"If you look over to your left, you can see through the crystal clear waters of the Heavenly River that there is a deep and very wide chasm running along the riverbed. We call this deposit of sediment the ocean treasury. Though most of the treasure that was once here is long gone."

Someone from the crowd asked the tour guide why it was called the ocean treasury when they were nowhere near the ocean.

The guide held up a finger as if they were expecting this question. "Astute observation, my good goose. The answer and the truth is that no one knows! What we do know is that the high dragon immortals were the ones who named most of these territories. I imagine that if anyone questioned them at the time, they were promptly roasted."

Sun Ritsu and Ham Song listened to the tour guide continue their description of the ocean treasury and the origins of the chasm. They had gone into some history lesson of the Great Sage commanding a large deposit of iron to shrink into something small and narrow enough to be lifted with one hand.

The tour guide's voice had faded into the background as Ham Song and Ritsu struck up a conversation of their own. The two spirits stood on the ferry's outer deck overlooking the shimmering, clear river current. They leaned against the railing while they speculated what Kawaii Village would be like. Ritsu mentioned that he had heard a rumor once that all the dog spirits that lived there got cosmetic surgery to make themselves resemble Pembroke Welsh Corgis.

Eventually, Ham Song gave a tired grunt and asked, "Lawful monkey, I just... I can't understand why you choose to keep Bodhi in your company when they have been nothing but unreliable and disrespectful."

Ritsu leaned back, holding the rail at arms length so that he could look down at where Ham Song sat by his ankles. The wind rustled his rough, dark waves. It flared out his sideburns into an asymmetrical silhouette.

After a long beat, Ritsu said, "Bodhi doesn't strike me as the type to disrespect someone without being prompted." The monkey turned his golden brown eyes back out at the water and squinted them against the glare. "Back when Bodhi was finding a paper space for us to stay, you called them it, even though you knew that was wrong."

Ham Song blew air out through his flared nostrils. "They tried to have me killed!"

Ritsu narrowed his eyes more before fixing them onto the pig. "Bodhi has an addiction, Ham Song. They can't help it."

"So what?"

Ritsu tilted his head. "What do you mean, so what? Bodhi fixed their mistake. They saved you yesterday and then last night, you attacked them for no reason."

Ham Song opened and shut his jaw several times. Then he abruptly shook his head, looking as if he was ready to dive into another protest.

Ritsu suddenly crouched before his porky companion and cradled his pink head between his hands.

"Ham Song, hear me." The way Ritsu held and looked at Ham Song so earnestly made the pig unable to look away. "I understand that you want respect, but you're never going to get there by being so harsh with Bodhi."

Suddenly the monkey let go of the pig spirit. He stood up and carded his hand through his shaggy waves, clenching his jaw in a way that undermined his glamour. The pig glimpsed the profile of the handsome rhesus macaque, which stretched all the way past the tip of Ritsu's ear. His sideburns briefly edged towards a furrier, golden brown texture. His conical canines strained against the seam of his lips, and the tips of his ears elongated and widened into that signature triangular silhouette.

"I can't force  you to treat Bodhi the same way I would, but... you respect me, don't you, Ham Song?"

Ham Song squirmed on the spot. "There's no question about that, fair monkey. You know I do!"

Ritsu's glamour fell into place. Only his canines were noticeable as he challenged Ham Song with a firm, "Then show me. Don't go hurting the spirits I choose to keep in my company."

Dear Traveler, I shall now give you a closer look into the pig's mind. For Sun Ritsu never has a damn clue how he comes off to his companions. And it's something you should be aware of before we move forward.

Our bewitched, and at this time, bewildered Ham Song wasn't sure how the sun clone could make demands without sounding angry or entitled. The resolution in the monkey's expression came from somewhere unconditional and blameless. Ham Song could barely grasp at what it was, but whatever internal blessings that governed Sun Ritsu's attitudes and allowed him to see the good in godless spirits, Ham Song had to honor it.

Or else he would forever be alone and never rid himself of this curse.

Ham Song bowed his head in deference. "Benevolent monkey, you're right. I... apologize."

Sun Ritsu had a mind to tell the pig that Bodhi was the one who deserved an apology, but truthfully, he wanted Ham Song to figure that out on his own.

"You didn't have to make such a scene, Bodhi," Anari said as she and the monk took their seats at the bar. "They serve imperial wine here on the ferry."

Bodhi grinned slyly as they waved down the pug spirit tending the bar. "You say that as if I've spoiled my appetite. But I didn't mean to embarrass you back there, so this first one's on me."

Behind her glamour, Anari folded several of her arms. "I can pay for my own drink."

Bodhi rolled their eyes. "Well can you let me apologize, Legs? That's why I offered." They leveled their gray gaze with the spider's black, slightly enlarged irises. After a beat, Anari clicked her tongue and slipped on her shades. "Fine."

Once the spirits had been served and the wine was flowing between them, Bodhi said, "Don't get me wrong, I'd rather have overpriced imperial wine any day over the cough syrup I was lugging around in that barrel, but tell me, why wouldn't they let me bring it here when they're serving alcohol anyway?"

Anari peered at them over the rim of her purple sunglasses. "Think about it. It minimizes the chance of someone smuggling wine into Kawaii Village. Plus they don't want to give you a reason to not drink what they're selling. Local shipping companies pay an arm and a leg for the licensing required to bring any alcohol in the vicinity of the Rabbit Province."

Bodhi absently licked their lips, already on their second pour. "What's up with that decree anyway? Are they trying to keep tourism as family friendly as they can or something?"

Anari snorted. "No. The reasons for the laws are..." She made a face. "They're not what you think. I don't know if you've ever met a rabbit or a dog spirit before. Overall, they seem pretty normal, until you meet one from this province. The spirits here have an addiction... to cuteness."

Bodhi's smattering of freckles danced as they tried to hold in a laugh. "Addiction to cuteness? What does that even mean?"

Anari explained, "Anything that doesn't meet their standard of cute, is outlawed. You won't see any cars for example. Only bicycles and trolleys."

Bodhi leaned back and scrutinized their cup. They rotated their wrist so the contents swished around, threatening to overtake the smooth lip of the cup, but never actually spilling.

"So let me get this straight. Drinking isn't allowed because it's not... cute enough?"

Anari smirked as she went to pour her second glass. With a slow nod, she said, "Even the packaging matters. They all drink from milk cartons, juice boxes, and select soda cans. Portable glass and plastic bottles are prohibited."

Bodhi reached over Anari to stop her. They easily unhinged the bottle from her hand and poured her drink for her. "Legs, I don't think I'm going to like this place very much. What if I'm not cute enough and they decide to arrest me? I mean, even when I'm not drinking, the smell tends to stick to my robes."

Anari didn't remember asking Bodhi to pour her drink, but she didn't fuss. Instead she lowered her shades just enough to scan Bodhi's youthful band of freckles. Their lips were rosier than usual from the wine. The only reason Anari noticed was due to Bodhi's habit of rolling them in and licking them whenever they were in the middle of conversation.

"I don't think you'll have any problems with the cute police," the spider said as she accepted her cup and pushed her shades back up before the monk could notice.

For a moment, Bodhi appeared as if they didn't know where to look. "So, uh..." They mumbled into their cup. "What took you so long this morning?"

Anari felt her glamour give a little bit. She hadn't been expecting to be asked that question, but it shouldn't have come as a surprise. She had kept them all waiting.

"Work stuff."

And then... the spider just let everything out. She touched on all of those annoying concerns and frustration that had been building up from not being able to get through to her boss. The spider never went into too much detail about her employer, but she did confess that she wanted to believe that as harsh as Sun Bai could be, he was still good. It wasn't possible for him to be wrapped up in some slimy, bureaucratic scandal. She wanted to believe this at least.

Eyes flitting over to the now empty wine bottle, Bodhi looked as if they wanted to reassure Anari somehow. They knocked the bottle on the wood a few times to alert the bartender first.

"We need more."

The pug, who was only half-glamoured, sniffed the air and said gruffly, "It's a two bottle limit on the ferry." Her jowls wobbled as she spoke.

Bodhi made an exasperated sound. "Good grief. Whatever – fine. This is our last round and then we'll be going."

When Bodhi was sure that the pug would take care of their order, they turned their attention back to Anari and bumped her stool with their knee.

"Everything is going to be okay, Legs."

Anari gave a wry smile as she shook her head. "Bodhi, no offense, but you have absolutely no evidence to back that up. You don't know anything about my job or my boss."

Anari saw the monk shift in their seat, but she didn't move to stop them. Her protests were soon muffled by the interruption of soft, wine-soaked lips. The contact was brief as much as it was unexpectedly sweet. The spider fought the urge to chase the monk's lips as they drew back.

Eyes clear despite the wine, Bodhi gently reassured her. "Say you get those answers you think you want so badly. Then what, Legs? You'll just have more questions, you know you will. So you should forget about all of that right now. You're on vacation. Focus on helping the monkey find his staff. What's the point of all of this unnecessary stress?"

Anari's hand floated up to her face. She hid her mouth behind her knuckles to distract the monk from seeing her reaction. The tingling sensation in her lips made the spider very aware of how much she already missed the feeling of Bodhi's against them.

"You kissed me."

Bodhi sighed into their cup. "I did... I've been wanting to." Instead of taking a sip, they set the drink down and turned their light gray eyes back on Anari. "I apologize for the lack of impulse control. I won't do that again if you're not into it."

Anari tore her gaze away from Bodhi's. She dragged her finger over the rim of her cup and whispered, "I'm into it." Then she looked up. "But I'm not here for a relationship. Let's make that clear."

"Legs," Bodhi chuckled, comfortable enough now to handle their drink. "We're on the same page there. I'm just looking for a respectful drinking buddy. No offense to Ham Song or Sun Ritsu, but they simply can't hang... and I'm not just saying that because you know your way around a web."

Anari giggled when Bodhi's features bent towards something more comedic. She scooted a little closer to the monk and poured some more wine for them.

"I mean, you're not wrong."

A thought suddenly came to her as one of her true eyes took a peek down the cut in Bodhi's robes while her glamoured ones focused on pouring. Anari acted on it and inquired about the state of Bodhi's bruised side.

The monk made a curious sound. "It's funny you should ask. I'm pretty certain I was healed by an immortal's song this morning."

Anari raised her eyebrows. "Then you were Lucky."

Bodhi, it seemed, had finally consumed enough to make them grow bolder in their flirting. The monk batted their eyelashes and replied, "Lucky that you were there last night to see to my wound. It's a shame that we have nothing like that to bond over anymore."

Anari mused, "I could fetch Ham Song for you. I'm sure he'll be happy to damage your body again for a good cause."

Bodhi rolled out their shoulders and fired back with, "I was thinking you could rough me up a little, Legs." They clinked their cup against the side of hers. "But only if you were feeling generous."

Anari knew that Bodhi was joking, but her predatory instincts fluttered at the suggestion. She smirked and laughed it off. There was no denying that this monk was pure trouble. Still, Bodhi was a very nice distraction for the time being.

Part of Anari wondered if the humanae came off as such because of the wine or...were they just that determined to help her stop thinking about her job and simply relax?