As Thalia led the way, everyone glanced between each other.
They had been attending their different activities for almost a week now, and several things had happened in that time.
Aiden had somehow ended up teaching about forest herbs and their applications for two days in the Bloom and Brew class.
Thalia had learned more about brewing and successfully made a batch of five healing potions.
Kaelen had been assigned to run the Copperleaf recruitment stand, and their volunteer count had skyrocketed so much that the home construction finished by the end of the week.
Jax had set the record for escape attempts at one hundred twenty-six, to the point that even local criminals knew his name.
Selene had commissioned a special set of armor and even tried a bit of forging while learning about the process.
Liora had gotten a full-body massage for seven days straight.
So they were all a bit surprised when Thalia insisted on one final stop before they left Rosepebble.
"From what I have researched," Thalia said, walking with purpose, "a party mascot can assist many parties in utility, mental health, and general morale. It is almost guaranteed that higher-level parties have one. If we are truly going to succeed at adventuring, we simply must have a mascot."
Everyone looked between each other.
Aiden raised a hand.
"Does Jax count?"
Jax, walking beside him, nodded and struck what he must have assumed was a majestic pose.
"Yes. I am, in fact, very shiny and fashionable."
"You are only shiny because you drenched yourself in olive oil so I couldn't grab you when you ran!" Kaelen snapped, a vein bulging on his forehead as he shot Jax a dark look.
"Kaelen, it has a name, you know," Jax said. "Why must you blame my craft for the applications of its creator?"
"I AM NOT CALLING IT THE SLIPPERY ESCAPE, YOU MANGY MUTT!"
Kaelen smacked Jax on the back of the head with his staff.
Thalia continued leading them as if none of this had happened.
Eventually, they stopped before a large building.
Inside, several pens had been sunken into the floor. A small walkway allowed visitors to move between them while the animals below stared up.
The creatures ranged in size. Some were simple foxes playing by creating little wind blasts, while others were large tigers lazily sunning themselves.
As they walked in, they came across a younger-looking dwarven woman. Large circular glasses covered much of her face, and she was moving a small cage containing what looked like a chest the size of Aiden's fist.
The woman turned as they approached and gave them a warm smile.
"Welcome to the Starlit Menagerie. I'm Amy, the owner. What are you looking for today?"
Everyone scattered to look at the different pens.
Thalia and Aiden made their way over to Amy.
"Greetings," Thalia said. "We are looking for a smaller pet. Not for combat, but as a companion for our party."
Amy nodded along and pulled a small notepad from the front pocket of her dress. She mumbled quietly to herself, then turned toward the back wall.
"We have eight available that may fit what you're looking for. Let me pull them out."
While they waited, Aiden noticed Thalia almost seemed to be humming with unnatural excitement.
"You seem rather excited," Aiden said, leaning closer so only she could hear.
Thalia nodded.
"Growing up, I was denied the ability to have a pet. So to say I am enjoying the prospect of raising a party mascot would be accurate."
Aiden smiled.
Before he could say anything else, Amy returned with a small cart. Several shelves sat on it, and she carefully placed the small pens on a large table.
Aiden took a moment to look them over and walk down the row.
In the first pen was a small lizard-like creature covered in black scales with stripe-like patterns of yellow. Tiny wings sat on its back, too small to properly fly with. It stared out of the glass pen with a haughty expression, its tail snapping in a strange rhythm.
Amy handed Aiden a chart covered in letters and marks.
At the top were the words:
Morse Code
Amy quickly explained how to use it.
Aiden realized the tail snaps were the creature communicating.
"I see one with eyes that require augmentation dares to gaze upon my form. While I do not blame thee, I insist that you not stare. It is rude, and I will be tempted to burn your face off." The Dwarven Woman Translated
As if making a point, it snapped its jaws.
A small spark of electricity crackled from its mouth.
Aiden looked down at the nameplate.
Sparky the Pseudodragon.
In the second pen was the small chest from before. It sat there like a decoration until Amy pulled out a gold coin.
The bottom of the chest rose, revealing crab-like legs. Then the lid opened, showing a rim of tiny teeth.
It scuttled over, grabbed the coin, and appeared to eat it before moving back to its original spot and returning to chest form.
The nameplate read:
Mim Mim the Baby Mimic.
Aiden turned to the third pen.
Inside was a strange sight.
There was a small brown, fur-covered boar with twin white stripes running down its back. That was not the strange part.
The strange part was the dented old tin cup it wore on its head.
The tiny hog strutted around its enclosure like a horse at a show, presenting itself before judges. In the corner of the enclosure was a small replica castle, which the boar seemed to be defending like a miniature knight.
The nameplate read:
Sir Oinks-a-Lot.
The fourth pen seemed to contain two creatures at first.
One looked like a small black kitten napping, with a strange eye on its forehead. Behind it, the ground looked hazy.
Amy reached into the haziness.
The kitten distorted.
Then the haze cleared, revealing the true form of the kitten. Its third eye closed as it stretched.
The nameplate read:
Button the Haze Kitten.
In the fifth pen was a floating iron lantern.
Inside it, a small ball of fire turned toward Aiden and stretched out a tiny nub, wiggling it like a waving hand.
Aiden looked at the nameplate.
Gram the Phantom Flame.
The sixth pen was much larger than the others.
Inside was a small bear cub with white fur and streaks of ice running along its back. It had an extra set of forearms beneath the main two and was currently stretching like it had just woken up from the deepest nap in existence.
The nameplate called it:
Cricket the Frost Bear Cub.
Aiden looked to the next pen.
Unlike the others, it was filled with gears, springs, sprockets, and other tiny metal parts. A small lizard-like creature stood on two legs, squatting in front of the pile while fiddling with a small device it seemed to be assembling in its hands.
The nameplate read:
Tock-Tock the Kobold.
The last pen held a rainbow-colored blob.
A bubble of air seemed to make up its eyes and mouth. When it turned toward Aiden, its eyes and mouth became circles. Then the eyes shifted into upward lines as its mouth smiled, and it bubbled happily at him.
Aiden looked at the nameplate.
Moon Jelly the Faerie Slime.
By that point, the others had gathered around.
Everyone looked over the eight pens, and each person seemed to gravitate toward a different creature.
Jax stared at Sparky with fascination.
Liora was practically stuck to the glass looking at Button.
Kaelen seemed fascinated by Tock-Tock.
Selene was looking Cricket over while mumbling something about armor sizing.
Aiden found Moon Jelly kind of adorable, especially with the way its cartoonish face switched between expressions.
Thalia stared at Sir Oinks-a-Lot with the expression of a kid receiving their first class.
They all gathered together to discuss what they wanted.
"I'm in favor of Moon Jelly," Aiden said. "They can eat anything, and the faces are kind of fun."
"Well, I say anything with the word dragon in its name is badass," Jax said, bouncing on his paws. "Plus, it can breathe electricity. How cool is that?"
"Have you seen Button's little face?" Liora asked, squishing her own cheeks with her hands. "They are just so little and so adorable."
"W-well, frost bears are known to grow super big and strong over the years," Selene said, a wistful look on her face. "Imagine walking around with an armored bear."
"Tock-Tock seemed to be making something," Kaelen said with a nod. "What if they eventually learned how to fix the vehicle if it gets damaged?"
Thalia looked between them all.
Then, with absolute certainty, she said,
"Knight pig."
They continued discussing for another minute or so.
Then they turned back toward the pens and made their selection.