If anyone had told Xin Yi a month ago that she would be standing in the middle of a paved stone courtyard, watching a massive Black Panther, an Arctic Wolf, and a Bengal Tiger trying to figure out how to string up woven flower garlands, she would have asked to be institutionalized.
But here they were.
The first-ever Neutral Zone Festival was in full swing, and it was chaotic, loud, and unexpectedly wholesome.
Bonfires roared in the center of the courtyard. The air was thick with the mouth-watering scent of roasted boar, properly seasoned with wild herbs Xin Yi had found, not just charred over an open flame.
Over by the training pavilion, a group of wolf beastmen had constructed makeshift drums out of stretched leather and hollowed logs.
They were currently pounding out a rhythm that was surprisingly catchy, though entirely lacking in modern musical theory.
[Ding!]
[Assessing local acoustics..]
