It was now morning in the campfire clearing, and most of the various characters Shelby created had dispersed from their night-time huddle around the campfire. Some of them remained by the fire, where a thick iron griddle was positioned over the lumpy rocks that ringed the pit. The balance was precarious, and a half dozen eggs were slowly spreading out towards one dipping corner. There was sizzling bacon, thin slices of golden potatoes, green peppers with charred edges, and even some glazed carrots. Shelby slumped onto one of the smooth logs near the makeshift kitchen and held onto her knees as the world spun around her. That food sure does smell good, but... hurk... maybe I should just... go over here...

  She turned away and barely kept herself from toppling over. This better be worth it, AIDAN, she complained to herself.

  "It is important that we safeguard your health, Shelby," AIDAN responded. Right, whisper chat.

  Tara laughed, "Wow, the screen is going all funny. Is that part of keeping you from syncing up?"

  "The effects of suddenly changing body size were noted to negatively impact synchronization, so I have suggested that we change between characters regularly," AIDAN explained.

  "Ah, that’s perfect for you, Shells, it looks like you made an entire guild out here," Tara said.

  Shelby pinched her nose, tuning out her personal peanut gallery, "Okay. I'm okay. No more spinning."

  She turned back to the campfire and blew out a big breath. She spotted Caramel and Coda nearby, sitting in a patch of grass under a beam of sunlight. Coda was chasing some kind of bug along the ground and sticking his pointy nose under leaves and dirt, snuffling when he came back empty handed, er, snooted. Caramel caught Shelby looking their way and gave her a gentle wave, seeming content to watch Coda play. Shelby smiled at the rabbit, and then noticed Ginger strolling along the edge of the forest. The increasingly familiar twang of wrongness throbbed in her head, and she was forced to look down. Must just be for the character I was playing last...

  She walked over to Caramel and sat down beside her, watching Coda hustle and bustle around. She whispered to AIDAN and Tara, "That's Coda. He almost killed me! He is such a good boy!"

  "Codaa! Come here!" Tara begged, "You must have been playing a pet hunter?"

  "Yes! I can have another pet too. I haven't run into anything as cute as Coda though. I don't want a weird rat..."

  "That's a smart class choice, since you're playing alone."

  "Thanks, Tara. It just felt right!"

  Tara laughed, and AIDAN stepped in, "We are currently working on progressing the Copperglade region to Advancement Stage 2 to address Shelby's lack of players to form parties with."

  "How come? I'm sure you can handle some low-level quest, Shells."

  AIDAN sagged in the air a few feet away, "I am afraid that there is a lesser dungeon at the end of the Copperglade quest line."

  Tara made a noise of recognition, "Oh! I think I heard about that now that you mention it. My starter zone ended in a large conflict event. That would have been pretty difficult if there weren't other players nearby..."

  "What did you play, Tara?" Shelby asked.

  "A human Winterheir," Tara said casually, "They're tanks that use axes. I started as a knight class, though. There was some whole story about a conflict in my zone. It was fun! Lots of undead to kill."

  "Winterheir... that sounds refreshing!" Shelby said, mostly to herself.

  "It was really good for groups! Well, anyways, guess that doesn't really matter now. I never did try the companion stuff, but that would be good for you too. I heard a few people saying that the AI isn't bad."

  AIDAN interjected, "Indeed. We are seeking to form a Confidant bond with a unique character who appears in Copperglade village after it advances. This character should be a useful counterpart to Ms. Shelby's Brushcourser character, as they are a defense-oriented class."

  "You don't have to call me 'Ms.', AIDAN." Shelby sighed.

  "Apologies, I only sought to show respect in the presence of Ms. Tara."

  Tara's laugh was so loud that it clipped the audio ceiling and Shelby slapped a hand to her ear, even though that did nothing.

  "Thank you ever so much, Mr. AIDAN." Tara said, through fits of laughter.

  "Alright you silly people, should we go finish up our project?" Shelby asked, trying to move them away from the subject.

  "Yeah, sounds good. I should be free for a couple of hours, but you just do you, okay? I'll be around. I bought a toaster oven! I'm going to make a mini pizza," Tara's voice faded out slightly as she clearly stood up and began wandering around their apartment.

  "I am ready to proceed," AIDAN agreed, “Although I have one suggestion.”

  “Lay it on me,” Shelby said.

  “It may be wise to transfer some of the building materials you have collected previously to your Brushcourser character.”

  “I can do that?” Shelby asked in surprise.

  “Yes, to facilitate ease of coordinating crafter and gathering professions, players may exchange items between characters at the 'log-in' area.”

  “Maybe I should get some money too.”

  “Fortunately, money is already shared between characters without any additional effort on your part.”

  AIDAN sparkled, and a screen appeared:

  “I have left behind the items that will not be useful,” AIDAN noted. Shelby shrugged, you’re the boss, AIDAN. Yes.

  “This mechanism can also be a useful way to distribute items if your inventory ever becomes full, which we may encounter in the future.”

  Shelby nodded along, “I see, thanks. Well, I think we’re good to go!”

  Shelby gave Caramel a grin and nodded to her. The rabbit stood up, brushing dead grass and pine needles off of her soft tan fur, and called to Coda.

  A moment later, Shelby was back in front of the job board that she had logged out at. She leaned her forehead against it and counted backwards from ten in her mind. This wasn't as jarring as it was last time, but maybe that's a bad thing? I'm supposed to feel weird, right? She vaguely directed the question to AIDAN.

  "Your synchrony has fallen from 68% to 54%, of which 8% can be attributed to returning to your true body proportions. I believe this is an adequate reduction," AIDAN said happily.

  Shelby pushed herself away from the board, ignoring the menu panel that popped up from looking at it. She groused, but started to find her balance. Getting there...

  The inn next to the board was buzzing with activity now that it was morning, and the handful of small tables and wooden seats outside of the inn were surrounded by rabbits and mice talking noisily between bites of food. Shelby thought she was still smelling the remnants of the campfire meal, but she now realized that she was smelling the small plates of food on their tables. Please stop surrounding me with tasty food while I’m nauseous... Every second she took to stabilize herself, the alure of the breakfast treats around her grew. When she gathered her balance, she took an involuntary step towards the inn door, then shook her head. She could see that she still had the bread and jam bonuses from when she had eaten before. Still, I am kind of hungry.

  AIDAN floated towards the door, "If my logs are correct, you requested a breakfast with Ms. Nisa. Perhaps it is ready to acquire."

  Shelby smiled, right! I did say that! She walked towards the door and opened it into a boisterous scene. The inside tables weren't completely full, thankfully, but there were at least 16 people crammed into the small foyer. As Shelby walked in, the tiny inn-mouse, Nisa, edged past her, carrying a steaming pot of coffee in one hand with a trio of large coffee mugs worn around her thin wrist like bangles. In her other hand she balanced two plates that were dangerously close to letting the stacks of pancakes laying on top of them topple to the floor. Are those carrot pancakes!? Shelby eyed the plates like an apex predator closing in on their kill. She had never wanted carrot pancakes so badly in her life. And, not just because there was no such thing as carrot pancakes.

  She stepped back and Nisa gave her a brief, weary smile, then went on weaving between people and tables. She stopped at a corner table where Pico-pa-Piru, the mayor, and Plin sat, along with another two people she had never met before. Pico looked up at the sound of the door closing and gave Shelby a warm smile, then accepted the food from Nisa and passed one plate to a rabbit to her left. Plin looked up from a plate of hash browns and followed Pico's gaze, then smiled broadly as she spotted Shelby. The mouse stood up in her seat and waved to Shelby, who waved back. Seeing them both sitting at a table, it was surprising how much smaller Plin was than Pico. The rabbit next to Pico was about half-way in between them, so maybe Pico was just exceptionally tall. Nisa snuck back by Shelby, slipping through a gap in the crowd, and whispered, "You can sit with Pico, I'll have your food out in a bit," before continuing on.

  The door opened behind Shelby and she squeaked as it pushed Coda into the back of her legs, and they both scurried out of the way as a party of 4 piled into the inn. Coda slipped between Shelby's legs to escape the stampede of feet, nearly causing her to trip. We should sit. Shelby shimmied her way over to Pico's table, trying to avoid trampling her bat or bumping into someone. A moment later she arrived, smiling with embarrassment, "Mind if I join you?"

  "Obviously not."

  "Please do."

  Plin and Pico spoke over each other.

  Shelby slipped onto a small, padded bench next to Plin, and Coda ducked beneath the table, setting his chin on Plin's knee and gazing up with pleading eyes. A smaller white rabbit with a thick band of black fur under his eyes sat on the other side of Plin. Shelby gave a small wave, "Sh-er, Caramel! Hello."

  "Sure Caramel? I'm Kira," the rabbit had a soft, lazy voice, and spoke like he was daydreaming.

  The capybara across the table from Shelby and to Pico’s right bowed slightly, "I'm Moli," she was surprisingly small for a capybara, but still about as tall as Pico, and she had a creaky, tired voice.

  Their names were familiar from something Plin had said, and she turned back to look at the mouse to her right. Plin was nervously eyeing Shelby and subtly shaking her head, so Shelby turned back to them with her best poker face on, "Thanks for letting me sit with you. I didn't expect the inn to be so busy."

  Moli smiled a tiny capybara smile, "This is the only place to eat a full meal in town. Everyone who can't cook doesn't have a choice. Even if they did, it's a treat to eat what Nisa makes."

  Pico nodded at that, sipping her coffee with a serene expression. Plin nodded along too, "I bring all my edible finds to Nisa. She can cook anything."

  "Too bad the coffee is so weak," Kira sighed as he drained half of his cup in one gulp.

  Pico gave him a flat look, "There is no coffee strong enough for you, Kira."

  Plin stifled a snort and Kira glowered at them. Shelby smiled at their banter, asking "Do you all eat breakfast together every morning?"

  Pico smirked at that, "Usually, if we can get a table."

  Moli swirled a glass of orange juice in her hand, "Sometimes all the guild leaders show up, when we can get Phion away from his work and Cede to relax a little."

  So, these were the other guild heads. Shelby casually glanced from Moli to Kira and back as they continued talking. Moli had a yellow and white shawl and a satchel made of dyed green leather on a strap across her chest. She had a nurturing feel about her, so maybe a Seedsage? Kira on the other hand wore a dark woolen vest with a high collar and had a cluster of golden rings on one hand. Seems very academic, so he must be a... Fantasian?

  Plin was giggling hysterically in response to something she had missed when Shelby snapped out of her character study, smiling sheepishly as Kira fixed her with a quizzical look. The rabbit was eating a tall stack of bright orange fluffy pancakes, but he had barely touched them. Somehow, Pico had already removed half of the stack from her plate, but Shelby hadn't noticed her eating at all. The pancakes looked incredibly soft to Shelby’s eye, and she saw, from Kira's plate, that they came with a large pad of butter and a thick dollop of a sweet cream. She really wanted to try them. She was imagining pancakes that tasted like carrot cake.

  Plin had a small pile of crisp, golden hashbrowns that were coated in ketchup. All that remained of them was a tiny island of potatoes on a large stoneware plate, so Plin must have been a quick eater. Moli only had her orange juice and one small empty plate that still had the remnants of a flaky pastry on it. As Shelby willed her stomach not to grumble, Nisa stepped up to their table and slid a dish over to Shelby, then left without a word. There it was. The whole enchilada. It was a single enormous corn tortilla rolled into a tube and smothered with a silky green and red chili sauce. The swirls of peppery red and deep green were broken up by a drizzle of crema, slices of avocado, and a dusting of crumbly white cheese. It was still steaming as Shelby took a roll of silverware from the center of the table and split off a bite sized section with her fork. Inside there was spinach, red rice, black beans, roasted corn, and, of course, braised carrots that smelled faintly of brown sugar, red pepper, and cumin.

  Forget the carrot pancakes… for now… Shelby tuned out the playful bickering and tucked into her magical meal. It was exactly what she didn’t even know she needed. It was smoky, warm, filling, slightly sweet, and delicious. All too soon, it was gone. Plin nudged Shelby with a laugh, “You eat like a bear in an untended strawberry patch. Never had a home cooked meal before?”

  Shelby laughed in embarrassment, “Sorry! I’ve never had anything like it!”

  Pico laughed along with Plin, “Nisa will be flattered. Usually, I have to apologize to her when this one doesn’t finish his meal.”

  She gave Kira a sly smile, and he slouched in his seat with arms crossed, “I’m not a behemoth like you. I can’t eat that much.”

  Plin grabbed a handful of hashbrowns and stuffed them in her mouth, speaking quickly through them, “It’s good that you’re done, I need your help anyways. Pico said you’re a Gardener now-“

  “A Horticulturalist, it’s not just gardening.” Pico interrupted.

  “Yes, that, come help me pick some medicine for the big boss. He had a hard night.”

  Shelby blanched, “I just learned it, I’ve never picked medicine before.”

  Pico waved her hand dismissively, “Use your skill. I usually pick Burdock for medicine. It looks like a thistle covered in spiderwebs. Try looking around the dry ponds to the east. You’ll be fine. It would help me out a lot if someone else could gather medical plants for the town, too.”

  Shelby tried to argue more, but Plin crawled over the table and grabbed Shelby by the hem of her cloak. Coda bustled to life under her, sneaking a bite at Kira’s pancakes and dragging one off of his plate before scrambling to Plin’s side. Plin pleaded, “You heard her, it’s fine. Let’s go.”

  “Wait, I have to pay at least!”

  Plin pulled a handful of brassy coins from an unseen pocket and shoved them onto the table, “There, all done.”

  Shelby gave the other three diners an apologetic smile as she was dragged towards the door.