Yui Bay. Island Air Temple. Yo.
The small patch of land was bustling today. The warm night was complented by equally warm conversations and festive spirits. The annual City Day was rightfully one of the most beloved holidays in Tienhai, though it was likely due to the three days off that ca with it...
The official celebration traditionally took place on the island, where the greatest minds of humanity, important businessn, high-ranking officials, and magicians with extraordinary abilities were invited. Now, one could witness a truly beautiful scene of different peoples mixing and interacting. The older generation, dressed in traditional clothing, showed that their traditions were not forgotten. But it was even more interesting to watch the young people, as they no longer limited themselves to a single color in their attire. Most importantly, they had stopped dividing people by nationality.
"You look absolutely stunning," I said, as a hospitable host, I had to pay attention to every guest. And right now, one beautiful lady seed a bit bored.
"Thank you," Kuvira replied, smoothing her suit jacket. The won here would be discussing her outfit for a long ti. In my previous world, a full n's suit on a woman wouldn't have caused much of a stir—everyone was used to it. But here, it clearly made a strong impression.
"I'm a hundred percent sure all the won here are thinking about your outfit right now."
"I don't know," she muttered uncertainly, but quickly noticed other won glancing at her from ti to ti.
"If you're bored, I can take you inside the house. You can chat with Zhu Li—she's not a fan of noisy gatherings either."
Honestly, there weren't many loners like that—everyone knew each other, so they quickly ford interest groups. Kuvira had only recently beco the boss and still wasn't fully integrated into the local circles, but I think it would all work out in ti.
Near one of the tables, the brightest minds of this world had gathered. Like ducklings around their mother, prominent figures surrounded the aged chanist. Even Hiroshi Sato stood beside him, looking like a model student. They all, in one way or another, had always turned to him for help, and many of them had once been his students. The world-famous Satomobiles wouldn't have existed without Ren's advice. If the chanist had been greedy for money, he could easily have been among the top ten richest people in Tienhai, but he spent all his savings sponsoring scientific activities. Besides, as he once admitted, he and his wife simply didn't know what to do with so much money. Their son, Theo, had long been earning his own living, happily testing various modes of transportation.
"And who's this little beauty?" the little Asami turned her head curiously, sohow wriggling in her mother's steel grip. "Yasuko, you can take a break. Celine won't mind watching Asami."
"That would be great," Hiroshi's wife smiled softly, her smile hitting straight to the heart.
"Be careful with this woman! Her beauty is terribly dangerous!" Hiroshi is one lucky man. "Says the guy with a whole harem of beauties," I chuckled to myself.
After a couple of hours, the guests began to leave. So sailed away on their ships, while others took the opportunity to ride a flying bison. But as people left, the Temple didn't grow quieter. This holiday was one of the days when our entire large family gathered in one place.
The house imdiately felt cozier. Azula, still not used to Chitara, stroked her behind the ear with interest. Tai Lee was on the sa wavelength as our youngest, Hi and Kushi. i preferred the company of the calm Shiki. Ursa, Shizuka, and Kaya had long beco true friends. The younger girls were already forming their own interest groups.
"This is so nice..." My lips naturally stretched into a smile as I continued to "bathe" in this holy atmosphere.
***
Outside Tienhai City. Months later. Yo.
"But!" I exclaid excitedly, slapping my hand on Gaia's rear.
"Could you please not do that?" Gaia asked plaintively. "This whole situation is already embarrassing..."—too bad our desires don't align. For , all this is incredibly exciting. We should have gone for a ride on Gaia long ago.
"There's no one else for miles around, so what's there to worry about?" We really are deep in the forest—not a single living being nearby.
"We've already been called perverts!" she exclaid, pointing behind her. Turning around, I saw the expressionless faces of wild pig hybrids. Making a sound between a piglet's squeal and a bleat, they turned their backs to us, as if showing their disapproval.
I don't really like these hybrid pigs. No personal grudge, just a purely subjective dislike—there are just too many of them around. There are all kinds of pig species here: pig-cows, pig-goat-sheep, pig-deer, and even pig-roosters and pig-hens. Honestly, I've lost interest in joking about their ancestors...
"Right! Gaia can understand animals!" With all these "rides" on my wife, I completely forgot the main purpose of our journey...
Due to the rise in the energy field of the human plane, animals have begun to change and evolve again. Under the influence of spiritual energy, it takes them only two or three generations to regain their forr abilities. Others, sensing a favorable atmosphere, have started breeding like crazy, threatening to enter cities soon. Gaia and I act as diplomats, tasked with drawing boundaries between humans and animals. Of course, not all of them possess the minimal rationality needed for dialogue, but that's where the so-called "kings of the place" co in—usually the dominant animal that holds the highest position in the surrounding area. Even in the most dilapidated forest, there is such a one, often spirits disguised as animals. They possess heightened intelligence and, most importantly, almost absolute obedience among the animals living in their territory.
We don't need much, just for them not to enter human settlents. Though requests are already coming in to eliminate large and aggressive groups of predators.
"W-what are you doing?" What a treat! After so many years together, Gaia can still blush and feel embarrassed.
"Holding your chest," I declare with all seriousness, while my hands continue to support her enormous spiritual-milk assets. "It's her own fault—she can't sway so seductively in my presence."
"It's been a while since we've been out just the two of us, hasn't it?" I said, leaving a trail of kisses on her long, graceful neck.
After a few hours, we continued our journey. Though we had to slow down a bit—Gaia still hadn't fully recovered from my big and passionate love.
Along the way, we encountered rare and seemingly extinct mammal species. Magical energy, as if awakening the dormant and dying animals.
Soon, another beauty caught our eye, one I had only read about. The frog-squirrel—a funny mix of two seemingly incompatible species: a tailless amphibian and a rodent from the squirrel family. They inhabit tropical forests, spending most of their ti in trees. More than half of their body is from frogs, and only their fluffy, furry tail speaks of their squirrel roots.
Not all encounters were positive. I'll even say this: more often, we had to fight. So species must have been struck by magic, as they felt like masters of all lands.
"Another pack of wolf-bats?" I grumbled in annoyance. Everyone seems determined to ruin my and Gaia's pleasant outing. "And... strange creatures," I said, glancing at Gaia's reaction. I didn't want to hear another lecture on: "All living organisms are beautiful, regardless of their appearance."
Leathery black-oily wings, a nose like a pig's snout, a toothy mouth, and the stench coming from them didn't make the encounter pleasant. On my scale of spiritual ugliness, these wolf-bats earn a respectable six and a half stars out of ten—which says sothing. In my life, I've seen many spirits, so of which even Lovecraft would hesitate to ntion in his books.
"Wait," Gaia quickly assessed the situation. She doesn't pity the mad animals at all, but she doesn't like spilled blood. Especially since her hooves don't even touch the ground. Spiritual energy keeps her slightly elevated, she says it's to spare the grass and insects. Apparently, nas aren't chosen randomly, and not just for beauty. "Their cave is overcrowded, so they're looking for another ho," I didn't even bother to respond—she'll go find them a ho anyway. Been there, done that.
How much these sudden changes leave to be desired beca clear when the second village in a row was attacked by griffin-vultures. Large birds, hybrids of lions and vultures, had never attacked living targets before; their diet mainly consisted of plants and various degrees of carrion.
On the ground lay several freshly dead hippo-cows. The multi-ton creatures, despite their intimidating appearance and huge toothy jaws, were afraid even of small elephant rats.
"Get out of here, you cursed scavengers!" a resident cursed, trying to drive the animals away. He was sowhat successful—at least the air blades left minor wounds on the bodies of the under-griffins.
"Another air magician!" An interesting fact—airbenders appear much more frequently than magicians of other elents, as if the world itself is trying to balance the four elents. More than once, while examining new magicians, I've noticed that other elents seem to yield to the source of air. Recently, I ca across an offspring of a famous family that had supplied Earth Kingdom army with their magicians for ten generations. And it would seem that in ninety-nine percent of cases, a new earth magician should have appeared, but... no. Magic said, "it's necessary!" and the person's body responded, "it's possible!" The funniest part is that his earth source was twice as large as his air source at the ti.
"Fellow airbender, I'll help now!" Putting on my best smile, I rushed to the man, ready to preach the true path of air magicians. Ti passes, but the coveted number of ten thousand airbenders isn't as close as I initially thought. We need more children!
***
Tienhai City. Senior City School Number Three. Cafeteria.
"Dear Tomoko, please accept my invitation to a date!" a slick boy in senior school uniform exclaid passionately.
"For my sake, you're even willing to break the law?!" Tomoko made a "fascinated" face.
"Huh?" her latest admirer didn't understand.
"I haven't reached the age of majority yet," all her feigned politeness vanished in an instant. "And according to Article Forty-Three of the Criminal Code of the City-State of Tienhai, you'll have to spend twenty years behind bars, or the rest of your life, depending on the severity of the offense. Bye-bye!" Without giving him a chance to speak, she went outside for so fresh air. How these representatives of the "stronger sex" got to her. She just couldn't take a boy/guy/man seriously unless they were at the highest level.
"Another ruined day, huh?" Hi caught up with her.
"It seems I've rembered why I don't like attending educational institutions. It's good that Dad managed to convince Mom to hoschool . Showing up here twice a year is much better than six days a week."
"It's not as bad as you think," her older sister said cheerfully. "One friendly 'punch' is enough to make everyone back off," she showed her trained biceps.
"Now that's a real woman!" they heard a passionate male whisper from behind.
"Looks like it really helped," Tomoko remarked sarcastically. "Isn't that the guy who tasted your 'fist of love'?"
"Just an exception," Hi waved her off. "Who knew he had masochistic tendencies? Better hurry ho—Aine promised to help with training."
"Whatever you say, all you care about is fighting and magic," Tomoko rolled her eyes.
"I'd advise the sa for you. Soon, even Kushi will start beating you."
Carrying on their conversation, they tried not to notice the scorching glances from the male half of their school.
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