Three Portlands.
Prometheus Plaza-Block 44.
"Hey, brother, here's the energy drink you ordered!"
Quinn, a green velociraptor wearing a large tie-dyed shirt and bell-bottoms, with several flowers tied to his head, brought a bottle of energy drink bubbling with black fizz over to the blond young man sitting in the front row enjoying the musical performance.
"Thanks, Quinn. Here, this is your tip."
Xia Xiu picked up the energy drink that Quinn had set on the table, bit down on the straw, and took a long gulp.
"Haven't seen you in a while. What have you been busy with lately?" Quinn cheerfully pocketed the banknotes Xia Xiu had placed on the tray, then asked the blond young man with a curious look.
"Busy with research assignments. The academic pressure at Deer College is pretty heavy." Xia Xiu smiled as he replied, casually tapping his left index finger against the tabletop to the rhythm of the band in front of him.
As always, the band performing in Prometheus Plaza today was entirely nonhuman.
Currently playing in the middle of the stage was a passionate rock band made up of beastfolk.
The band's vocalist was a lion-man, who was holding an electric guitar and singing a rock song with a staggering number of insults involving mothers.
The memetic sharing carried by the song made it easy for them to stir up the audience's emotions.
"I've never seen this band before. They're good. Did they just arrive?" Xia Xiu asked Quinn beside him.
"Yeah, they're Sun Seeds, a band that just came up from the Brussels Region. They're an underground band that plays hardcore rock."
"A local Brussels band, or..."
"A wandering band, of course. These days, famous [memetic musicians] don't dare stay in one place for too long. You must have heard