Chapter 20

First Birthday

I've arranged for the guests to arrive, now I need to get the food prepared. It'll be easy enough to just rely on summoning with my Blood Magic. Except for how tired it'll make me, using it twice for the 2 kinds of food. So I'll have to do one before, but then I'll need to keep it fresh too. So after discussing what's going on with Uncle Khan, I summon a literal ton of ice in one of the caves. Oof. But it didn't hit me quite as bad as before, must be all that training. Then I summon the desserts and place them on top. OOF again. barely room for one more. The third summon is a big pile of broken-down cardboard. Triple Oofpresso! I just barely manage to arrange the bigger pieces to form a pillow-fort around the ice as well as over the dessert. With this it's insulated enough for a 1-day ice box.

Nappy-time!

. . .

Ugh. Is this what it's like to be hungover? I need to summon some pain meds like (insert brand) or something. But not right now, that'll make it worse before better.

Judging by the size of the crescent moon and its position in the sky, it should be 2 hours before dawn.¹you can estimate the position of the sun, below the horizon, by looking at the moon's un-shadow. The centerpoint of the bright side of the moon always points straight toward the sun. something like when Crocodile Dundee says it's "2:20, better get stahted." So I try to go back to sleep for around 3. And just when I succeed . .

Bun) 'GOOD MORNING! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!'

Zo Ro) "WAAA!" '. . oh hi, yes it is A morning.' I turn to stare directly at her, face to face. 'Are you here to . . deliver breakfast?' I say, smacking my lips like a dog or cat would.

B) 'You big bully! You promised you wouldn't eat me.'

Z) 'I'm the bully? You're the one curing insomnia with yelling. If it's not too much bother, can you let me sleep till noon?' (flopp)

. . .

Khan) 'Time to get up. Your guests are starting to arrive.'

Z) ' . . alright. What time is it.' I say while getting up and stretching.

K) 'Just a bit after mid-day. You might want to hurry if you want to have a bunny tomorrow.'

So I rushed out, down the mountain. Sky-surfing on my hover-Barrier. Ahead of me I spied 5 smaller wolves chasing a bun, while 6 larger ones watched on.

B) 'HELP! HELP!'

Wolf2) 'Don't worry, they're just cubs playing!'

Z) 'That is why she should be worried.'

W2) 'YOU CAN FLY!?'

Z) 'What, you can't? Where are the others? Your friend said he'd bring the whole pack.' I set down next to the adults.

W2) (her jaw hangs down, like a mailbox cover flap) ' . . Right, my mate! He'll be here in a little while, wanted to gather the rest of the family first. Our territories border each other so it won't be long.'

Just then, I notice an aura nearing the tree line.

Z) 'Looks like the next guest has arrived.'

W2) . . 'Who? I don't see or smell any-'

and that's when mama Stone Bear made her way out of the forest, accompanied by a second bear almost half her size.

Z) 'Welcome. I see you brought your cub. We'll start when the second group of wolves show up.'

SB) 'How do you recognize him?'

Z) 'We met once, almost a year ago. Besides, it's not like you'd have a mate less than half your size and otherwise, bears are usually loners.'

SB) 'That was you? How can you mindspeak when you're so young?'

W2) 'So young? How young?'

F) 'This is my first birthday. I was born one year ago.'

. .

After they recovered the ability to speak, we made some small talk. While the wolf cubs finally cornered the bun. And the big bear cub wandered near the herb garden. Both made it out ok with defense from my Barriers. After another half an hour the rest of the wolves showed up. A few more than I expected, but within reason.

Okay, now to calculate how many meat lovers' pizzas to order summon. 3 for the tiger. mama bear is bigger so 4. baby bear is a good size so 2 to share with me. For the wolves, half for each should do, so n(W)/2 = 11. Then add it up to get 20.

Z) 'So everyone, now it's time for the food. This is a Unique Ability, so don't bother copying me.' And start writing out my [Blood-Rune Magic]. Using english as I normally do.

{SUMMON 20 LARGE MEAT LOVER PIZZAS}

W1) 'What does that mean?'

Z) 'This-' and I read it out to activate the spell.

*BAMPF*

A feeding frenzy begins. Just as you would expect if a dozen wolves "convinced" a pizza delivery guy to leave his prize behind, only bigger. After . .

W1+W2+W3+SB) ''''HOW CAN SOMETHING TASTE SO GOOD!?''''

B) 'Why couldn't you give something for me?'

Z) 'Is everyone ready for the next part?' I rush over to the 'icebox' and bring back my prepared treat.

K) 'What is that?'

Z) 'This is for everyone. It's called a strawberry cheesecake.'

. .

ALL) ''''''THIS IS EVEN BETTER!''''''

Z) 'There's still one more thing, but first, did anyone get something for me?'

. . a few have guilty looks, but most just look away.

Z) 'No? Oh well, it's not like I expected anything. Would all the wolves please line up? . . Okay, this is something I made in my pill refining practice. It's called "nourishing paste". A little bit will keep your belly full for about a month.'

I proceeded to give each wolf about half a teaspoon, more for the larger ones, less for the cubs. For the young bear I offered a heaping spoonful, and his mother got a glob big enough to fill a PBJ.

After they all said their goodbyes, Uncle Khan came to talk for a bit.

K) 'Do you think it was all worth it?'

Z) 'You can bet your tail they'll bring gifts next time. But anyone who doesn't won't get a third. But more importantly, it doesn't seem so lonely anymore.'