch up. "We don't need Mira for such a silly little thing, do we?"

"We do."

"I don't believe we do! She's a Gilded Beast; we shouldn't bother her with—"

Leo stopped and peered down at the opossum. Even in his "little" form, Leo towered over the glorified rodent, showing just enough of his fangs to cause a shiver down Orris' spine.

"I don't think she'll mind," Leo said.

"I do…"

Ignoring him, Leo charged forward, around Ressen and past many companions playing, sunning, or eating from the many refill stations around the area. Soul Singer Mira, another Gilded Beast, was queen of the salt lick, carving her own throne from the heavy rock. Other companions came and went, each eyeing her as they tried to enjoy the lick… but how could they?

Leo had to agree; Mira was a bit odd. Beautiful for a beast, her golden scales and long antlers looked alien on her horse-like body. A long, silky tail danced in the wind and a lush mane cascaded down her neck. All of this, however, made her unique. Not odd.

No, what made her odd was her gentle throat singing. It sounded like dull sheets of metal bending in the heat, growing with passion and rhythm. Mira was a Soul Singer—whatever that meant—and sang like the world did not have ears.

She did draw plenty of little green motes of light to her, which was something… Leo supposed. Mira called them soul bits but refused to say anything more. It was her singing that called them to her, and she was happy as a kitten fat on milk, sitting on her tongue-chiseled throne of salt with her horde of little green lights.

"Mira," Leo said, "would you mind yelling at Orris?"

The throat singing stopped and Orris almost choked. "What!?" he demanded at the same time Mira said, "With pleasure!"

Mira turned her dangerous eyes on Orris and asked, demanded really, "What did you do now!?"

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"N-nothing! I swear!"

"In the flowerbeds again," Leo mumbled.

"We told you last time not to dig in the flowerbeds! Why do it again?"

"It wasn't me!" Orris pleaded.

"He said the roots were extra crunchy," Leo said.

"Crunchy!?" Mira demanded. "Eat some potato chips if you want crunch, leave the flowers alone!"

"But they don't taste like the heavens!"

"So, you admit it!"

"I admit nothing!"

Leo decided that was enough to get the point across and pivoted to a new conversation, "That thunder-hoof was asking for you again."

Mira sighed. "Yeah, yeah. He's bugging everyone about me. All because I turned down his mate offer."

Orris sneered, "Who would ever want to become mates with you?"

Leo and Mira glanced at him before turning back to each other. "If he keeps harassing people about you, or harassing you, let me know. I'll deal with him."

"That's very kind of you, but I can handle him myself. What's a lowly thunder-hoof to a kirin?"

Leo didn't know and didn't really want to find out. Beastial hierarchies were one thing, but Gilded beast hierarchies were another.

"Okay, well thanks for yelling at Orris for me. I'll let you get back to your singing," Leo said.

Orris threw his hands into the air, turned, and stomped away, muttering dark things under his breath.

Mira chuckled, then softly asked, "You can stay if you want."

"I don't want to interrupt your singing."

"You're no bother, Leo. In fact, I'd love to sing for you."

Leo hackles rose, but not in a stressful way. He stood prouder, taller, like he wasn't just a pup but rather a full on dire-wolf. He tried to play it off smoothly, "Alright. Just a song."

He climbed up the salt lick throne and plopped down beside Mira. Almost instantly, green motes of soul bits clung to him. They felt like a warm hug, brushing his fur nicely.

"They like you."

"What are they?"

"Leftovers," Mira said coyly. "Emotions, mostly, of the deceased waiting for a newborn soul to cling to."

"Like reincarnation," Leo said, knowing the word from Luka.

"That's the whole cycle, yes. I simply gather the soul bits, collecting them until a baby is born and is in need of something curated." She smiled at him. "But enough about that. I want to sing you a song I've been working on."

And so, she did. It was a short song, but time didn't seem to matter during the gargles and groans. Previously, Leo thought her singing was terrible and arcane. But here, as the center of attention for each guttural symbol and hundreds of glowing green soul motes, he saw the charm behind it all. Mira wasn't singing for the living; she was serenading the dead.

The motes danced and lived, experiencing feelings and depth they lacked in their previous lives. Mira connected them to each other, bolstering what remained and growing things anew. What those things might be, well, who could say? Until a baby was born and grew up themselves, the motes would be little more than raw emotion, talent, and interest.

It was dark by the time Mira finished her song. It only felt like a few moments to Leo, but here he was, enthralled.

"It was beautiful," he said, his snow-white fur covered by the motes completely.

Mira giggled and said, "So are you."

***

Leo found Sebby sitting with Olive the emu and a few other companions. Sebby, Franky's mount and an older brother to Leo, was looking up Ressen's long trunk at Snake, who slowly blinked at the group.

"What are you all doing?" Leo asked.

"Trying to get Snake to talk to us," Sebby responded.

"Trying?"

"Failing."

"He's a companion like us. I think it's strange he doesn't want to play. He's practically the guardian of this place."

Jear, Elvin Consort, walked out of the nearby bushes, her magic shifting the leaves away from her fair skin. "That's because Snake is a newborn. Give him a few years to develop a personality."

As an immortal elf one step away from becoming part of nature herself, Jear had long learned the art of beastspeak. Besides a few wandering traders, guests, and passersby who stopped by the World Tree Inn, there were few humanoids who could communicate with the companions.

Leo had thought about begging Luka to get a tattoo glyph that would allow him to understand beastspeak. But it didn't feel like the right time… but then again, the park was growing, and some things were easier to speak aloud rather than in puppy pantomime.

"Ah," Sebby said, turning his attention to Olive, who was smashing pebbles open with her beak. "Hey! Stop that. Do you want to crack your beak again?"

Olive glared at Sebby. "You're not my dad!" She slammed her beak into the pebble and reared back in pain. She groaned and fell to her feathers, dazed.

"Cracked beak or concussion," Jear said with a huff. She flicked her wrist and fired a burst of healing magic.

Olive jolted upright and stared dangerously at the pebble who hurt her head. "I'll win if it's the last thing I do," she muttered at it.

Sebby sighed and turned his attention to Leo. "Did you want something, little bro?"

"Yeah big bro," Leo replied, a tad impish. "I, uh, need your help."

Sebby jumped to his feet. "Where's the body? We need to act fast. Did you get any blood on you?"

"Ha ha," Leo laughed dryly.

"Good one," Jear said.

Sebby fell back down to his belly and glanced at Snake. "Think it was funny, big guy?"

Snake stared blankly.

Sighing, Sebby turned back to Leo. "Okay, no more jokes. What do you need?"

"How…" Leo shook himself out of his awkwardness. "How do I talk to girls? I think—well, I don't know."

Then, like a cosmic joke, a low chuckle escaped Snake's massive throat. The immediate area vibrated, and a few leaves fell from Ressen's canopy.

Leo glared. "Not the time!"

Snake went silent.

Sebby's face split into a wide grin and he grabbed his little bro around his shoulder, pulling him close. "You've come to the right wolf. Now, who's the lucky lady?"