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The next morning, the trio were started awake by loud knocking. "Whhhat iiis it...?" Lotus slurred, stumbling to the door.
Outside stood a tiny green mouse with leaves on its back. It stood up on its long tail and presented the residents with a scroll. "From Guild Leader Coral," it squeaked as Lotus held it in his beak. "Please read the contents thoroughly before you attend any missions."
They unrolled the scroll and looked it over. It contained simple rules, like 'don't scam people' and 'jobs must be fully completed' and 'ditching teammates will be punished' and a basic code of honor. However, one rule caught Kira's attention.
At the very end of the paper, in slightly bolded text, were the words 'Beware the Dragons.'
"Who are the Dragons?" she asked, curious.
Lotus shrugged. "I dunno. I've been told they live on a separate island and challenge visiting pets, but I never bothered to look into it - don't really want to fight them that much." His sister shook her head.
"Oh. Alright."
They read through the last few rules and, with Aroura's help, put on their Adventure Team badges, then set off to go find a mission.
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The board was packed with ridiculously easy quests.
Kira and Aroura were both visibly disappointed (seriously, planting a garden? Who needed help with that?) but Lotus seemed excited. He bounced happily as his eyes flitted from one sheet of paper to another. "Look at all these quests!" he exclaimed, reaching up to grab the gardening one and setting it down. "Let's get right to work! It's at Glory's place down the street."
His companions grumbled as he skipped away and followed him to a stone hut surrounded by dirt and... scorch marks? Lotus knocked and stood back as a large, smoky brown horse with a poofy red mane greeted them. "Hey, Glory! My team and I are here to help you with your request. What seems to be the problem?"
"Oh, someone took the request! Come inside, and I'll explain." She turned around, her tail flickering like fire-
Wait... her tail WAS fire!
Before Kira could pause to process this, Aroura was ushering her inside. She shook herself off and looked around. Glory's home wasn't too cozy - the burnt ground and stone chairs were rather unappealing - but the warm fireplace to the side was enough to relax her. She sat down while the team leader talked with their client.
"So, I've been trying to start a tea garden. I've got a water system, good soil, all the things they might need, but..." She sighed. "I keep accidentally letting my tail down and burning up the sprouts. And I just found out about this variety of short plants that my tail flames might not reach, but they're only found in the Shimmering Forest, and I can't go because of the recent ban against Fire pets there. Do you think you can retrieve some for me?"
"Of course!" the Sproot replied eagerly. "You can count on us. Which ones do you need?"
"Clover, Jungle Daisy, and Goldbell. Just collect a few sprouts, and my denmate will plant them. I'd have her collect them, but she's pretty busy. I'll give you a good reward when you're done, alright?"
Aroura, who'd been writing on a sheet of paper in the background, nodded and smiled. "We'll get right to it!" Kira said.
"Wonderful!" She watched Team Lotus hurry outside and run down the street. "Oh, but do be careful for the Sprikes! They're pretty aggressive right around now."
"Got it!" Lotus called over his shoulder as they bounded on to complete their first mission.
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The trio wandered through the Shimmering Forest, looking for Goldbell flowers. They'd found a couple and already had enough of the other two, but wanted to get just one more.
"It's almost midday, and we're getting tired. Do you think we should head back now?" Aroura nodded in agreement to Kira's statement.
"Nah." Lotus continued to nose through the tall grass. "If we can't find any soon, though, we'll call it a day." He sniffed around for a bit, then sprung up, excited. "Aha! I knew there'd be some around here!"
He pushed aside the greenery to reveal a patch of small yellow flowers. Pleased, Aroura floated over and plucked a small clump from the ground, careful not to break off the roots.
"Okay." Kira took the plant and placed it in a small bag filled with plants they'd collected. "That looks like a good-"
A hiss broke her off. Two Sprike approached the Adventure Team, baring their teeth. Before they could say anything, their spikes began to glow, and they lunged forward, rolling up into balls. The team barely managed to dodge their attack.
"Hey! That was COMPLETELY uncalled for!" Lotus snapped. His eyes glowed green, and magical plants shot up out of the ground. "Take THIS!"
The wild Pets struggled as vines wrapped around their legs. Aroura leaped into action, striking one with a well-aimed Comet attack. Kira leaped at the other one to scratch it.
They snarled, and one broke free to use Skewer, only for the small Peeko to roll to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. After a bit more fighting, both of them ran away, overpowered. Team Lotus sat down, panting. "Well... looks like we got them to go away..." their leader said, standing up. "Let's get these back to Glory. She'll be happy to see them."
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"Hello? We got the plants you requested." Kira called out to their client.
The tall equestrian opened up, saw them, and grinned. "That's great! I'll give them to Dewe to plant. Dewe! They got the plants!"
A large, royal blue jellyfish pet with a long horn appeared. "Good. I'll go plant them outside. You give them their reward now - they look pretty tired."
"Oh! Right!" Glory picked up a small bag in her mouth and dropped it in front of them. "30 Gold and 5 Copper Coins, as promised. Get yourselves something nice, dears! You've earned it." She turned around and went inside.
Lotus, surprised, looked inside the bag as if to confirm. "Wow! That much for a simple retrieval quest? They must have really wanted that garden." He tossed the bag to Aroura, who caught it with her tail. "Let's go and get something to eat at Slushy's."
Aroura clapped her hands in agreement and led Kira to a wide shack, somehow covered in ice. A snowman ghost was at the counter, handing out frozen treats to a short tiger and a pale-furred bipedal goat. He waved at them with one of his icy arms. "Hey there! What can I get ya?"
"Two snow bowls, and..." Lotus looked expectantly at Kira.
"Make it three, please," she finished.
Slushy inhaled and... shot snow out of his mouth?... into a few small bowls, then gave them to the trio. "Berry toppings are that way. Don't use up my whole stock, alright?"
Lotus put a few of their coins on the counter and nodded. "Got it." He picked up his bowl and dropped it near the pile of fruit, crushing the berries and letting the juice drip onto the fresh snow.
Kira decorated a bowl of her own and shoved her face into it (embarrassing, but there wasn't much else she could do due to her lack of hands). It tasted AMAZING. Once she'd taken that first bite, she was scarfing the rest down eagerly.
"I see you like it," he said, digging into his own snow bowl. "Slushy's is the best. And now, we might be able to come here more often."
The three gulped down their food and went home. Lotus and Aroura curled up on their leaf mattresses. Kira kneaded the one she'd been given with her tiny paws and flopped backwards, looking up at the ceiling. *If that's what adventuring is like... I'm so excited for what's to come!*
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Everyone's species so far:
Lotus - Sproot
Kira - Peeko
Aroura - Cometti
Green mouse - Clovrat
Guild Leader Coral - River Creator
Glory - Inferneigh
Dewe - Aquamarina
Slushy - Tempest
Small tiger - Tinyger
Pale, bipedal goat - Rimehoof
