Begin in Avana.

Armed and armoured, ready for anything, your party arrives right outside the southern exit of Avana--some more used to reentry than others. Your main trio holds themselves well, with Snow mostly used to it as well, though Xiaoqing stumbles out the other side. Before she can fall, you wrap your arm around her midsection and scoop her back in close, and she thanks you for the save. She readjusts her hat and takes her place amongst the others.

Citizens pass you by. There are occasional glances in your direction, but most haven't come to notice your presence yet. Many adventurers of all manner of shape and size pass through this city. Some are common folk carrying bags of groceries back home, or are making their way to start their shift at work. You can hear the ring of a blacksmith's anvil in the distance, and a gentle rumble of murmuring--too many voices to discern a single word. Some march by clad in armour, furs, dresses, and robes, with various flashy weapons and trophies from a previous quest, chatting with one another about massive slimes and armies of goblins.

Eva embraces her gift--the magic wand, shaped just like a carrot--by pressing it up against her cheek. "Thanks again for such a wonderful gift, Kyle." As she feels the firmness of her arcane focus so near to her lips, her breaths become heated as her cheeks burn faintly with an excited warmth. Perhaps its the item's girth in her hands, or more likely, it's due to it coming directly from yourself, but she seems to be enjoying it quite a bit. "... It really is pretty," she whispers.

"And your new dress as well," speaks Amara with a gentle hand caressing the smooth fabric of the other's sleeve. "I love the theme of sparkly white stars. It fits you well. Bright and flashy, but mysterious and beautiful." Her touch trails along the deep collar, where the bunny's cabbages are on generous display, until the tip of her finger meets the star holding it all together.

Eva retreats a step backwards with a nervous gasp. "C-Careful," she whispers. "That would be bad for me if you accidentally popped my button."

You notice Xiaoqing step close, so you look curiously over.

She whispers, "I'm sure you have, and this is old news by now, but have you noticed how uhm... What way should I word this? People in this world, especially women, aren't too shy when it comes to showing off their bodies. Well actually, I'll still see them act shy, but that won't stop them from wearing outfits like that. Eva's skirt is so short, for example, and her chest--"

"To be fair, that's Eva." You pause, look the bunnyfolk over, but return your attention to the girl beside you. "But yeah I know. So it's like that across the sea as well? I was beginning to wonder if it was just Tivera."

"I think it's more that this other kingdom I've been hearing about, north of Tivera, is the odd one out. Varat, right?"

"Yeah. Guess that makes sense."

"If you wore some of the outfits I've seen here in Absoterra, but back on Earth... I mean I'm not complaining. Just observing."

"Do you miss it?"

"Earth? I don't know anymore. I didn't really have much back home. To be honest, I was a loser. No matter how much I've suffered here, I don't think I'd reverse time and stay in bed. But there are plenty of things I do miss. Weirdly enough though, your influence has really spread to Castle Phoenix. Not long ago, I was playing Mortal Kombat with Lynx. That's crazy! I never thought I'd see that kinda stuff again."

"Funny you say that actually, because I was actually speaking with Lynx, and she said something really interesting to me."

"Oh?"

"See, we've happened upon some random manga chapters. A couple different reasons. One involved a cyclops, and there's a whole story with somebody Lynx used to know. Anyway, I've been trying to teach her what they're about. We haven't looked at everything, and she of course doesn't speak or read the language they're in, some English and some Japanese, so I'm not surprised she didn't say anything when you mentioned the name."

"I'm not sure what you're saying."

You reach your arm deep into your quivering magic bag, and pull out a single book. "I'm sorry it isn't the first one, but this is one we happened to have. She told me she remembered the name--"

"Ouran High School Host Club!?" she exclaims, swiping it immediately from your hands before flipping through the pages. "I don't care what volume you found. I can't believe you found it to begin with!"

"Lynx is one of our most seasoned spies."

"Did you... ask her to get the information out of me?" But before waiting for a response, she throws herself into your arms and buries her head in your chest. Her hat falls from her head, but you catch it just in time. There for a long moment, you hold her tight, running your fingers back through her pale blue hair. She sighs.

By the time she looks up again, everybody else is watching.

Gift #4 Delivered! - Ouran High School Host Club Volume 3

"Aw. That's adorable!" Niki comments.

Xiaoqing blushes. "H-Hey. Shouldn't we be getting some mounts?" She then looks to the hat offered back to her, and plops it onto her head. "Thank you."

"Couldn't let it get dirty," you say.

"Not for that, silly. For everything. You didn't need to get me something like this, because look at me! The outfit, a place to belong... Just, thank you so much."

Niki wraps her arm around the girl and pulls her into a sideways hug. "You're one of us now!"

"I think I found--" Snow interjects.

Both Niki and Xiaoqing jump backwards in shock.

"You scared the crap outta me!" Niki yells.

Snow bows her head apologetically. "I didn't mean to do that, I promise."

"What were you trying to say?" you ask.

"There's somebody just down this street who is willing to rent us three emus to Tanver's Crossing. The deal is good, since he has a contact on the other side. A place to leave them. Given we don't have any cargo other than ourselves, I advise us to take this route."

You think for a moment. "I'm sorry. Emus? I don't think you can ride those."

"Why not?" Niki asks. "Are you not up to the challenge?"

"Hold on. It is very likely that Kyle is simply unaware as to the existence of emus," Amara says. "Remember, he is from another world."

Xiaoqing looks to you with a shrug.

"Ooh, I haven't rode an emu since I was a little girl! Let's go see what colours they have," Eva says with an excited bounce. She hurries down the road ahead of the party.

Snow raises a hand. "Ah, excuse me! You don't know the way!" Quickly, the cat chases after the rabbit.

"We should probably follow," you say to the rest.