The party filled a small square not far from the restaurant.
Orange lights hung across the street.
A small band played lively jazz mixed with folk music.
People danced over the cobblestones.
Snacks and wine passed freely from hand to hand.
It was loud.
Warm.
Chaotic in the fun way.
Which meant Phong had already found the quietest corner possible.
He stood near the back wall with a cup in hand, watching the scene like a careful wildlife researcher studying an unfamiliar species.
Alex noticed right away.
She slipped away from the others and walked over.
"You're hiding."
"I'm observing."
"You're hiding."
Phong gestured toward the dance floor.
"Those people clearly know what they're doing."
Alex grabbed his hand.
"Come on."
Before he could protest, she dragged him into the crowd.
Phong had many strengths.
Farming.
Strategy.
Monster diplomacy.
Dancing was not one of them.
He moved like a man trying to disarm a bomb with his feet.
Careful.
Overthinking every step.
Trying very hard not to step on Alex's shoes.
Which somehow made him even clumsier.
At one point he nearly lost balance and looked like a flopping manatee trying to swim through air.
Alex burst out laughing.
"You're overthinking."
"I'm trying not to step on you."
She leaned close and whispered teasingly,
"You can step on my foot if it helps."
"With my current stats, it probably wouldn't even hurt."
Phong looked horrified.
"That does not make it better."
Still, little by little, awkwardly, he loosened up.
The music helped.
Alex guiding him helped more.
Eventually his movements started to resemble something vaguely dance-like.
Nearby, Dominic and Janet were dancing with much more confidence.
Jake and Jack had somehow turned their Aziraphale-and-Crowley act into a dramatic ballroom routine that drew cheers from half the square.
Séline, Camille, and Joanne stayed near the edge of the floor, laughing as they talked.
Not everyone at the party was charming.
A small group of men had been watching the women for a while.
They had clearly noticed the costumes.
The attention.
The fact that the girls were foreigners.
And they made the mistake of thinking that meant easy targets.
They walked over with sloppy confidence.
Séline noticed first.
Camille's smile vanished at once.
Joanne sighed.
One of the men started in broken English.
Heavy accent.
Crude tone.
Catcalls.
Cheap comments thrown at Alex, Séline, Camille, and Joanne.
They carefully avoided Janet.
Dominic's presence alone made that choice easy.
Phong got judged differently.
Slimmer.
Calmer.
Less obviously dangerous.
A mistake.
Alex's expression hardened.
Séline rolled her shoulders.
Camille stepped forward slightly.
Joanne cracked her knuckles.
They were about to answer.
But someone else moved first.
A tiny blur shot through the crowd.
Rico.
Caffeinated Rico.
Powered by a stolen energy drink.
He moved like a furry missile.
Before anyone could react—
Zip.
Zip.
Zip.
Three belts loosened in rapid succession.
Three pairs of pants dropped in the middle of the dance floor.
For one perfect moment—
Silence.
Then the whole square exploded with laughter.
The men froze in humiliation.
Rico skidded to a stop like a professional menace.
Then bowed.
The men, now furious, scrambled to yank their pants back up.
"You little—!"
They lunged at the raccoon.
Huge mistake.
Wood creaked.
Branches snapped outward.
The treantling on Rico's back expanded at once.
Living wooden armor formed around him.
Mana glowed across its surface.
The raccoon straightened dramatically.
Even puffed out his chest.
One of the men swung.
Rico sidestepped.
Another grabbed for him.
The treant armor shoved him back with surprising force.
Within seconds the whole group was stumbling away in shame while the crowd cheered and laughed.
Dominic crossed his arms proudly.
"That's my raccoon."
Janet shook her head.
"I refuse to claim him."
Alex wiped tears from laughing too hard.
Even Séline and Camille were clapping.
Joanne raised her glass.
"To chaos."
Phong stood near the dance floor watching Rico strut proudly in his wooden armor.
He shook his head slowly, smiling.
"Well."
"That settles it."
Dominic glanced over.
"What?"
Phong pointed at the raccoon.
"I'm officially more vulnerable than Rico."
The raccoon raised both arms like a tiny superhero.
In the background, the band never even stopped playing.
And the party in Lyon carried on like nothing unusual had happened.