We weave through the bustling market street, the three of us shoulder-to-shoulder like we've been a party for years instead of twenty minutes.
I walk in the middle, hands in pockets, dropping casual rizz lines I 100 % stole from Sanji back when I had Wi-Fi.
"Careful, Luna, if you keep flicking that tail like that, the wind's gonna carry you off. Though I'd catch you, obviously."
She snorts, ears twitching, but her tail curls happily.
"Sylvara, the sun hits your hair like it owes you money. Rude of it to show off this much."
The elf actually rolls her eyes, but the tips of her ears go pink.
We grab a bench near a fountain, buy skewers of honey-glazed meat from a dwarf vendor, and just vibe.
Sylvara licks sauce off her thumb, suddenly serious.
"I have ten siblings. Elves live long, so half of them are already centuries old and off doing hero things or whatever. We only gather once every eleven years for the Luminous Eve festival. Kai, you should come next year. There's star-wine, moon-dancing, and zero humans complaining about how pointy our ears are."
Luna leans over the table, tail smacking my arm.
"Ten? Amateur numbers. I lost count after twenty-something. Beastkin litters are no joke. We meet every year at the Wild Moon Gathering: bonfires, drumming, way too much catnip mead. Kai, you're coming to that one too, right? One year from now. No excuses."
Suddenly they're bickering over whose festival is better while I just chew and grin.
Elf festival: elegant, glowing, probably tastes like stardust.
Beastkin festival: chaotic, furry, probably ends with everyone drunk and wrestling.
Inner me: "Bro, we just got double-booked into cultural waifu events. Life peak."
I raise both hands.
"Ladies, ladies, calm down. We're a party now, yeah?"
Both nod instantly.
"Then we do both. Next year Wild Moon with Luna, year after Luminous Eve with Syl. We rotate until we're old and gray. Deal?"
Luna's eyes go full sparkly kitty. "Deal!"
Sylvara gives the softest, rarest smile I've seen from her yet. "Deal."
We bump skewers like swords.
Three idiots laughing in the sunlight, sauce on our fingers, planning festivals years ahead like we're gonna live forever.
Yeah.
This party's gonna work just fine.
We drag our tired asses back to the guild, Mr. Sprinkles purring like a broken chainsaw in Luna's arms (the fat bastard ate half my skewer on the way back).
Quest submitted, 100 coppers clink into our hands. Split three ways: 33 each, 1 left over for the party fund jar. Rich tomorrow, broke tonight.
Luna stretches, tail flicking. "So, Kai, where you crashing?"
I shrug. "Was planning to sleep under a bridge and look tragically handsome while doing it."
Sylvara deadpans, "We're all broke. One room. Three beds. Or one big bed and we pretend we're civilized."
Luna's ears perk. "Big bed's cheaper. And we're friends now, right? No weird stuff."
I raise both hands. "Scout's honor. I pass out the second my head hits anything softer than dirt."
Innkeeper gives us the last attic room for 15 coppers. One massive bed, one tiny window, smells faintly of lavender and catnip.
Key in hand, up the creaky stairs.
Door opens → I see horizontal surface → my soul leaves my body.
I face-plant into the middle of the bed fully clothed, sandals still on, out cold before my second cheek hits the pillow.
Luna giggles, kicks off her boots.
Sylvara sighs like she's already regretting life choices but crawls in anyway.
Left side: Luna curls up like a housecat, tail draped over my leg.
Right side: Sylvara slides in, back to me, silver hair spilling everywhere.
Three exhausted Level 0s in one bed, zero personal space, 100 % platonic (for tonight).
The second my eyes close I'm gone.
Dreams? Straight black. Best sleep I've had since the void.
Tomorrow we grind.
Tonight we're just three broke idiots who found a fat cat and somehow became a family.
8 A.M. sunlight leaks through the attic window like it's personally trying to murder me.
I crack one eye open and instantly regret having a pulse.
Luna and Sylvara are stepping out of the tiny washroom at the same time, both completely naked, skin still glistening from the bath.
Luna: golden-tan beastkin skin, perky teardrop breasts the size you can cover with one hand but don't want to, pink nipples already stiff from the cool morning air. A trimmed little stripe of blonde fur leading down to the softest-looking, perfectly pink folds I've ever seen. Tail swishing lazily, water droplets sliding down her thighs.
Sylvara: moon-pale elven skin that basically glows, slightly fuller breasts (hand-and-a-half territory), soft and round with pale rose nipples. Long silver hair clinging wet to her back and chest, and between her legs the same delicate pink, completely bare, like elves just come pre-waxed by the gods.
My brain blue-screens.
My dick salutes so hard it almost rips the blanket.
Sylvara notices first, folds her arms under her chest (which only makes things worse).
"No, Kai. No sex. Not with us."
Luna nods, tail curling. "Exactly. Party members are second family. We share life and death together. If we start sleeping together and one of us gets pregnant? Journey over. In beastkin and elven culture, abortion isn't done. Ever."
Sylvara continues, calm as ever:
"On the road we bathe in rivers, pee behind the same tree, sleep in the same bedroll when it's cold. We can't separate for privacy; it's too dangerous. So romantic lines get drawn early and stay drawn."
Inner me: …They're 100 % right. Horny brain off, survival brain on.
My soldier stands down with heroic effort.
I sit up, rub my face. "Got it. Family only. No crossing the line."
Luna grins, fangs flashing. "Good boy! If we need to scratch the itch, we hit the tavern tonight. Plenty of travelers looking for one-night stands. Zero strings."
Sylvara actually smirks. "With your face, Kai? The barmaids will fight over who gets to take you home first."
They both laugh and start toweling off like it's nothing.
I groan into my hands.
This world just made "naked party members every morning" an actual cultural norm.
I step into the tiny washroom still half-dazed, cock already trying to unionize against me.
Luna pokes her head in. "Need a hand, big guy?"
I nod before my brain catches up.
She slips in behind me, tail flicking, pours warm water over my head and starts scrubbing my back with a rough cloth like it's the most normal thing in the world.
Her hands move lower, pause, then she whistles low.
"Damn, Kai. That thing's a weapon. Some poor barmaid's gonna need a healing potion tomorrow."
I snort. "Jealous?"
"Please. I'm just doing recon for the enemy." She flicks soap at me. "Wonder whose pussy's getting absolutely wrecked tonight."
We both crack up, echoing off the tiles like idiots.
Outside, Sylvara's already dressed (tight leather pants, green archer tunic, hair braided like she was born ready). She doesn't even glance over; just calls out, "I'm next in line to wash him tomorrow. Fair's fair."
Luna yells back, "He's got strong hands too, Syl. You'll see."
I step out dripping, towel around my waist. Sylvara tosses me my clothes without looking.
"Breakfast downstairs, then shopping. We're upgrading from potato sacks to actual gear. Party fund plus today's cat money says we can at least afford not to look like beggars anymore."
Luna bounces past me, tail high. "And tonight? Tavern crawling. Separate tabs, separate beds, zero drama."
Sylvara nods. "Support each other by day, scratch itches with strangers by night. That's the adventurer way."
I pull the shirt over my head,
We demolish a mountain of pancakes dripping with honey and some weird glowing blue syrup that tastes like electric berries.
Bill paid (mostly with Mr. Sprinkles' reward), we head out into the morning market.
Sylvara walks with that perfect elven stride, explaining like a tour guide:
"This is officially a 'Tier-1 Safe Zone.' Highest monster in a fifty-mile radius caps at level 10. Once any of us ding 10, the local spawns stop giving EXP. Standard game-design stuff. We'll have to move to a Tier-2 zone (levels 10–30) when that happens."
I whistle. "So we've got a hard deadline to git gud or get left behind."
Luna licks syrup off her claw. "Yup. Ten levels, then we graduate or become permanent herb farmers."
I start mumbling to myself. "Okay… condensed grinding route, secret rare spawn locations, maybe exploit double-EXP moon phases…"
Sylvara suddenly hooks a left into a narrow alley shop with a sign that just says "🌿 Potions & Sundries 🌿".
I raise an eyebrow. "Detour?"
Luna grins wide, tail swishing. "Pharmacy run, rookie."
She slaps a small wooden box on the counter in front of the blushing old gnome pharmacist.
"Three dozen lambskin condoms, extra thick, ribbed for her pleasure, the ones with the little mana rune that makes them glow faintly in the dark. Party expense."
Sylvara nods like she's buying arrows. "We're hitting the tavern strip tonight. No accidents, no mini adventurers nine months from now."
The gnome doesn't even blink, just starts counting them out.
I stare at the box, then at my two naked-this-morning, now fully-geared teammates treating condoms like potions of fire resistance.
Luna pats my shoulder. "Safety first, big guy. Can't save the world if we're changing diapers."
Sylvara slides the coins across. "Consider it part of the party kit. Right next to health potions and spare bowstrings."
I sigh, half laughing. "You two are way too responsible for how chaotic you look."
Luna winks. "Responsible chaos. It's a lifestyle."
Box acquired, we step back into the sunlight.