Naarrah was having an interesting night up to that point, she was seated on the highest level of Dragan’s Drought, one of the platforms suspended above ground level and in this case, above other platforms, together with a married couple of vulpine Ukanuqs, slowly going through a very strong greenish-bluish liquor they tenderly called a Jotun’s End. She had drunk more than the two vulpines combined and she was feeling just a little bit disoriented just now, not that her table partners needed to know that alcohol almost didn’t affect her unless in quantities that were enough to bring several Jotuns down, something that she had already ingested.

Naarrah’s partners were getting very affectionate in front of her and had invited her to participate since they got together in the middle of the afternoon, without any kind of subtlety… Except maybe that the hands that were on each of the Shiriah’s thighs hadn’t gone any further up. Whatever they might offer her, there was little chance of her joining them tonight. Or ever. She knew perfectly what she was and that that was the real reason she was deciding to try and get herself drunk, regardless of the front she had put up that she was trying to demolish the vulpines in a drinking contest. But the Ukanuqs lived, somewhat, to their archetype as cunning and soon had realized this.

“Naarrah, what’s wrong?” Decided to ask Aurkes after exchanging a look with his wife. The Shiriah didn’t answer beyond a surprised look at them which, with the speed it was reversed, immediately indicated it was involuntary. Aurkes then whispered in the closest of the large ears of Oapau, his wife, and after a conversation just by looks alone, the pair of vulpines decided on another course of action. No salaciousness involved this time.

Oapau gently used the hand she had on the thigh of the feline and laid on the side of her face, forcing Naarrah to look at them. “You aren’t comfortable with yourself, aren’t you? Something the matter?” Ever sharp, even when more than half drunk, though back the feline. “And before you hide yourself, we know, we can see it’s not us who are bothering you.” Complemented Aurkes.

“Damn you, pair of lusty foxes.” Naarrah finally answered with a smile that she wasn’t sure had reached her eyes, and took the tankard, more like a jar, and started drinking it at a much less sedate pace.

“What do you know about the Shiriah? -Before you say anything - Please consider all the people I have told you about in the time we have known each other.” This stopped the first reply of Oapau, but not the one of Aurkes.

“They were a matriarchal society. Wait no…” The vulpine let the statement hang in the air before his wife completed it.

“They were all female.”

“Exactly love, but that isn’t very likely. And it grants no reason for you to be uncomfortable, Naarrah.”

Aurkes seemed to want to complete the statement with a response, but his wife beat him to it.

“Of course, you aren’t only female, right?” The Shiriah nodded while looking at the lower levels, suddenly the other tables beneath them seemed very interesting. Another conversation between the couple with only their eyes.

“Oh, we are truly sorry, Naarrah, we didn’t mean to upset you by invading something that could have been – Must have been – so painful in the past.” They could have told her they didn’t mind, and they didn’t, not at all; quite the contrary, but that wouldn’t have accomplished much and the three of them knew it.

“But I know how to lift your spirits up, don’t we Oapau?” Their sights crossed once more.

“Yes, let’s get you your favourite dish.”

“That’s not –” But she was interrupted by Aurkes before she could continue.

“Shush, we are going to pamper you little before you go out running to your destiny or whatever ridiculous heroic quest you are getting your tail into.”

So that is how an entire Sunberry pie arrived at the table while the three were heedless of the tavern brawl going on on ground level. It was a too large to be a proper pie though, it looked closer to a cake and it had several floors painted with mashed berries in tones of light blue and soft yellow. In total, it might have been around a forearm in height and an arm in diameter. On its sides, there were entire berries of different types, all competing for looking the most delicious and how full they could be with sweet juices without rupturing in an explosion of vibrant colours. On top lied a collection of fruits and other sweets large enough to be a desert for half a dozen people.

It was obscene, it was excessive, but most of all, it was delicious just to the sight alone and the smell was driving the Shiriah insane as a group of golems laid it on the table.

“See? You didn’t need to protest.” Added a smiling Oapau.

“Now go ahead, eat as much as you want… Or can. Actually, whatever of the two includes a larger piece of the dessert.” And Naarrah didn’t need to be told twice as she picked up a fork and skewed a group of Sunberries over which she could recognize at least five sweet dressings together with several creams. All of if washing over her nose, all to be enjoyed in unrepentant gluttony… Until something crashed on the bottom of the platform with enough force to knock down the table, and with it the dessert, over the side and towards the lower levels where it was destroyed by the force of gravity.

For a pair of seconds that seemingly stretched endlessly, the Shiriah didn’t move or breathe, just blinked owlishly. Then, in a flash of movement impossible for a human, the Ukanuq opened her greatcoat and took out a small and very ornamented metallic box the size of two thumbnails across and five of length from the inside of one of many larger boxes at one of her belts.

“Naarrah, don’t!” Hurried to say both foxes.

“Don’t worry, this time it isn’t lethal… Nor crippling.” Said the Ukanuq with a half-smile that this she was completely sure this time had reached her eyes, before taking out what seemed like a giant pepper seed, black, rugged and round; spitting into it and letting a short bolt of electricity run from the tip of her fingers to the ball in one swift and continuous movement. Then she launched it downwards with surgical precision before either of the foxes had time to catch her.

The ball crashed into ground, wet with the mortal remains of her cake and exploded into a shower of small pieces, like an egg detonating from the inside out before it all instantaneously dissolved into gas. Aurkes and Oapau were now each clutching firmly an arm of the feline before she could do more damage.

“What did you do?” Asked the alarmed vixen.

“If they don’t scratch their own skin out by the end of the night, and whatever skin of their inside they can reach, they’ll be having a terrible indigestion.” Answered the feline, almost unable to contain her laughter.

“Why did you do that?” Aurkes made his own obvious contribution.

“You think it excessive? Right now we have to go before it catches us too, that gas bomb has a reach of four hundred arms in length at most. This whole building will be consumed, but it is very slow, it won’t reach the ground level immediately. We can escape before they realize it was us or even what is happening.”

“Four hundred arms? Are you insane?” Chastised the vixen.

“Let’s just go Oapau.” Retorted her husband as he saw the black cloud expanding closer and closer to them.

And thus, merriment continued, most not paying attention to the gas until it was too late.