Chapter 451: Don’t Taste Everything You See
It was the morning of the next day, bright, warm, and shimmering with the reflected light of the lake. The air was thick with the smell of water lilies and the hum of insects that hovered lazily over the surface.
Julie, Aisha, and Skadi were waiting a little distance outside the village, near the shoreline in a clearing the locals rarely visited. It was quiet, isolated, and perfect for whatever strange plan Cassius had promised to unveil.
Julie and Aisha stood side by side, both in light traveling armor that caught the sunlight. Aisha’s hands rested on her hips, her expression caught somewhere between irritation and curiosity.
Julie, meanwhile, looked calm, patient, even, but her eyes betrayed the same question that lingered in everyone’s mind: what in the world was Cassius up to?
Not that Skadi seemed to care.
The wolf girl was having the time of her life a few meters away, chasing a bright yellow butterfly in dizzy circles.
"Come here, come here! I just wanna see you!"
She laughed, leaping and stumbling through the grass, her tail swishing wildly behind her. Each time the butterfly evaded her grasp, she made an indignant noise and dashed after it again.
Aisha groaned and rubbed her forehead.
"How are we supposed to fight a Leviathan with ’that’ in our team..." She muttered, then turned her gaze skyward. "And just how long are we supposed to wait here? He was supposed to meet us half an hour ago! Not to mention that he has told us nothing about what we’re doing, so we can’t prepare either."
Julie sighed lightly, brushing a loose strand of hair back behind her ear.
"I don’t know, Aisha. Cassius didn’t tell me anything either, no matter how many times I asked." Her tone softened slightly. "He just told me to wait here with all of you. Said he’d be back soon."
"And you didn’t ask why?" Aisha asked, incredulous.
"I did." Julie said dryly. "But I stopped when I realized it was pointless. If Cassius has some plan, he’ll tell us when he feels like it." Then she smiled faintly. "Still, I’m willing to wait. If there’s anyone who can pull a miracle out of nowhere, it’s him."
Aisha huffed but didn’t argue. Still, she glanced toward the path leading back to the village, her brow furrowed.
"He left with Nala this morning, didn’t he? Said something about needing her help for their plan?"
Julie nodded. "Yes. He said it was ’essential.’ Then practically dragged her off before dawn."
"I saw that." Aisha muttered, folding her arms. "Nala couldn’t even look anyone in the eye. She was red as a boiled crab and looked like she’d rather dive into a hole than follow him. What in the world were those two doing?"
"Probably nothing good." Julie murmured, though there was an amused glint in her eyes.
They didn’t have to wonder much longer. Just as Aisha opened her mouth to complain again, she spotted two figures emerging from the treeline in the distance.
"Oh, speak of the devils."
Cassius was walking at his usual casual pace, a lazy smile on his lips as if the entire world bent to his timing.
But beside him, Nala slithered along the ground with a pace that could only be described as sluggish.
Her face was beet red, her tail dragging limply behind her, and even the color of her scales seemed to have lost their shimmer. She looked utterly drained.
The closer they came, the clearer the contrast was. Cassius looked like he’d gone for a pleasant morning stroll. Nala looked like she’d just fought a war, and lost.
Julie blinked, concern and confusion battling in her expression. "What on earth happened to her...?"
Aisha’s sharp eyes caught something else. "Hold on, is that a bucket?"
Cassius was indeed carrying a large wooden bucket—about a couple of liters in size, filled almost to the brim with some clear, viscous liquid that glinted faintly in the sunlight. He carried it as if it were something precious, not an ordinary container of water.
"Morning, ladies!" He called cheerfully, lifting the bucket slightly. "Hope you haven’t been waiting too long! Convincing Nala took...longer than expected."
Nala groaned softly and turned her face away, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Her tail coiled tightly beneath her as if she wanted to disappear into it.
Julie tilted her head, her curiosity piqued. "We didn’t wait too long, but...Cassius, what did you do to her? She looks like she’s about to faint."
Nala made a strangled noise. Cassius, however, chuckled lightly. "Ah, well, that’s—"
Before he could finish, Aisha and Skadi were already beside him, peering down into the bucket.
"What’s this?" Aisha asked suspiciously. "Why in the world are you carrying around a bucket of water? We’re standing right next to a lake, you know."
Skadi leaned closer, her nose twitching as she sniffed the air. "No, no, dummy, that’s not water. It smells...weird. Sweet, but kind of bitter too. And look at it, it’s thicker, slimier."
Cassius opened his mouth to say something, but Aisha was already crouching down.
"Huh. You’re right. It’s sticky, almost like oil." She squinted, then frowned. "And the smell...it’s earthy. Salty, too. I’ve smelled this somewhere before, but I can’t place it..."
Before anyone could stop her, she dipped a finger into the liquid and rubbed it between her fingers experimentally. The slimy texture clung to her skin, stretching between her fingertips when she pulled them apart.
She sniffed again. "Yeah...familiar. Weird."
Seeing this, Nala made a tiny squeaking sound, her entire body stiffening. "D-Don’t...don’t do that..."
But before Cassius could stop the next disaster, Skadi had also crouched down and dipped her finger in, except she didn’t stop at smelling it.
She licked it.
Everyone froze.
Cassius blinked. "Skadi...what are you—"
"Huh." the wolf girl said thoughtfully, smacking her lips. "It’s sweet, like honey...but there’s something else. Kinda tangy. Maybe a little fishy? Can’t say I’ve tasted anything like this before." She looked up innocently. "What is it?"
Nala looked like she was about to pass out. Her face was so red she seemed like she was steaming.
Cassius rubbed the back of his neck, trying not to laugh. "Yeah, uh, Skadi, maybe don’t...taste mysterious substances next time."
But Aisha wasn’t done. "Oh really? It tastes that weird? Maybe I should try too—"
Before she could finish, Cassius quickly reached out and caught her wrist, his expression suddenly serious. "I wouldn’t do that if I were you."
"Eh? Why?" Aisha blinked, startled by the sudden gravity in his tone.
Cassius met her eyes squarely. "Because you’ll regret it."
There was a silence.
Julie crossed her arms, eyeing both of them, then the embarrassed Nala who was trying to hide behind her tail before suspiciously asking,
"Cassius...what is that? And why exactly are you so scared of it?"
Cassius smiled faintly, the kind of smile that made everyone more nervous than reassured.
"Let’s just say...it’s the bait for our Leviathan problem. And it came from Nala."
"Bait?" Aisha repeated slowly. "And this...came from Nala?"
Cassius didn’t deny it, while Nala whimpered softly, curling tighter around herself, her tail tip flicking in humiliation.
Julie’s eyes flicked from Cassius’s half-smile to the bucket in his hand and then to poor Nala, who was curling herself up tighter and tighter as though she wished she could vanish beneath the grass.
For a long moment, Julie didn’t speak. She was clearly trying to make sense of everything, of the strange liquid, of Nala’s mortified expression, and of Cassius’s too-casual tone.
Then, all at once, something clicked in her head.
The smell.
The viscosity.
The way it shimmered in the sun.
The fact that it had come from Nala.
Her face turned bright red. "Wait..." She breathed, stiffening. "Wait—Cassius."
Cassius tilted his head, almost innocently. "Hm?"
"Be clear with me." She said, her voice a little shaky now, as if she didn’t want to know but couldn’t help asking. "Exactly what is it? What is that liquid inside the bucket?"
Cassius’s lips curved into a rueful smile.
"Julie." He said with sympathy. "I really don’t think I have to say it out loud. If I did, poor Nala might combust right here." He gestured toward the naga girl, who groaned softly and buried her face in her hands. "But you already know. There’s only one thing that looks, smells, and...tastes that way, and it comes from her."
Julie went scarlet to the ears. She froze, eyes wide, clearly wishing she could un-understand the implication.
Aisha, on the other hand, looked between them in confusion. "What? I still don’t get it. What’s going on? What exactly is it?"
Skadi scratched her head. "Yeah, Master." She added. "You know I’m not good with riddles or weird logic puzzles. My brain’s too small for this kind of thing." She leaned over the bucket again, nose twitching. "You said it’s something we’re familiar with? What’s that supposed to mean?"
Cassius sighed dramatically.
"It’s something both of you know very well." He said, watching them closely. "Something that comes from your own bodies, actually. Something you both release now and then, whether you mean to or not."
The two of them blinked in confusion, then stared back down at the bucket. The silence stretched for a few seconds...and then, suddenly, realization struck them both like lightning.
Skadi’s ears went stiff, and Aisha’s tail stood straight.
"No...No way." Aisha stammered, taking a step back. "There’s no way it’s that! You can’t mean—" She looked down at her hand in horror. "I touched it. I rubbed it on my fingers and smelled it. Please tell me it’s not that!"
Skadi’s reaction was even louder.
"MASTER, NO! Please tell me it’s not that!" She cried, clasping her hands together as if in prayer. "I licked it! I tasted it! I can still taste it in my mouth! Please tell me it’s not what I think it is, I’ll call you the best master in the world if you say it’s not that!"
Cassius looked genuinely apologetic. He glanced at Nala, who looked ready to cry, and then back at them.
"I’m sorry." He said, voice low. "I can’t lie. It’s exactly what you’re thinking. I tried to stop you before you did that, but..." He gave a small shrug. "You were too quick."
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then, as the full weight of his words settled in, both Aisha and Skadi screamed.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!"
They bolted like startled cats, sprinting toward the lake with all the speed their legs could muster.
"I touched it!" Aisha cried in horror as she dove to the water’s edge, plunging her hands in and scrubbing furiously. "I can’t believe I touched it!"
"Shut up!" Skadi shouted back, already on her knees at the water, dunking her entire head under. "You only touched it! I tasted it! I can still taste it in my mouth!" She started gargling furiously, splashing water everywhere as if she could wash away the memory itself.
"I warned them...Or atleast I tried to." Cassius rubbed his temples and sighed. "It’s their fault for trying to lick and smell everything that comes their way."