Portraits revealed through your current reading position.
A courtly tiger-crawler tea master who serves friendship as a holy act — and pours a farewell cup before fleeing to the Cabaret.
Bautista is a tiger-crawler and gracious tea master, running the 'Bautista House of Tea' that served the guildhall's breakfasts. Also addressed as Daniel, he is among the two hundred-plus crawlers escaping to the Pineapple Cabaret, and he hosts the farewell in Hungry Eyes village square with dignity, brewing and pouring for Imani, Carl, Louis, and the departing crew. He serves his 'breakfast blend' — infused with tea leaves found from a local vendor to grant a 25% constitution buff (system-flagged as a potion, so long-cooldown crawlers must be careful) — and prepares a separate constitution-buff blend for those bound for the Cabaret.
When Louis tactlessly jokes about checking on 'his kid,' Bautista turns the awkward beat gracious, patting Louis and vowing to look in on the child Louis is having with his girlfriend. He speaks movingly of his family creed: serving friends and community is a special, holy thing, a way of honoring God, and though he once feared he'd never find his home when the crawl ended, he has found peace and trusts he'll be 'recognized on the other side.'
A large, courtly tiger-crawler with a warm, ceremonious bearing, moving among his kettles and clay teapots like a devoted host.
The party's tiger tea master, serving buff-laden farewell cups before escaping to the Pineapple Cabaret.
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