Talvi noticed Caius's glance, so she picked a few of the largest fruits and vegetables that had been gathered then trotted over. While she personally preferred her fox form, there was something to be said about having hands available. The large basket was bespelled to infuse natural mana into the contents, she also forcibly injected mana into each fruit.
Caius accepted the basket picking out the smallest fruit, while infusing any food with fire was hard, to do so without cooking the food was a thousand times more so. Unfortunately, his Little Snack needed natural fire… so it did make sense why the human tribe had fed him pastries and meat… but it was akin to adding mild poison to water. Caius concentrated as he drew mana into the fruit then offered it to his awaiting Little Snack.
Ashton accepted the ripe pear as he was settled into the tails again, the largest tail acted as his chaise lounge while another acted as a blanket over his lower legs, then a third almost as a blanket and table over his lap.
Caius changed back to his full fox form as he laid out in the sun to infuse mana into the fruits and vegetables. Maybe he could use the old nest as a food holder… it was already infused with mana so adding a few enchantments or wards to slowly inject mana into the contents would be more thorough… Aiya, his Little Snack was so pitiful.
Ashton ate slowly, savoring not only the flavor of the fruit… but the fox's mana had added a hint of… warmth? The fruit wasn't physically warm, how to describe such a taste… not spicy but soothing like… perfectly warmed honey though not as sweet. Ashton tried to recall if the mana fruit had tasted similar, or if the fruit was naturally sweet… then again, he'd eaten it so fast.
Ashton lamented not savoring the mana fruit enough, but the juices had been gushing with each bite, and he'd been so hungry. Ashton was about to start eating the pear core when there was a short chuff beside him. Ashton glanced over to see a small red fox looking up at him with giant rounded eyes while holding a sac from his mouth.
Ashton glanced at the pear core, up at the big fox whose eye was only opened a slit, then back down at the … pitiful looking fox. When the little fox bobbed its head and the sac, with a small whine, Ashton reached out to drop the apple core into the sac. The fox's eyes closed with a wide smile, then it turned in a quick circle waving its tail happily as it trotted off…
Caius watched his bemused Little Snack, so the little one was easily swayed with coaxing. Aiya, no wonder the little one's feathers looked so bedraggled… he was far too kind! Practically giving away everything with just a kind look. Caius would have to watch over his Little Snack lest someone steal him away after he'd been fattened up. Caius sifted through the basket picking out a semi large bunch of wild berries to drop into the youth's lap.
Ashton smiled at the near bush of berries that landed on his table, most of the leaves and bare branches had been stripped already. At this rate… the fox would tame him with food alone. Ashton smiled as he plucked a purple rounded ripe berry and popped it into his mouth. The small berry was perfectly tart with that hint of warmth… There were worse ways to be tamed.
Caius saw the Little Snack smile, Aiya, so easily coaxed. This would certainly work in his favor… but that also meant he would have to make sure all of his enticements were significantly better than anyone else's lest the little one waver. Still, this was wonderful progress for just a few hours… though he couldn't move too quickly lest he startle the little one…
Zane kept the small reddish-brown fox in his sights at all times. The slightly larger than normal fox had been scaring away any prey they'd been tracking. While it was incredibly frustrating to know todays prize would likely not be his… still he was grateful none of the foxes had been outright vindictive. Considering how close to death he'd been earlier… he'd been expecting some form of punishment.
Rommel had also been eyeing the beast, "We should just use this time to map the changes in the terrain, or as a leisurely jaunt in the sun." They had been out hunting for two hours but even the squirrels were scared off.
Zane sighed with a nod, "We'll keep our armor and weapons just to be safe, but we can return the supplies. We might as well also pick up a basket to picknick near the falls." He pulled on the reins of his horse to head back to the hunting grounds. Rommel and their two guards followed.
Rommel pulled up beside Zane, "Wouldn't hurt to see if there is anything that might appease Lord Caius… we haven't formally paid our respects either…" he murmured hoping the fox couldn't hear them. While they had been expecting Caius to arrive, especially after seeing the red-gold flame… they weren't sure their current offering would be appropriate.
Zane massaged his brows, blessing of the beast gods, if they gave that to Caius now… they'd be castrated. Maybe not until they were back in Adar… but that was not a welcome home gift he'd ever want. Zane shuddered, "Let's see what we have back at camp."
Rommel wiped the sweat from his brow as the fox trotted between the trees and bushes, in and out of sight. Yes, better to send the offering back home… immediately. Really… they should have prepared a back up after hearing about the courtship gifts Caius sent… maybe the empire's stupidity was contagious.
Zane glanced up at the sky, it should be shortly before noon when they return… if they aimed to present their offerings at dusk after Young Song's contest… they should be able to scrape something presentable together. He couldn't help but notice the increasing fox and bird activity the closer they were to the campgrounds.
"Was that owl… carrying a fox?" Rommel asked in half disbelief as a brown owl flew past them… behind the large owl were two or so dozen smaller birds of various species carrying twigs, leaves, flowers, berries, truly all sorts of miscellaneous greenery.
Zane was slack jawed staring after the giant horned owl… were the beasts… working together already? Zane met Rommel's astonished, almost horrified glance… this could turn out incredibly bad.
Rommel gulped, "We should also see if Crown Prince Asturias has any instructions while we pack a lunch." He hinted glancing around as his goosebumps practically lifted his armor. Even though Alaina helped many beasts ascend… none of their followers helped her followers.
Zane watched as the closer the campgrounds, the more pairs of large birds of prey and foxes appeared. Some birds carrying foxes, foxes carrying birds, birds circling foxes… if he didn't understand the implications the scene would be endearing. As they entered the clearing Zane came to a full stop.
Maybe not hundreds… but well over a hundred birds were circling a giant nest while Caius in his fox form was watching. Some were making the nest, others were dropping off materials for the nest… the fox bird pairs were reporting to Talvi.
Caius opened one eye a slit to watch the Adarians… they should have understood they were unwelcome near his Little Snack at this time. Caius flicked a tail gently in their direction.
"DOWN!" Rommel roared leaping off his horse to tackle Zane to the ground as a blade of wind came at them. Both guards had flung themselves off to the sides but three of the four horses were sent flying. Rommel expected to hear cries of pain… but a second wind had caught the panicked horses, setting them on their feet. While the horses were still clearly startled, they did little more than prance in agitation.
Caius draped one of his tails over his eyes and tail as if he'd seen nothing, heard nothing, done nothing. He'd made sure his spell wouldn't hurt them… much. Just a few bumps or bruises… maybe need new horses.
Ashton side eyed the fox, "I wonder, I wonder…" Ashton drawled as he pulled the tail up to cover his chest more. The fox lifted the tail just enough for Ashton to see a bewildered golden eye. Ashton shook his head with a smile, such a petty fox.
Caius revealed a toothy grin as he hid his eye again. Aiya, so easy to coax. This would also hopefully encourage the Adarians to leave. How else would he keep the Little Snacks undivided attention? Such inconsiderate humans.
Rommel helped Zane up, adrenaline making his heart race. "Stick to the trees, stay as unseen as possible. Don't make any noise." Rommel ordered backing up slowly to follow the tree line to their tents. Making camp next to Young Song didn't seem like such a good idea anymore. Rommel crept behind Zane and into his tent before they activated a sound dispersal mana crystal.
Zane patted himself off, slightly trembling. Caius was not happy with them, that's for sure. "Bring the supplies with us, we'll message Brother Asturias when we get to the falls." While he wasn't sure who had cast the second wind spell… the fact that Young Song didn't stop the original wind blade didn't bode well.
Rommel just started throwing the supplies into his storage ring. Unfortunately, his was ten by ten yards, and he'd filled it almost to bursting for their travels. He had to toss out extra coats, tents, and his back up armor to fit the needed mana crystals and premade transmission supplies.
Zane wanted to curse; they'd still have to send a signal to the two mages to even start communication for such a distance. Beast gods above, the cost to start a communication without a permanent node would be extremely draining but… this could not wait.
Caius watched the Adarians flee like rats into the forest with narrowed eyes. Perhaps… he might get to eat them after all. Suddenly there was a tug on some of his fur, Caius glanced at his little snack with wide, innocent eyes, "Aiya?"
Ashton sighed as he started to pet the tail… it was very soft… and so very warm… The fox fur blanket was also incredibly warm but the tails were still better. Ashton leaned back as the flock started to depart, for now the nest needed time for his mana. Better to infuse each layer separately, like layering rather than just a single layer for his mana. If all went well… this would be his nest for the next few centuries.
Caius watched the flock leave, though a few of the birds continued to escort his kin to ripe food deposits. It wasn't usual for wolves to form bonds with ravens… it was rare for birds to approach foxes. Caius glanced over a large horned owl that had picked up one of his smallest kin in its right talon gently and flew off. If he didn't know better… he'd think the owl was attempting to lay claim to his kin. While the owl was only a third tier leader class beast his kin was only marginally stronger at the fourth tier… perhaps Caius should encourage the match.
Zane and Rommel both shivered as they entered the tree line, theoretically Caius should be a friend since he had ascended in Adar 400 years ago with Alaina's protection. And for the last 400 years Caius had visited at least once a decade, never once had there even been a whisper that Caius would turn on them. Zane had personally poured wine for Caius during his last visit four years ago, while Caius hadn't gifted him anything special, they had renewed Caius's promise to return the favor to Alaina should the need arise.
Caius's anger for being deceived could be part of the reason for the sudden hostility… but Zane didn't believe that was all… Caius was cunning… he might seem like a loafer who let his emotions dictate his actions… but he'd created such conflict that entire cities had destroyed themselves. While no one could prove Caius had done anything… only a fool would believe such actions were coincidence after several cities were wiped off the map.
Caius rarely acted upfront even with all his power… he would be the puppet master behind the scene who easily discarded his toys when he grew bored. Yet for all of Caius's cruelty… he'd never acted against Adar, Melum, or Maricar openly. Alaina might disapprove of his wanton nature but she'd never done more than shake her head at such reports.
Zane had naively thought Caius really was just seeking a longer-lived mate, their last record of Caius entering a formal courtship was over 50 years ago… he'd been reportedly heartbroken when his female fox mate had died along with all their kits during a bad labor. Since then, he accepted their paramours as offerings, but he'd not taken one as a mate in over a hundred years.
Any beast who had ascended while under Alaina's protection would visit randomly once a decade… some often more so, which is why Zane hadn't hesitated to send a missive to his brother to inform Caius that Young Song might be a potential mate. If Caius convinced Young Song to ascend while in Adar then both would visit in regular intervals and Adar could have another powerful ally.
Zane kept kicking his horse faster… something was wrong. Zane couldn't explain it, but he needed to speak to his brother and possibly his father to figure out what. If hostilities continued to escalate… perhaps he should send Kira with a personal missive to Alaina.