Chapter 417: An Itchy Butt
Planet Kareem.
A rip appeared below the clouds of the sun-lit sky. Magic runes appeared and formed complex magic circles.
The magic circles then split apart to form a magic-focused portal.
Out of the portal, five magic shuttles strolled out casually, casting dark shadows on the ground beneath them.
The applications of magic were truly wondrous. One just had to have the right time and sufficient energy to be able to do almost anything.
Magic came with its own set of downsides and complications, but it was still convenient.
The five magic shuttles descended to the ground, but they didn’t land.
A cloud of magic covered all of them, rendering each vessel invisible to the ordinary eye.
They had arrived at a desert location on the planet. This desert was vast, having sandy plains as far as the eye could see.
No greenery or vegetation could be seen all the way to the horizon.
A bright red beam shot down from the biggest shuttle. This beam was harmless as it only scanned the surrounding environment for potential danger.
It did this for close to an hour. After finding nothing worthy to be considered a threat, the shuttles groaned.
Hatches opened under the invisible shuttles with soft blue beams shooting down from the gaps.
One figure dropped down from the biggest shuttle, a very small figure when compared to the big shuttle.
*BAM!*
The little figure landed on the ground with a resounding thud. One could tell that this person had a lot of weight as the sandy ground caved in under his body.
Shabby hair, big body for a child, bushy eyebrows, and a ferocious look in his eyes. It was Kratos.
Kratos looked around, observing the desert. Then he looked down to observe the sand he was standing on.
He crouched, a look of excitement on his face.
Kratos brought down his hand to touch the sand grains, feeling the tiny particles brush into the space in between his fingers.
A hot wind blew his face, pushing his shabby hair slightly to the side.
*BAM!*
Another figure dropped down from the shuttle, landing right behind Kratos and kicking up another round of dust clouds.
This one had short dreadlocks, stunning blue eyes, and wheat colored skin. He was a tall child, but not as robust as Kratos.
This was naturally Ozia.
"So, are we the aliens here, or are they the aliens?" Kratos asked his brother without looking back.
Ozia looked around, taking the strong stench of odourless oxygen into his lungs.
He smiled, "Technically, we are all the same according to our mother. But to them? We might as well be gods, hehehe,"
Hearing this, the smile on Kratos’s face widened as a strange imagination sprang up in his mind.
"We are not here to show ourselves too much, though," Silas said, mysteriously appearing in front of the duo.
His intangible body became tangible and the slit in the middle of his forehead quivered.
The smile on Kratos and Ozia’s faces vanished, "Why do you have to be like this?" Kratos asked.
"Yeah, why must you be a fun killer?" Ozia asked.
"Fun killer?" Silas rolled his eyes, "Aunt N’bayé wants to study them covertly while we search for the Primordial Wolf.
You can have fun all you want, just don’t disrupt the balance of their society..."
"You know that’s not possible!" Kratos argued.
"Yeah, when you have an itch on your butt, will you ignore it?" Ozia asked as he got closer to Silas and put his arm around the latter’s shoulder.
Silas didn’t resist. Ozia was slightly taller than him and he couldn’t even evade it fast enough.
"What does a butt itch have to do with this expedition?" Silas asked. He secretly wondered why his brothers were always like this.
By this time, other figures were starting to jump out of their shuttles through the soft blue beam.
"Silas Silas Silas," Ozia called his brother’s name three times as he shook his head, "Having fun is like having an itchy butt, you can’t just stop it from happening.
And when the itch comes, you must scratch,"
Kratos nodded his head vigorously, as if Ozia was indeed spitting words of wisdom.
"Ozia, where did you learn such profound bullshit?" Silas asked.
Kratos nearly choked on his saliva and the smile on Ozia’s face disappeared.
Silas continued, "As smart as you are, you are evidence that intelligent people can still say stupid things.
Are you sure you are part Magus?"
Silas moved away from them, sensing that Ozia was no longer in a good mood.
Ozia wanted to answer but he shut his mouth. He had learned that responding to Silas would just make him feel worse.
The sound of heavy creatures hitting the ground was heard as all of Kael’s consorts and children had arrived except Nalii and Katari.
N’bayé hovered a few inches above the ground, her red robe fluttered due to the low breeze.
Her eyes, one red and one blue, shine with the light of runes. She looked around, hundreds of calculations passing through her mind.
Finally, her eyes settled on the children with indifference.
"Where is she?" N’bayé asked. The question was directed at Ozia.
Ozia instantly froze up. He knew his plan had been discovered.
Hiding things from N’bayé, or any of the consorts for that matter was never a wise choice.
N’bayé had asked once, she wouldn’t like to ask again.
"She’s waiting for us to leave," Ozia said, lowering his head to avoid the gazes of all those who were looking at him.
Silas shook his head, realizing what Ozia had done.
’Is he stupid?’ Silas asked as he slapped his forehead.
It was a question that came from his genuine concern for his brother. No matter how much they annoyed each other, they were still brothers and have been growing up together.
Ozia was meant to be very smart, but he seemed rather ignorant concerning certain things in the past year.
And it was all because of that fox lady, Isabel.
The relationship between Ozia and Isabel had become rather disturbing to many who knew about it.
Everyone thought that it would just be a short thing. The first prince, as young as he was, would take a fancy to the fox lady and have his way with her in exchange for benefits like status or resources.
It was something a lot of lions did with vassals.
However, up till now, Ozia and Isabel had not done anything sexual for some reason. She had also become more seductive and bold.
It all started when she and Madam Vixy began to interact more with each other.
A scheme was at play here, and Ozia didn’t know or refused to know.
He openly declared now and then that he was keeping his first time for a special moment. In reality, Isabel was the one holding off and making him think it was his choice.
Intelligent minds saw through what was happening. But no one could convince Zia otherwise. He was supposedly in love.
It was almost like Ozia was being groomed. But what was Isabel grooming Ozia for?
No one knew for sure but they knew that it was much more complicated than a simple romantic relationship.
N’bayé looked up at her invisible shuttle, manually controlling the vessel with her mind.
With a thought, she flushed out the intruder.
A figure with four fluffy tails fell from the hatch while screaming.
Ozia panicked seeing the fox lady fall from the sky. Levitation runes burst to life around him as he shot up to catch her.
A heroic act, one that could have been avoided.
"Do you know that you have committed a serious offense, Ozia?" N’bayé asked.
Ozia came back to the ground and dropped Isabel down. The fox lady stood to the side, keeping her head down.
She was in the presence of the royal family. She could be bold but even he knew her limits.
"I’m sorry mother!" Ozia said, lowering his head but keeping Isabel’s hand in his. "I didn’t know how long we were going to be here so I thought to bring her along,"
"It wasn’t wise at all," N’bayé said. She saw the holding of hands and released a tired sigh.
Sometimes, she forgot that Isabel and Ozia were chronologically the same age, even though they looked very different.
The way Ozia held Isabel’s grown-up hand, was the same way Silas held his mother’s hand in the past.
Beneath that downcast expression that Ozia wore. He felt satisfied as his desire and longing were fulfilled.
Priya also saw this and everything started to click in the lionesses’ minds.
It all made sense now.
’So it’s my fault?’ N’bayé asked herself as she raised an eyebrow.
She didn’t press on it though since it was an emotional thing. Thankfully, Katari was not here.
Everyone could only sigh, even if they reported to Kael, it would not necessarily change anything. Ozia would literally burn down the world for Isabel, he was very much capable of such extremities.
There was no turning back now, Ozia would have to take care of her as no else was interested in attending to her well-being.
Not wanting to dwell on it much further, N’bayé, being the unofficial leader, started formulating strategies for their expedition on Planet Kareem.
They decided to split up so that they could cover more ground and achieve the goals they had all come for.
One step closer to finding the Primordial Wolf.