William awoke the next morning with a splitting headache. High speed flight in first was like flying inside a drone which were nowadays capable of immediate reversals DURING Mach flight. John was feeling similar to already being in a can of sardines then being thrown into a trash compactor.

Painkillers, lots of water and a hand on the wall so that he could walk straight. These three things would get him through the day.

First was dangerous this way, it couldn't harm your body but anything related to mental conditions and states were fair game.

But potay-toe, pahtah-toe, neither the realizations of the conditions or the result would help his head now as he spilled the contents of a pill bottle in his hand. After which he chugged them down with a large glass of water.

This morning he had planned to do work and it was not going to happen. Neither was he going to sit around and allow himself the ability to focus on his head, no, it was a good opportunity to get outside.

It was actually a great idea, a hearty breakfast and a relaxing walk did wonders for early morning headaches, both being things he could get while out of his dorm.

Catching the 7 o'clock zeppelin express, and a few mocking glances from its captain, he was at an eatery 30 min later. It was called the spring time reserve and fortunately by the time he got there wasn't a need to cling to walls, that would of been embarrassing. Though even without the wobbling there were still signs something was wrong, namely the imaginary rain cloud hanging over his head and bloodshot eyes.

This place was refreshing. There was a genuine waterfall carved out of the wall that kicked up a fine mist into the air. If one wanted too you could dine around it and be served with floating trays that swam over to you with their little underside turbines. Some trees and plants were even growing inside as well, a few of them being exotic ingredients for some dishes this place made.

William was greeted by a Lisa, her name engraved with fire on her leather skin top that matched her leather skin skirt. It was a wild look, the leather looking ripped and tattered which did not match her well kept skin and hair.

"Hey William, what can I get yah?"

"The jungle special please"

"Sure thing, anything to drink?"

"A jug of water and a strong cup of your best hang over tea."

"With pleasure." She gave William a wink. Yes, she was also good at getting tips from guys or girls.

"Rough night? I didn't pick you out as a heavy drinker."

"Nope, the rough night was from First and the description 'rough' doesn't come close to describing it."

"I see, well take your time to relax, there's nothing stressful about this place. I'll get you your drinks and your meal will be out shortly."

She turned to leave, taking with her a voluptuous body, fiery red hair with ends dipped in fresh snow and ocean blue eyes. Not that William noticed these things in his self inflicted purgatory! Oh the lovely reality of having a hangover.

He wasn't alone, there were a few others enjoying themselves nearby. With his headache making every noise seem comparable to church bells chiming beside his ear, it was hard not to hear them.

The news of the day was the Avalon responding to a large mana signature somewhere deep in no man's land between the elven borders. A leading theory was that it was positioning as a result of the mana for countering a possible elven super weapon.

Not even close... And now William REALLY wanted his tea now as that mana signature was clearly the dark treant.

"Haaaaaaa" William could only let out a large sigh from the news. On the bright side, he would be arriving at the Avalon sooner then expected on the downside there was going to be paperwork, lots of paperwork.

Somehow he was to convince the Avalon to turn around and not engage a possible threat. It was not going to be an easy and he just hoped it didn't make him stand out too much.

The Avalon did have it dark ports where shady individuals and organizations docked without public scrutiny. The business of selling ships was expensive so they couldn't be picky over their customers. Though that would also mean having powerful mana turrets targeting Icarus as a deterrent for causing trouble while onboard it was an opportunity to stay inconspicuous.

Couldn't be helped but William could feel his headache grow at the thought of dealing with the Avalon. Still he couldn't just leave it as it or it would surely meet its demise needlessly.

The way to deal with that treant would be to bait it into the central country with the world tree's seed mana signature that it would surely follow. There it would be within range of the capitals artillery. It could 'try' to out regenerate the onslaught it would reap but... That was not going to happen, nothing could survive that lethal artifact of the gods once it decided to fire.

"One cup of strong tea and water as per your request, anything else?"

Lisa was back.

"Just the breakfast thanks."

"It's almost ready, it'll be coming out in a few minutes."

And Lisa left.

Leaving the tea to cool, William didn't even bother pouring the water into a glass and drank it straight from the jug. Cold refreshing spring water rushed down his throat by the mouthful.

Then he felt hands on his shoulders, relieving the tension accumulating rather quickly in his state. It was Lisa, something had her acting mischievous.

"Foods still coming but I wanted to know, what exactly were you doing in first that has you looking like this?"

Was it a mistake relating his condition to playing First? Probably.

"Some guy wanted something but I got to it first and got away. But it wasn't before he could gave me a thumping."

"Oh? Did you give him one back?"

Lisa was not leaning on his shoulders with her forearms, lips inches from his ear.

"Not even, all I did was piss him off. Besides... What's a scout supposed to do in a fight anyways?"

And that's where she lost interest. The term scout should really be changed to 'insignificant peon, please ignore.'

"Is that so." She was kind enough to give a few more scrunches on the shoulders but, it was more so to avoid the image that she was just being nice to get something, which she was.

In any case he was glad she was gone. It tickled his fantasies to have her around and flirting but... the headache! It was very much still there and making itself known so very well.

William leaned back in his and stared directly above. The swaying leaves from trees made for a number of spotted patterns of light underneath the glass sealing. It was just the AC pushing air into the building and brushing past the trees but still it was peaceful.

"One jungle special!"

Williams focus was brought down again, not being sure how long he had been starring up.

"Thanks Lisa."

"My pleasure, anything else?"

"No, this is great."

"Ok then, I'll come check on you later."

And with a wink and a smile, she was gone.

The jungle special had a few items. Cloned eggs, cheese, various newly ripened crossbreed fruits, toast, home-style fries and a little bit of a fish called treefin. It was a strange assortment of food if you lived in a time long ago but that's just where technology had gone these days. Food was always in high demand and eventually science won over ethics on the basis of feeding hungry mouths.

The treefin were interesting, they were raised out of the trees and fed off the abundant plankton and weeds the trees helped foster. When they got bigger they eventually found the strength to hop out of the water and down to the next, larger, pool below. It was not exactly natural as eggs had to be removed from the lower pool pool and brought to the higher ones but overall it was economic and efficient requiring only a few people to run large farms. They were also very tasty and nutritious, having a firm and flakey texture with a flavour similar to river trout and salmon. There were a few of those trees inside but William knew there was allot more of them out in the fields to the back. The food here was all locally grown/produced and locally meant on the same plot of land.

William dug in, enjoying every bite. Taking the tea he chugged that down as well and enjoyed both together. He almost forgot to breath but saved himself before it became an embarrassment.

"Nya!"

William heard it, he definitely heard it.

"Nya! Nya!"

Who is it that's making those noises? Against his better judgement William snuck a peek.

What he saw was a young girl, a few years his junior. She had elbow length silver white hair and a Victorian style jumpsuit. Though it wasn't her old fashioned taste that made him gawk...

Cat ears! Cat tail! They were signature features of a white tiger and besides that, what was she thinking by hovering over a treefin pool!?!

He just had to look because at that moment their eyes met... Sort of.

In shock from a bizarre scene William had stopped eating and at the time he had been about to eat his treefin. To others looking at the two, it may have appeared that they were looking at each other but she was clearly just interested in the fish.

With gymnast like moves she shot across on all fours, quickly jumping from table to table.

"Ohmph"

In no time at all she had closed the distance, opened her mouth and snatched the fish right off of William's fork.

She skidded to a halt right after and starred at William while turning around in a frogs squatting position. Apparently she wasn't planning on giving it back. Rather, no she was eying the larger half.

She was too busy eating her fish, by slurping it into her mouth, to realize Lisa had gotten behind her. Defenceless against the foe she did not know was there, she lost her ears.

Lisa effortlessly plucked the fake cat ears off of the girl.

"Noooo! Give them back, give them back!"

The intimidating crazy cat girl immediately went from fierce being to that of a 8 year old that just lost her favourite toy. She even fell off the table, her former poise near non-existent now.

"Sorry William, this customer can be troublesome."

"Umm, I see. But could you stop teasing her by making her jump for those ears?"

Lisa was taller then the girl and was holding the ears up high and out of her reach.

"Sorry, but no. She has a personality disorder of sorts, if I gave them back she'd go back to acting like a cat. And that's not happening here."

"I see..."

"Give them back! Give them back!"

No William didn't see, this girl was nuts!

"Yes, she's known as the beast queen in First. Unfortunately she doesn't know how to turn it off. The only saving grace is that she has to look like her First self for the condition to trigger."

"Then can't you hide her ears and tail on her?"

For William it was the obvious solution.

"I could, but then she'd just go run off and find another. I have no idea where she keeps them all. Her supply is endless."

Beast queen, William thought over the name. His head was still pounding but after his food and drink it was much better.

'Beast' players were players who opted out of being human in First. There was a mechanic where one drank the raw blood of beasts and in doing so, replaced their human traits with those of the beasts they drank. The transformations varied on the species and the individuals compatibility but once completed they could take on up to 50% of the beasts traits.

If this girl was acting out her first self, that meant she integrated with a white tiger. This alone meant she had skill as they were creatures with high strength, speed and intelligence. The process required the player to drink blood they themselves found on their own. Any blood acquired by means other then what they themselves got on their own efforts, would not progress the transformation.

But beast queen, where had he heard that name?

"Beast Queen Tamara?" William let slip what he was thinking.

Hand still raise, the little girl stopped jumping and starred. "You know my sister?"

"Sister? Then you are Addy?"

The little girl flinched.

"I don't go by that name anymore, I am beast queen blood."

"Addy?" Lisa tossed the name around. "I like Addy allot more then Blood."

"Noooo! Give me my ears! Give them back RIGHT NOW!"

William, or more accurately John, had met Tamara in the past. It had been 1, maybe 2 years now that he had helped her track down a Lightning Cub for her transformation. Like Addy, she had once been part white tiger but gave it up for the new beast.

The encounter had been short, John already knowing where the beast was hiding, but still her figure and imposing presence had left an impression. Nowadays he knew her to be part of a leading guild though he hadn't spoken to her since their encounter back then.

"Well I should be going" William gobbled up the last of his fish and chugged down what was left of his drinks

Looking at Lisa,"order up some treefin for addy on me."

"Ah, ok. Nice seeing you then William."

Having said his part, William got up and left. Though it was was not without trouble as addy in a last ditch effort leapt up, kicked off the table and snatched her ears back from Lisa.

Her personality instantly returned to its cat like state and kicked off the next table. With a backflip and a twist, she was back at the tables and barreling towards William once more.

Though this time she was more like a bull in a china shop then a quickly prancing cat. It was easy to predict where she was and William ducked as she jumped at his back. Immediately after he rose, catching her lower body to hang her by the ankles.

"Ah!"

The shock knocked off her ears once more and garbled her brain enough that she passed out, likely from the blood suddenly rushing to her head. William proceeded to toss her back up so that he could carry her like a princess.

She came too seconds later but was too embarrassed to be seen conscious in the position she was in.

William got her over to one of the cushy chairs and laid her down.

"Lisa, could you take care of her. She's already awake."

Yes, William did notice her awakened state to which she let a small tear run back into her hair.

"Ah, yes yes, she's a friend so definitely."

Lisa was in shock, along with the rest of her customers but went over to Addy to take care of her.

The drama passed, it was definitely time to leave and William left in a hurry. He did not want anyone to get a good look at him else they remember this incident to bring up at a future date before him.

And like the wind, William dashed out the door.