Talvi placed her hands over her stomach bowing as the human child was thrown at her feet. She tapped her left foot and pulled a collar out of the storage bangle. While the child was still unable to move she locked it around his neck, then gestured for him to return to his kin.
Zane flinched as Caius followed Young Song over, "Morning Young Song, Lord Caius. Do you have any orders?"
Caius glared down at the prince, but Alaina's mark was so obviously placed. He'd have to bide his time.
Ashton leapt into his nest, leaning over the edge, the fox gingerly entered, careful to not flatten anything. "I was going to announce today's prize." Ashton informed as he produced a red down feather for all to see.
Zane glanced at the feather, but seeing Caius made him hesitate, "Are there any other rules Lord Young Song?"
Ashton sighed, "I'm not so petty, and I'm sure no fox would embarrass me for such petty matters." Ashton trailed off glancing back at the fox in his nest.
"Aiya? Me? Never. Let the lordlings play and see what they catch. If any of my kin are dumb enough to be caught… well then, I'm better off without." Caius added waving the thought away. He couldn't even fully lay out in the tiny nest… how could his Little Snack possibly be comfortable?
Rommel shuddered… he didn't plan to hunt any foxes… just to be safe… not after that little display. Though he did want to leave the area as soon as possible. The smaller foxes were still gnawing on bones, covered in blood, the uneaten prisoners remained unsettling reminders.
Ashton sighed, "You've scared the children…" If they were too scared to even speak… half of his entertainment would be gone. This fox was determined to create chaos all around him.
Caius jolted up glancing around, "Eh? What children? Where?" Then he derisively glanced over the little royals, "Them? Little Snack… they are considered adults by their own standards."
Ashton let his smile fall as he side eyed the fox, "Fox… I consider them children."
Caius narrowed his eyes on the Little Snack, then gave a toothy smile, "Aiya, so fierce, okay okay. I won't harm them so long as they don't offend you, or try harming mine, yes? I will also do my best not to scare them."
Ashton smiled, "Many thanks, while the children are away, I will make my new nest." Better to soothe the big fox when the children aren't around. But he had to set clear boundaries… if Fox just came and disrupted all his plans his pride would be pricked.
Caius glanced over the tribal warriors, "Will they be off hunting for your glory? Or remaining close to home?" It would appear the Little Snack wasn't willing to just bend to his will… well he had expected this to be an uphill battle, a prolonged, ruthless battle if he wanted to tempt this little bird into his cage.
Ashton titled his head at Neolani, "My Ember?" He asked, while he'd prefer to have some time beast to beast… this wasn't a secret they could not learn.
Neolani hesitated as she glanced between Ashton and Caius… while Ashton didn't seem to mind either way… the fox was making it clear he wanted them gone. Neolani glanced at the three tailed fox woman, who only gave a simple nod. "We will bring you pride with our hunts."
Zane was itching to immediately escape this place, a quick glance around proved he clearly wasn't the only one who wanted to regroup away from the man eating beasts.
Ashton nodded, "Then be off, since you are under my protection if you come across something that kills you, you'll have to forfeit anymore jaunts into the hunting grounds. Otherwise… have fun." Ashton teased as he surrounded his feather in a sealing spell, then placed it on a pedestal. "At dusk no more submissions may be presented."
Caius waited uncomplainingly as the humans gathered up, changed, broke off into groups, and finally left into the forest. He'd ignored the dragonkin glancing over his snack's collar. He took much delight in zapping the smaller dragonkin as they fiddled with it.
Sebastian had been standing back, clearly even if they got the collar off… Monroe's fate wouldn't be any better. Then again… having seen a beast for the first time and watching him eat several people… if his children or brother had such a collar, he wouldn't be able to calmly assess the situation.
Monroe had already collapsed from being shocked, but Jaxon couldn't give up… mana fruit… there had to be a way… he turned to Devlin, "Can we infuse mana into the fruit? Can we make a mana fruit?" He continued to glower at Monroe's collar but didn't touch it again.
"If it was that easy we would have done it decades ago Jaxon!" Devlin snapped cradling his numb hands. That last shock had been nasty… he didn't want to imagine that kind of shock on his throat if just a moment's contact had left both hands singed, and now numb. He wasn't a god! He didn't know any more than they did, but they were all bombarding him for answers!
Lucian placed his hand on Devlin's shoulder, tensions had been skyrocketing for days now. Today had only made the situation worse… much worse.
Leonard had sent Levi off with Serafin and the others to go out hunting, maybe if they captured something they could win the feather and trade it for another piece. He only told Levi of his plan, sending Amin along to help, while it wouldn't fix the problem… he was grasping at straws.
"Then what do we do? What do I do damnit?!" Jaxon snapped back, "They were eaten! EATEN Devlin! I can't take him and run! I don't have mana fruit! What do I do?!" he finally roared facing them angrily, "You told me not to send him away! Look at him! Look at my brother!"
"I'm trying damn it! I've been trying! I don't know either! I didn't tell him to throw that dagger Jaxon! I made that dagger to protect him! He's brought this on himself!" Devlin roared back standing up to look down on Jaxon.
"YOU'RE THE MAGE! We've spent hundreds of thousands of gold on you! Who else do we ask?!" Jaxon demanded also standing to be chest to chest with the older man.
"ASK WHY HE CAN'T JUST LISTEN! Why YOU won't just listen!" Devlin snarled glancing at them, "How fucking hard is it to act with pride! You keep cleaning up after him and now he's pissed off a fucking beast of Sin! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" Devlin demanded waving his hands around.
"You were there! He killed a DRAGON by himself! But you can't keep your damn mouths shut! I can't fix stupid Jaxon!" Devlin cursed throwing down the mana stone he'd been using on the collar.
"Devlin! Jaxon! This isn't helping! We need to focus!" Leonard tried to move between the two men but Jaxon just shoved him aside.
Sebastian watched the three men, bickering like children. Sebastian glanced around, Charmaine had already gone back inside with Natasha, guards were in place… but looked ready to run if either beast so much as looked at them. Truly… they had damned themselves with their actions.
Lucian closed his eyes, he'd been the one to insist on going to see Ashton back in Palmer town… "I'm sorry Jax." He'd also ordered Ashton to come to the capital despite being warned several times… "Jax… I'm so sorry."
Jaxon turned to Lucian… the remorse, shame, the pity… his vision started to blur, "Luc… Luc don't… don't you look at me like that!" Jaxon ordered, but Lucian stepped closer. Jaxon stumbled back, "There's still hope, Luc…"
Lucian stepped forward then brought Jaxon in for a bone crushing hug. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have forced Ashton to come to the capital."
Jaxon just stood there, then he looked at the beasts… the men in chains… at his brother… and the first hot teer slid down his cheek. "Luc… what do I do? He's all I've got left…" Jaxon had personally beheaded their parents… he'd watched his uncle die twice… his fiancé had been exiled… He'd been so busy he could only see Monroe two or three months of the year…
"He'll still be alive… we'll make it better after… he'll overcome this." Lucian promised as he felt Jaxon's body slump ever so slightly. He just held Jaxon for several moments, for now… they had to figure out how to appease the beasts and not lose anyone else.
Jaxon felt the waves of despair wash over him… even if Monroe survived… what kind life would he live? He was already missing an arm… the other was at least partially crippled… what would he do without his feet or hand? Yes, they could give Monroe a prosthetic… but Monroe was able to do little more than strengthen himself with mana… learning to control one prosthetic would be a feat… several would be nigh impossible.
Besides… the beasts had made it clear they wanted a head or heart… maybe if Ashton took the heart Monroe would survive… but Caius clearly had no qualms taking his heart and leaving Monroe for dead. For just a moment… barely even a breath… Jaxon resented Lucian…
Jaxon instantly quashed the feeling. Even if Ashton hadn't come to the capital… the land dragon would have still been summoned, the rebels would still be plotting in the dark, the church would still be making sacrifices. This wasn't Lucian's fault. He knew it wasn't Lucian's fault. Lucian had even offered his most treasured possession... Jaxon took in a ragged breath… they would get through this…
Devlin sighed as he ruffled his hair in irritation, then he took a deep breath to calm down. "I know you and his majesty went on an expedition to find a mana fruit tree… did… anything stand out?" Devlin couldn't let his frustration get the better of him. It's not like this was the first time he was outclassed… and beasts were always stronger than their human counterparts in terms of power…
This was a good lesson… Devlin had always moved in large groups after the threat level had been assessed so they could go with minimal casualties… first and foremost he should start adding electricity and water enchantments to their armor. While he'd been considered a one man army… that wasn't until three years after Alphonse had died. So many years without a contender… had made him severely complacent.
Sebastian helped Leonard up but didn't speak, even if they all started listening… so much damage had already been done. Too much damage.
Leonard may not be a spring chicken, but he was still younger than Sebastian… he'd also endured many years of battle…. How the times had changed. While he wasn't nearly broad as Jaxon or Sebastian… but he'd always been quick on his feet… when did that change? Leonard stood brushing himself off watching Lucian and Jaxon. He took a deep breath, then sighed… he didn't dare look at the pleading, terrified, desperate men silently begging for their help…
Lucian stepped back glancing over everyone, "Send men out into the forest… and pray we get lucky." Lucian's stomach rolled at the thought… even if the beast gods blessed them to find a mana tree, that had perfectly ripe fruit… a tree might only hold three or four fruit…
Lucian turned to face the nearly naked men; this wasn't their fault… they had only been following orders. Maybe a few had been gone knowing Lucian had ordered the nobles away from Palmer… but to go against their lord's orders would have still resulted in punishment. For all Lucian knew… the army had been ordered to attack the Inago thinking they were an invading force…
Sebastian watched his emperor… his disappointment surpassed their current vocabulary. Praying for luck might have been helpful even a week ago. Sebastian glanced over the count's personal men, he even recognized a few. If anyone was going to defy the emperor to go after a commoner's family… it would be that pathetic excuse of a son. David had gotten into several brawls since being in the capital especially after rising to Lucian's elite guards.
Sebastian and Jaxon had counseled against appointing David… but Charles, Lyon, Leonard, and Charmaine had been covering for him since he'd started training. Now… not only was David dead, and rightfully so, but potentially another 156 men would die. Many of whose only sin was following their lord's orders.
Sebastian closed his eyes as a breeze rustled around him. Sebastian thought about his family… they had been loyal for 200 years and been ostracized for as long as he could remember. His grandfather had been an Archduke… but half his lands taken and their line demoted to a duke when his grandfather refused to marry Sebastian's aunt into the imperial family as a concubine… since then not even a fifth of their land remained.
Sebastian opened his eyes, then again… he had sold off many of the duchy's businesses and rights in the last few months. Maybe… he should disown his children and brother then banish them from the empire… while their honor might be temporarily tarnished, they would survive.
With Calix already proving to be a reliable, fair, and determined leader Sebastian had no doubt they would prosper no matter where they went. If… if they could follow a fair and competent ruler. Sebastian glanced over the hunting grounds, the beasts, the tents of the delegations. If only Ashton was willing to take over as their emperor…
As treasonous as the thought was… or if Ashton became their patron beast like Alaina was to Adar. But… if Caius remained, he would be a double-edged sword. Populations tended to rapidly increase wherever Caius stayed… but so did problems. Typically, brothels would spring up like mushrooms after rain which wasn't usually the issue; but the increased… passions would bleed out into all aspects of life.
Fights broke out more often, affairs, bastard children… but also explosions in productivity and advancements in technologies. Caius's arrival always heralded some type of chaos… but Ashton's arrival hadn't really affected them… Sebastian stopped, taking a moment to really looked at Ashton.
Since Ashton had arrived… yes there had been several horrendous revelations… but none had been a result of his actions. His entire existence had been… revealing the atrocities of the empire. Like bringing a light into a dark hallway you often passed through but never looked around. Everything had always been there, perhaps the musty smell had grown worse, maybe sometimes you thought you heard a noise, maybe once or twice you stumbled but caught yourself. None of it was something that smelled or sounded concerning enough to stop and investigate now.
Then six months goes by, many already accustomed to the smell, so it wasn't even spoke about anymore… but then a new person is navigating the hall, so they bring a light and all around are scurrying rats, moldy food, tattered rags of a carpet and small animal carcasses. The immediate visual was overwhelming, denials that things could have ever gotten so bad without someone knowing seemed preposterous.
But everyone had collectively just ignored the smell… so who was really at fault… surely not the person who revealed the problem… they had never even been down the hall before this. Could servants who traveled the halls be held accountable? But servants were given specific tasks… so their supervisors? If no one mentioned the smell… how were they to know? The lords or ladies who owned the castle? Were they expected to bring a light even if they knew the path by heart and only ever passed by occasionally? Who? Who was to blame… and did it really matter? The best thing to do… was to just clean the hall out.
If Caius increased… passions, and Ashton brought situations to light… what would 700 years of influence from an avarice dragon do to a population?
Sebastian paled just as Ashton looked over with a small shrug. Then Caius quickly wrapped him back up in his tails while hundreds of bird calls suddenly echoed around the forest.