They looked, and Pedro pointed out someone with long elven ears and green marks like vine-stylized tattoos along their skin.
Kai blinked in surprise, while the others who had been in the wooden room earlier longer than he had already seen most everyone, he had still not identified each individual among the masses, making this the first elf he had seen.
"Druids... are usually a mix of healer and magic caster right?" Layla asked uncertainly.
"I think so yeah... though certain druids specialize in certain areas of nature magic specifically." Kai said.
Pedro rolled his eyes. "A Druid of Dreams is usually one who specializes in healing and bringing calm and dreamlike beauty and peace to the world, haven't any of you ever played Dungeons and Dragons?"
Everyone shot him a weird look, and he froze before looking down in embarrassment. "Sorry... I don't even remember what that is myself, much less expect you to know anything about it. I didn't even realize what I was saying, you know how it is..."
Kai nodded, and Michael patted his shoulder while Layla lifted her hands and waived them in denial of his apology. "N-no! You don't have to apologize, if anyone can understand... it's us..."
"Anyways." Xandra interrupted, and everyone straightened up as they were reminded.
'Right! Healer.'
"Well? Go talk to him." Kai pushed Pedro towards the Druid.
"Ah? Why me?!"
"You're the one who knows about druids, you saw him first, you ask him! We'll be right here with you, don't worry about it!"
And so the parrot was pushed onto the chopping block of social interaction by the evil, mischievous fox.
The elven druid turned as he heard a strange noise behind him, only to see a parrot kin pushed by a foxkin towards him, with the only automaton among them behind them alongside that small batgirl and-
'Ack!'
He flinched slightly as he saw Xandra, fear and discomfort of the massive green woman filling him.
Pedro narrowed his bird eyes slightly upon seeing the elf's reaction. 'Oh no...'
He fixed a very-clearly uncomfortable smile to his face. "Hi... we were wondering if you'd like to be-to join our party!" He stumbled on his words a bit, and the elf gave him a doubtful look before glancing at Xandra involuntarily. "I think I'm good, thanks." He turned and walked away at a bit too fast a speed to be casual.
Pedro sighed, yet wrinkled his nose a bit. 'I'm not sure if he said that because of how badly I presented that, or because of Xandra. How can someone be so close minded as to mind a green person with tusks? Sure she's tall, but we have that equally big red tiefling among us amnesiacs too! Not to mention the freaking automaton also in our party...'
Layla frowned. "Did he not like us?"
"Not all of us." Xandra replied, a short and brutally cold sentence.
Kai and Michael exchanged a look while Layla cowered slightly from that cold response...
The silence lasted for a second as the air felt heavy with Xandra's annoyance and disappointment, yet was interrupted by Pedro!
"His loss, fucking racist asshole." Xandra raised a heavy brow as she glanced at the parrotkin who turned to her.
"Sorry for choosing someone like that by accident."
Her heart felt strangely... warm at his concern. "Thank you... but it's unnecessary."
The other three sighed in relief(well Michael echoed in relief), shooting each other glances. 'Thank you for resolving that Pedro!' They all gave him a big thumbs up in their minds.
"Well how should we find a healer? Everyone else is now rushing to get a party and everyone needs a healer..." Layla worried.
Kai's ear twitched. "Huh... I have an idea."
"Oh?" "Hm?" "...?" "What is it?"
Kai began lightly jogging away from the mass of people on the lake bed, going up the slope a bit until he was a tad higher than the other people before turning around, the other four staring at him in confusion.
He took in a deep breath...
"HELLO! WE HAVE A PARTY WITH A DEFENSIVE KNIGHT, SCOUT, HEAVY HITTING MID-RANGE, RANGER, AND SUMMONER-MAGE! WE STILL NEED A HEALER!"
Dead silence as everyone turned to look at the screaming foxkin!
Xandra blinked heavily, while Michael shook his head, Pedro just facepalmed, and Layla hid in between them all using their shadows to blend in and blur out of sight a bit, literally using a skill for the first time just to not be seen by everyone staring at their party now.
"AGAIN! IF YOU ARE A HEALER IN NEED OF A PARTY, WE ARE RIGHT! HERE!" He pointed at them! He fucking pointed right at the four of them!
And then he jumped down and walked over like nothing happened!
"There, that should work."
Shocked Silence(x4).
"...what?"
"Haaa... nothing. It's fine. Just... let us know what you're planning next time." Michael waved it aside.
Kai felt an uncomfortable prickle at the back of his neck, a stare that was hostile almost, and he turned. 'Is someone watching me? Well duh, after what I just did... but it doesn't feel right...'
Layla rubbed her arms. "Ugh..."
Xandra's eyes sharpened as she looked around, while Pedro and Michael stood looking very confused.
"Okay... anyone wanna explain why you're all acting strange?"
"Some guy is staring at my chest!" Layla was pretty upset clearly as she crossed her arms and lowered her head.
"Are... are you sure? How do you kn-"
"Girls have a sense for it. We have to." Xandra simply replied.
"So is someone looking at you... too?"
"No, I just heard Layla and understood."
The men of the group went silent. 'That... is that... what?! How? How did you-I'm so confused.'
Michael turned his head to look at Kai. "But... you reacted first?"
Kai looked around, his narrowed eyes almost scary in how they intensely looked around with thin slits, until he found what he was looking for.
"I... think someone in Nick's group was looking at us. Or at me, not in a friendly way. I dunno, I can't be sure, that's just what my 'animal instincts' are telling me."
'Were they the ones staring at Layla too?' Everyone thought, turning towards where Kai was looking.
They all looked towards Nick's group, the air genasi, red tiefling, winter fae, owlkin, and elven Druid they had just been talking to!
"Son of a bitch!" Pedro cursed angrily. 'He's not afraid of big people, just of Xandra! Why the fuck?'
"But were they looking at Layla?" Michael wondered aloud, and Layla looked down.
Layla looked down. "Sorry Xandra... if I hadn't reacted you wouldn't have to see..."
Xandra knelt down towards Layla's height, and placed a large hand on her shoulder. "It's okay little one. You have no need to apologize for protecting yourself from a perverts stares, ever. Never apologize for another's ignorance, a man's perversion, or to me for the insecurity of men."
Kai frowned. "Excuse me?"
Xandra shot him a look. "Men don't like women being bigger and stronger. Makes them all nervous." And she gave a sharp-toothed grin with her tusks gleaming in the sunlight.
Kai froze, awkwardly between his disapproving attitude over her implying he was included in the group of "insecure men" and sudden understanding of what she'd actually meant. "Ah... uh..."
"Apology accepted." She said with no small trace of amusement, standing back up and patting Layla on the head some more.
"You said you all needed a healer still?"
They turned to see the summer fae standing there, pink hair and everything.
"Yes! You offering?" Kai spoke quickly while checking her class.
'Holy what? The heck is a Chorister? Holy implies it probably is like a cleric-type class if she's a healer...'
"Sure." She looked at Layla and Xandra. "I like being the prettiest girl wherever I am."
Frosty silence ensued... punctuated by
'...ohhhh fuck. We might have picked up a problematic girl here.'
Helena gave a smile full of pride, a "I know I ticked you girls off but I don't care cause I'm beautiful and therefore the queen" kind of smile.
Michael broke the silence. "They're moving."
The party of fire genasi along with the tiger, rabbit, aasimar, and a woman(with green and blue butterfly wings?) called a Summer Pixie by the System were on the move, climbing the sides of the lake bed.
The hubbub of recruiting ended as everyone turned their eyes on them, and the foxkin's party looked as well, Helena's indirect yet totally direct challenge forgotten for the moment.
They seemed nervous, but kept going, doing their best to ignore everyone staring at them in the oppressive silence.
Finally they reached the edge of the lake bed... they stopped uncertainly.
'That's right... this is supposed to be a lake, but that masked stranger made it a pocket realm right? So when you leave, it should become water again? But... they're already above where the water level should be.' Everyone was in thought below.
Finally one took a deep breath, took a step out, his body already higher than where the water ought to be... and vanished without any sign!
Everyone below shot looks at one another, and his party hesitated before one of them finally shook her head and resolutely followed, also disappearing.
Soon the rest followed.
And so it went.
Michael spoke up, "well if we got everyone we need for now... if we need more party members we can also look for them among the natives after all, right?"
Kai nodded. "Right, right. Let's... go then?"
They started walking up while more chatter erupted among those left, about leaving, but also still some looking for certain roles for their parties as everyone seemed to think that having a healer and defender was absolutely necessary for some reason, possibly something they can no longer remember.
Xandra came to the edge first with her long stride, and vanished as she stepped out of the lake bed without hesitation, followed by Michael, Helena, then Pedro.
Kai waited a second for Layla who was the smallest and took the longest to get up, letting Helena and Pedro pass by and exit the realm.
"Alright. You ready?"
Layla was clearly nervous, but squared her shoulders and looked straight ahead. She gave a firm and decisive nod. "Yes!"
Kai smiled at the small batkin, who despite clearly being a teen by her hips and chest, sounded like she might be younger with her high-pitched yet quiet voice, and her short stature.
"Alright, lets go."
They both took a step out of the last protective bubble set up by whoever brought them to this world, and finally stepped out into it.
And they took their first proper step into the world of Motika.