Cain looked at the garage filled with ramen with a pensive frown, he had ditched college for the moment and decided to head to his family beach house. Since it was the winter no one was here so he could store whatever he needed without his relatives finding out. He did plan to tell them eventually, but only once everything calmed down and he had some time to relax.

 

As it turns out, getting food for a thousand people is not easy. Especially with how discrete he has to be, if all he had to do was hire some catering services or food trucks this would be easy, but unfortunately it’s a lot more complicated with the whole other world thing.

 

Because of this he decided to get a LOT of ramen, a lot of roasted chickens, a shit ton of coleslaw, and for the main dish he was making a Louisiana lobster boil which is what he expected to get the most attention. He would also get more shake shack at the request of the Chief. While the foods didn't exactly go together that wasn't super important right now since he was just worried about getting enough food for this event.

 

So far he has had to empty store after store of all the ramen they had in order to get all this which has been tiring. However the good news is he overestimated how much all this would cost, which meant more profit for him. At first he had wanted to get actual take out or some other more complex food, but realized quickly it would take too much preparation for the time frame he had. It was even more complicated since he wasn't sure how to turn his gold into cash discreetly. He had no idea if ‘finding’ gold was taxable or he had to declare it or some stupid shit, either way it would most likely attract attention.

 

For the ramen, coleslaw, and lobster pot he planned to make them in Doldor village and just transfer the ingredients there. He had learned that he could transport large items which made things easier, as he could just load a bunch of things onto a table and transfer it all by holding onto the table.

 

For the chicken, that was already cooked so he just needed a way to keep them warm. At the moment though, he had a lot more shopping to do.

 

-.-.-

 

“Lute! Bring that table full of ramen spice over here! This pot is almost ready!” He shouted, seeing the short beastkin snap to attention and start dragging a table full of spice packets over.

 

Looking over he shouted to another tiger clan member, “Asani! Eat any more of that goddamn chicken and you're not getting any food tonight!” He shouted, making the woman nervously put a chicken leg back on the table.

 

As he and Lute, a ‘short’ tiger clan member that stood at 5'10, started dumping all the ramen spice into the large bowl full of noodles, he looked over to the line of about 15 large pots he had over a bunch of fires, “Ralu! If those pots aren't boiling by the time I'm done with this ramen your ass is getting served on a platter instead!” He shouted at the large man, making him nervously fan the fires faster.

 

Cain sighed and tried to calm his nerves. Today was the celebration of Life and he was terrified that he wouldn't be ready when the time of prayers, which was happening right now, was over. The last couple days have been full of nothing but running around and getting as many ingredients as he can, and he believes he got just enough.

 

He was on a slightly elevated platform close to the center of the village that was meant for the more important people of each clan attending, the main population will be in the village center, which was a large island that was in the middle of the swamp. In preparation he had several foldable tables set up to hold the food, and right now the coleslaw was done and in several bowls spread across the tables. The chicken was also the same as all he had to do was throw some seasoning on it and keep it warm. Right now he was finishing up the last bowl of ramen before he moved onto the lobster boil. 

 

The pots on the fires were already full of most of the ingredients, and all he had to add was the seafood and vegetables. The pots were filled with water and a lot of lemon juice, he had also loaded them to high hell with more seasonings than he can count.

 

Emptying the last ramen packet he told Lute to stir it in before running over to the pots. Looking in he was satisfied to see them all boiling, “Good job Ralu!” He said, seeing the man puff up his chest in pride. “Now start emptying all these seafood buckets into the pots, one bucket per pot. I’ll empty the vegetable containers” He said, pointing to the bins full of the freshest seafood he could find. In them were lobster, crab, and crawfish, all still alive. There was also some shrimp thrown in there. 

 

Moving over to his job he picked up a bucket full of potatoes, corn, and some other vegetables and dumped it into a pot at the same time Ralu dumped in the seafood. Ralu looked at him strangely as he picked up another bucket, “How come they are all still alive?” He asked, looking at the still moving crustaceans with pity.

 

Cain grunted as he emptied more vegetables in a pot, “Because it lessens the risk of getting sick from the food. The longer these little guys are dead, the more likely you are to get food poisoning.” he said, picking up another bucket of vegetables, “Plus, they taste better if cooked like this” He said with a shrug.

 

Ralu looked at him in doubt, “That doesn't make sense, do they rot immediately? I have only heard of rotting food getting people sick.” he said, effortlessly picking up two seafood buckets.

 

Cain grunted, “No, it's just because of a particular type of bacteria they have in their flesh.” he said.

 

Ralu stared at him, “Back tearia?” He said in confusion.

 

Cain sighed.

 

-.-.-

 

Slumping onto a chair, Cain wiped some sweat from his forehead. ‘Finally done’ he thought in relief. He was still on the platform for the important people, which was a wooden floor that was surprisingly large. It had a tipi roof and a wooden railing surrounding it, making it look like a large gazebo. 

 

Looking around he noticed that Chief Tian was walking up to the platform, ‘Oh wow, I finished right on time’ he thought as Tian stepped onto it and sniffed the air, smiling in satisfaction at the aroma coming from the lobster. Shaking his head he turned his focus to the resident human in the village, “Cain! It smells divine up here!” He said enthusiastically, and this was Cain’s first time seeing the man so animated. He really was excited.

 

The blonde college student laughed, “I’m glad, how were the burgers received?” he asked. The Chief had taken the shake shack rather quickly and said he was going to offer it to the spirit of life. 

 

The Chief slapped his back, making Cain grimace at how much it stung, “Amazingly!” He shouted, “The spirit of life even sent me a message! They basically said the food was amazing and they would make this year our best!” He said with a huge grin.

 

Cain looked at him in interest, “The spirits talk to you?” He asked.

 

The Chief made a ‘so-so’ gesture with his hands, “Sort of, it's mostly just emotions and intentions that are transferred, not actual words.” He said.

 

Cain nodded and was about to ask another question before he was cut off, “So…” a seductive voice said, “Your the human Tian has talked so much about” the voice said, and Cain turned around to see a gorgeous woman walking over. Her hair was a mix of black, orange, and gray, with two cat ears sitting on her head, however these ears looked more like house cat ears than the tiger ears he was used to. Behind her a mixed color tail swished through the air hypnotically.

 

Unlike the loincloths he was used to seeing, this woman was actually wearing clothes that complimented her nicely. They didn't look very fancy but they were definitely a cut above what he expected. Her eyes were black and he could barely make out her pupils, and unlike the tall, muscled forms of the Tiger clan, this woman was lean and stood at about 5’6, with pale white skin.

 

Her face was the picture of elegance and royalty, with a voice as smooth as butter. As she walked closer however her mask slipped as she sniffed the air. Immediately her eyes shot to the lobster pots, the pupils dilating. He even saw her drool a bit.

 

She managed to shake off the trance she was in and looked at the two with rosy cheeks, clearly embarrassed about her slip, Tian's teasing smile definitely wasn't helping at all. She glared at the man for a moment before sighing, “Well, there goes the mysterious and seductive impression I was hoping to make” she muttered.

 

Walking up to him looked him up and down, “Well, you're certainly tall for a human. You’d fit right in with these brutes if it wasn’t for your pale skin and lean frame.” She commented in amusement, “Im Charline” She said, holding out her hand, “Queen of the calico kingdom” She said with a grin.

 

Cain lightly grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it, imitating some things he had heard nobility do, “It’s a pleasure, My name is Cain Olsen” He said politely. He noticed the two were staring at him with some surprise, and Tian muttered something about ‘nobility’.

 

Charline smiled lightly, “Well, I was intending for a handshake but this is quite nice too. You human nobles really are all about flattering each other huh?” she said coyly.

 

Cain blushed slightly in embarrassment but didn’t retract his actions, “Indeed, it’s only proper to greet a lady respectfully.” He said formally, ignoring Tian’s incredulous stare at his new ‘noble’ way of speaking. 

 

The calico queen laughed, “How charming,” She said with a smile, “However I wouldn’t recommend doing that with Grisel, the Chief of the wolf clan. She would probably try to rip your arm off if you so much as touched her, she isn't a fan of humans you see.” Charline said with a grimace.

 

Cain nodded, he remembered Tali telling him about the wolf clan. He was about to ask about it before another thought came to mind, “I’ll keep that in mind, but I was under the impression handshakes are not a common practice here. I talked to Kanuk and he had no idea what they were.” He said, looking at the two in confusion.

 

Charline just rolled her eyes, “That's just these tree huggers.”

 

Tian, although looking annoyed at the title, nodded “It’s as she says, we are a rather reclusive people and don’t interact with other cultures much. Many here will live their whole lives never seeing someone of another race outside of the Celebration of Life.” He said. Cain nodded and they lapsed into a brief silence.

 

Charline was the first to break it, “So, I for one want to try this food before Grisel eats all of it.” She said, making Tian laugh.

 

Cain nodded with a grin, “Of course! I recommend trying the lobster boil first, I think that will disappear the quickest” He said as they walked over.