The group entered the oasis city of Iridai and had a pleasant conversation with a local. While doing so, they learned that Nathan, the prince of the kingdom and Anna's older brother, had also been there in the past during his travels. This made the princess quite excited because she wanted to know how he was doing.
“I really like those sandstone houses!” The group was back in the oasis city after having paid Menzor a visit, and Sophia was excitedly taking in the sights. “The added terracotta bits are super cute, too.”
“That is true!” Maya, who was next to her, nodded a couple of times. “It looks super cozy! I’m not sure, but it also feels like those houses would be easy to make with magic, wouldn’t they? Like, sandstone is just, more or less, compacted sand, and terracotta is baked clay. If we have the raw materials, refining it with magic wouldn’t be any work at all.”
“You are more than welcome to try!” The blonde lightly clapped her hands. “Anything to add to your biome is something I look forward to!”
“So, we’re getting a city inside your domain, after all?” Anna tilted her head while remembering the conversation they had about it before.
“Ah.” The blonde had forgotten about that already. “I-It’s fine! If Maya wants to experiment with it, so be it! Also, Chloe and Fenny are working on their log cabin holiday home, so we can get some sandstone retreats!” She was mainly trying to convince herself more than anyone else.
“I’m looking forward to it~.” Anna smiled at her.
“I’ll try my best!” The cat-girl nodded. “Don't expect too much just yet, though.” She scratched her cheek. “I just had that idea on a whim, and I have no idea if it actually works.”
“We believe in you!” The princess gave her a thumbs up, only increasing the pressure even more.
“Fine!” Maya gave up. “I’ll make the most amazing desert city there is! Even this oasis place will pale in comparison!”
“Awesome!” Anna liked her strong reply.
“Our princess is learning how to get a reaction out of Maya, huh?" Sophia was impressed with how she handled her.
“Yep, she’s getting good.” Ari thought so, too.
“Grr!” The cat-girl in question didn’t like that.
“Ehehe~.” Anna did, though.
“Anyway, I want to see the lake in the middle of this place!” Sophia decided it was time for a new topic. “It’s the source of this oasis, right? Maybe something is interesting there and or gives us inspiration for a biome idea.”
“I want to see it, too!” The princess liked the suggestion.
“Lakes are always nice!” Ari also was a fan.
“Well, I need to get a better look at it to be able to create a better version, so it’s crucial that we go there.” As Maya had given herself a big challenge, she could use all the help there is.
“Let’s go to the pretty lake!” The blonde energetically raised her arm. “Also, someone has to remind me later that I need to borrow some of the cacti around!” She gestured at all the green and spiky plants anywhere between half and three meters in size everywhere around them. “They’re so cool!”
“Don’t worry, I would’ve done so regardless.” The cat-girl smiled at her. “They’re a crucial part of my desert project.”
“Awesome!”
----------------
Having decided on a course of action, the girls strolled through the city while taking a good look at everything. While walking around, they also had a couple of chats with some curious locals. While doing so, they found out that most of the feline beastfolk here shared traits with the so-called sand cat. A type of cat with rather wide ears and facial structures as well as a somewhat bushy tail and thicker fur to better deal with the harsh conditions in a desert, like smoldering daytime and freezing nights.
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Even though Maya shared no physical traits with them, she still felt a deeply emotional connection to the idea. This made her even more motivated to create her own desert as soon as possible. She also felt the urge to ask her parents about the possibility of having distant relatives originating from the desert.
Sophia was more curious about all the horned folk, but she didn't have the nerve to outright ask about their sleeping habits just yet. Once they get to the bar later on, she’d try again, though, because she really wanted to know what they do with their horns during the night.
“Ohh!” Finally arriving at the lake, Maya and her now even bigger love for the place was the first to react. “Such a nice place!” She was looking at the lake with sparkling eyes. As they had already seen before entering the place, it was roughly 150-by-200 meters big, and the water was absolutely crystal clear.
Thanks to this, it was possible to look far below the surface but still not all the way to the bottom. The lake was so deep that, because of the angle, one simply couldn’t see the bottom from the edge of the water.
While it was a little spooky that the water was so deep and how it had a steep cliff below its surface not too far from the shore, the stunning beach all around the lake more than made up for it. As they were in the middle of a desert, there definitely was no shortage of sand, even in the center of the oasis. The entire lake was lined with a beach of pure white sand with no impurities whatsoever. A little further away from the water, where things turned a bit greener, numerous cacti, as well as many clusters of palm trees, were growing. The latter not only provided much-needed shade but also created a picture book-like vacation feeling. Many of them had coconut growing on them, as well.
“You know, the clear water, the white sand, the temperature, the palm trees, and the coconut trees remind me of a vacation I went on before ending up here.” Sophia smiled while taking in the surroundings. “It was basically just a small island, the sea, a beautiful beach, a bunch of palm trees, a hammock, and drinks served in a coconut. Hmm, with Fenny and Chloe making their winter retreat, I might make myself a tropical island retreat in my domain.” She also wanted a holiday home.
“Count me in!” Ari suddenly raised her voice. “I’m absolutely going to help you with that!”
“Ehehe~.” The blonde liked how excited she sounded. “Sure thing!”
“Yay!”
“You have to take care not to destroy it, though.” Sophia then stared at her. “You do have a track record in that regard, after all.”
“Grr!” The jaguar didn’t like that.
“Anyway, I look forward to doing it with you~.” Sophia didn’t want to tease her more.
“Yes!” Ari nodded in agreement. “It’s going to be awesome and so satisfying!”
“Wording!” Anna just had to make a comment on that.
“Ah.” The duo awkwardly looked at each other.
“Also!” The princess wasn't done yet. “How did you two, out of everyone, as usual, just casually decide to work together on the most romantic-sounding area in your place just like that?!"
“To be fair, it’s pretty on brand for those two.” Maya wasn’t exactly surprised.
“That’s exactly why I had this reaction!” The tall tiger got louder. “They’re just too good at it!”
“Come on!” Sophia stared at them. “It’s been a while since Ari and I got flirty!”
“Exactly!” The jaguar nodded along. “We have a lot of catching up to do! That’s why creating our own romantic holiday retreat on a tropical island is just what we need!” They decided to play up the bit a little more.
“Grr!” This time, it was the princess who didn’t like that.
“How about we make our very own romantic retreat?” Maya smiled at the princess. “We’ll make it even better than theirs!”
“That would be great!” Anna liked the idea and decided to play along. “Do you have anything in mind already?”
“Hmm.” The cat-girl tilted her head. “I’ve always been a big fan of lagoons. Maybe in the middle of a forest, bamboo would be fun and circled by a cliff to make it more secluded. A cozy hut with a big porch on the beach around the lagoon would round everything up.”
“That sounds so lovely!” The princess nodded a couple of times. “Let’s do that!”
“Okay!”
“This trip sure took a turn I wasn't expecting.” Sophia scratched her cheek.
“Very much so.” Ari agreed with her. “Well, it’s fine, I guess. As long as no one acts on the romantic atmosphere.” She stared at Anna and Maya at the end.
“You’re the biggest flirt here!” The two did not appreciate that.
“…” The jaguar had nothing to say that she could defend herself with.
“Alrighty, with that taken care of and decided on, shall we look for the wolves in the tavern?” Sophia wanted to keep going.
“Sure!”
Afterward, the girls first explored the lake area for a little longer to gather more inspiration for their own new projects. Once they were happy with what they saw, the group returned to walking through the city to find the tavern that the local had told them about before. Luckily, as Fen and Aura were already there and likely having a great time, the blonde could simply use her detection magic to see where they were. Thanks to that, the girls didn't have to walk through the whole place or ask a local for directions.
- Holika -
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