From a distance, the white sands was blinding. The breeze blew in from the eastern shores, ruffling Candi’s long honey blonde hair and whipping them around her. She reached up and pulled her hair into a low ponytail as she strode up towards the platform.

She looked around.

There was no one around except for Jenna Natoli, Anaïse Paroles, and herself. Without saying a word to either of the candidates, Candi strode to the first dais and stepped on.

“What makes you think you belong on that first dais, human female?” Jenna scoffed as she stood on the third dais.

In the sun, Jenna’s black-spotted yellow coat gleamed with wild ferocity. She extended her cougar claws and clacked them together, making an annoying sound that grated on Candi’s nerves.

Without bothering to look at her, Candi stared into the distant waves rolling into shore.

“I won the last event, so this spot is mine for now.” She responded.

“We shall see who remains in the end.” Jenna growled deep in her throat. “That throne and that man can only belong to me.”

Between the two of them, Anaïse laughed a tinkling glassy sound. As always, she wore nothing, leaving her semi-transparent blueish glass body to gleam in the sun.

“You’ve never even seen the Crown Prince. I have actually sat at the same table at a dinner party with him once, three years ago.” Anaïse waved a dismissive hand at Jenna.

Candi rolled her eyes.

She wondered what they would think if she told them that only yesterday, Slate had thrown her over to the Crown Prince, who had caught her in midair and carried her through the air, princess-style, to his royal palace.

They were saved from all this sordid conversation with the arrival of Helene Cordera and Valeria Marakesh, who both took their positions on the platform.

Helene poked her head out and smiled at everyone, waving a hand.

Her long aquamarine color hair fluttered in the breeze, matching perfectly with her blue bodysuit that glistened and gleamed like the scales of a fish.

Candi wasn’t sure if she was being friendly or if she was joking since all the contestants had been shaking hands with sharp claws extended.

Still, to be polite, she smiled and waved back.

“Hi! Just wanted to say, you are a really good dancer!” Helene called out from the last dais towards Candi, who was standing on the first dais.

“Thank you.” Candi nodded. What was this girl up to?

“I just ordered a wedding dress like the one you modeled on the Sky Walk, with the shoes and the necklace too! It’s so hot right now, it will take several months before it can be made for me.”

Modeled?

Candi gave a tiny smile. That was no modeled outfit. It had been drawn to that specification by the twins with her input and made specifically for her so she could move her body in exacting movements.

Valeria Marakesh laughed with derision. She flexed her large black wings and a scattering of tiny black feathers flew into the wind, hitting Helene who was downwind from her, in the face.

“Who are you planning to marry?”

Helene Cordera threw her head back and looked at Valeria with lowered eyelids.

“The Crown Prince, of course. You all can have your choice of the other princes,” she said with magnanimous benevolence. “They’re all extremely handsome, but Prince Byron is mine.”

Jenna and Valeria looked at each other for a moment. Then, they burst out laughing with contempt.

“You do realize you have to win the Avgo Competitions to win his hand in marriage, right?” Jenna sneered.

“Do you honestly think Prince Byron would want someone like you?” The raven threw back her head and laughed.

Helene Cordera smiled.

“That’s the plan. The winner takes all.”

From above, a squawking cry called out as a red bird with twelve gold antennas on her head flew towards the fourth dais.

It was Bethany Dresden in her bird form.

She reached the fourth dais and flapped her red wings, landing with a graceful swoop. She was still in her bird form and as the moments ticked forward, it didn’t look as if she was going to change into human form any time soon.

Valeria turned towards Bethany.

“Why are you still not transfigured? You know you can’t attempt any of the Avgo events in any form other than humanoid, with two hands and two feet.”

“I can’t!” Bethany Dresden wailed and squawked.

“Why not?” Valeria huffed. “If you don’t, you will forfeit this round and be eliminated, in which case, less competition for me.”

Bethany Dresden screeched and clucked, not responding to Valeria.

From a distance, the familiar white ping-pong ball hover pod flew towards them. It was almost show time.

Their Host had arrived.

His pod slowed to a stop in front of the platform. The domed top of the ping-pong ball pod slid back to reveal the familiar occupant of the vehicle, the distinguished looking white faun, Lorem Ipsum.

For today’s event, he was dressed in a loud green and pink flower print shirt with a garland of white flowers around his neck. A chain of tiny seashells was stretched across his curled horns, catching the sun and glinting with tropical vibes.

Candi noticed that his underbite chin was no longer so raw and pink now that a fuzz of white whiskers had begun to grow over the bare skin. He was starting to regain his dignified goatly face.

Lorem Ipsum turned to look at Bethany Dresden.

“We will be starting in five minutes. Please transfigure to your human form.”

Bethany squawked and tucked her head under her red feathered wing. Lorem Ipsum gave her a frost glare.

“Bethany Dresden. You have four minutes to transfigure. If you don’t, you will be immediately disqualified. This event is a competition that must be done in humanoid form.”

With slow reluctance, Bethany began to transfigure. Her body grew slightly larger and her arms and legs began to form.

As her head changed from that of a bird to a female human, a collective gasp came from all five contestants standing around her.

Bethany’s long red hair had been hacked into uneven lengths with huge bald spots showing everywhere. There were also large bald spots where someone had plucked handfuls of feathers from her body and wings.

The mini black dress she wore barely covered all the bald areas. It looked like she was molting.

She was truly hideous!