Chapter 405: The Native Camp
The walk stretched longer than Kaiden expected. The forest around them shifted from thick undergrowth to patches of cleared paths lined with tall roots and carved totems. The air carried a heavy mix of greenery, earth, and something else... something that clung to the skin.
He caught the scent when he came close to one of the native tribesmen who was escorting them.
He soon realized that it was a thick, oily musk that lingered around every native walking ahead of them. It wasn’t the natural body odor of human beings, that much was for certain. His brow furrowed as he took a quieter breath, trying to place it. It wasn’t blood or sweat. It had the burn of processed plant oil mixed with crushed herbs.
A strange kind of repellent.
Then Bastet’s ears twitched as she, too, noticed. She turned her head, and her nostrils flared as her golden eyes tracked the group in front of them. "Do you smell it too, Master?"
Kaiden nodded. "Yeah. It’s everywhere. Even on the totems they placed along the pathway."
Bastet’s curiosity turned toward Naira. Before the girl could even react, the feline woman leaned in and sniffed her for a second time. Naira stiffened on the spot, her cheeks heating up.
The poor girl was flustered enough to stumble a step back. She didn’t quite understand what was going on with her; she had never felt like this before. But what she did know was that in her eyes, Bastet was the epitome of beauty, and she didn’t want to appear like an unkept, smelly girl before such a majestic being.
"S-stop...!" she yelped, more begging than forceful.
Bastet ignored her protest as if it never even existed, closing her eyes for a moment before straightening again. "Just as I remembered. You don’t carry the scent."
Naira looked embarrassed for a few more seconds before her shoulders slumped. She looked embarrassed, almost ashamed. "It’s something the elders make, a recipe that keeps the skin-walkers from tracking us. The supply’s very small, though. Only hunters and guards get it."
Aria’s eyes instantly darkened. "So they sent you out there without any?"