“Where a practice becomes widely adopted, enthusiasts would begin to sprout, and should the practice linger for a longer period of time, so would the enthusiasm grow. How it took form also depended a lot on the culture of the particular region.

In Alfheim for example, the locals tended to be more private with their animal companions, and rarely showed them off to others not their own family or compatriots. On the flipside, in Verozgrad beast and monster tamers loved to show off their companions, and pageants for them were often held in the region, often impromptu ones.

It was a curious case on how the love for animal companions could take such different forms, yet it also simply highlighted the different mindsets of the respective people and their way of showing affection.” - From a Socioeconomy paper by Garth Wainwrought, Dean and formerly Professor of Socioeconomy in the Levain Institute for Higher Learning.

“Wondrous, really wondrous,” mumbled an old therian man who had a hunched back and walked with a cane as he gingerly touched Ida’s fur. Both the Reaper Serval and the little girl on her back looked at the old man more with curiosity than anything, as they couldn’t really make sense of his fascination with her.

“Sorry about him,” said a younger therian who shared a lot of similar features with the old one with a polite bow to Vark and Krystal. They had been a bit surprised when the old man came out of nowhere and showed surprising fascination to Ida, but relaxed a bit since he seemed like he had no bad intentions. “Grandfather used to judge pageants for animal companions when he was younger, so it must have brought back some memories to him.”

“It is fine, he has done no harm anyway,” replied Vark equally politely. The old man had only stared transfixed at Ida until Ilena had innocently asked from her back if he wanted to touch Ida’s fur, and he had been mesmerized by it since. “I never knew people held pageants for their animal companions before. Did you, dear?”

“Not in the Union as far as I know,” replied Krystal with a shake of her head. She had not been a Union native, born in Alfheim, and only moved to the Union after she met and married Vark. “Sometimes back in Alfheim we would show our companions to close friends and relatives, but that was usually about it.”

“I see, we have them semi-regularly here. There happens to be one held today in the west market, which is why I brought my grandpa along since he enjoys them,” replied the young man with a nod. “If you like, maybe you would like to watch as well? The beauty you raised would have also fared well if you intend to try your hand at participating. Mind you, this is the first time I see someone so young so closely bonded with their companion like this.”

“I think we’ll just watch, but thanks for the offer,” replied Krystal after some quiet discussion with the rest of her family. “I used to be a tamer myself, so I had helped my daughters to work with their companions. Ilena and Ida there were raised together from infancy, as we happened to find her shortly after my little girl was born.”

“A fortuitous encounter indeed,” admitted the younger man as he led the family to the venue for the pageant, which was a bit on the outskirts of the market due to the space needed for such an event. “The young Miss doesn’t have her companion with her?” he asked while looking at Leila.

“I had Lumi stay at the inn today,” Leila replied with a smile. “No choice, really. She’s a grown Ice Drake, so there was no way we could get her to fit in a market like this without causing trouble,” she added. The roads between the stalls were technically wide enough to allow a beast of Lumi’s size to pass, but it was also used for two-way traffic, so she would have completely congested whichever road she happened to be on.

“Here we are,” said the younger man as they reached the venue, which was a makeshift stadium with a large wooden stage. The event had started by then, and people marched their companions up the stage to display their good points to the spectating crowd. Many of the animals even preened themselves before the crowd to cheers.

Unlike Ida, most of the animals on the pageant were ones that were raised less with the intent to make them a hunting or battle companion, but ones raised for companionship and beauty. Colorful birds were the norm, as well as well-groomed dogs and cats of various breeds. One competitor even brought a large, multicolored snake as thick as his own arm coiled over his shoulders to the stage.

A few adventurers also participated, their companions closer in line to Ida. A young adventurer couple brought a pair of horned wolves to the stage, minor death-affinity monsters which were known to mate for life and always went with their bondmates. The adventurer they met in a restaurant the day before also brought his large armored lizard on stage, the stage creaking under its prodigious weight. Apparently there was a path set out around the venue just for those who brought such large beasts.

Both Ilena and Leila were quite interested in the event, as they also had their own animal companions and were naturally more sensitive to such things. It was surprisingly not an issue to bring Ida into the event venue. The seating area was simple sheets of fabric directly on the ground, so she could just lay down on the ground with Ilena sitting on her back.

They also kept the old therian man company, as the old man - who according to his grandson was suffering from dementia in his old age - got quite close with the little girl, while his grandson and the girl’s parents watched with a warm feeling in their hearts.