It was a fairly normal day. Kenneth had finished most of his work in the underground, and now taught the always happy to be here Nokset and Nokoovo.

  She was still able to make class, but after that conversation with her mother, the progress on the book had halted for now. No worry, in the meantime, Kenneth could focus on a side project.

  Thankfully, though… complicatiatly, so Nokstella was at his side once again, and she was keeping very well company with Kolu. After such a long time apart, it seemed Kolu had calmed down, and they could once more be around each other without Kenneth having to worry that he did anything to her, and she was a rather forgiving young girl, it would seem, not that he believed she carried any hatred toward him, even after he cut her.

  Though saying all that, that incident earlier, he had wondered if he should have buckled for all of those caretakers in the orphanage, but he didn’t, no matter how much they…

  Regardless, she was here now, and he was… happy about it.

  “And that brings us to the liver, which acts as a filter for toxins and poisons, as well as medicine, removing them from the body--”

  “You’ve already said all of this. If I have to be here, don’t repeat yourself,” Nokset said with his feet up on the table, rocking his chair.

  “I’m glad to see you are listening to what I have to say,” Kenneth replied, prasingly.

  Nokset seemed to notice his tone and schoffingly hissed, or maybe he just had some snot he sucked back into his nostrils. “I have to. You give me all those questions I have to answer; otherwise, you keep me prisoner.”

  “Well, I’m just doing what school should do and forcing those who don’t want to learn to stay until they do,” Kenneth replied. “But enough of that, I wanted to talk about the liver, because there’s one thing I haven’t mentioned about it. You see, it’s a bit of an oddball in regard to organs. It can regenerate.”

  “You mean like a wound healing itself and going back to normal?” Nokoovo asked while writing down notes.

  “Exactly, kinda, actually, I wanted to use this as a segway to talk about the next subject, organ donation,” Kenneth began. “As you both probably know, we have a fair few organs in our bodies, and a couple we don't need two sets of, so we can choose to donate them, similarly to Noksafgro giving blood to his sister.”

  He gestured to Split, but she, along with Nokset, had a bit of an unreadable expression; however, it became much clearer a moment later.

  “What, you steal organs and put them into someone! That's disgusting!” He yelled.

  “And your breakfast consisted of what exactly?” Kenneth retorted. “Now, now, organ donation can be useful if someone needs that organ for whatever reason, if others happen to fail. And getting back to the liver, unlike other organs, due to its regenerative properties, it is the only one that could be cut in half, put into someone else, and have both parts regrow inside the recipient and donor.”

  “It’s still disgusting and unnatural,” Nokset grumpily replied.

  “If you want natural, just strip and go out into the swamp, with the other animals; meanwhile, I’ll stay nice and sweaty in my clothes,” Kenneth shot back.

  “What other organs can be donated?” Nokoovo asked.

  Kenneth thought for all of one second, a bit slow if he said so himself. “Well, you got the obvious, like kidney, liver, part of the intestines, maybe one heart for you, Nok, and the pancreas, which, like the liver, can regenerate--”

  Suddenly, someone stepped through the doorway to the class, and the moment Kenneth recognized those jade scales and that dark grey tunic with long sleeves ending in gloves, and that stained red and white apron, with lastly a white hat in the shape of a paper boat, he broke out in a cold sweat.

  “Oh, hello, Nokandrite, it’s always good to see you, and I apologize for those times I didn’t bring the carcasses back on time, those few times,” Kenneth said to the mountain of a woman towering over him, who was nearly as tall as most Aki.

  Her lime colored eyes focused predatorily on him, and with no further ado, she grabbed him by the waist with both of her brown, gloved hands and slung him over her shoulder, like some dead animal.

  “You can’t take him like that!” Nokoovo said, grabbing Nokandrite’s arm.

  Unflinchingly, she glanced at her and, with no warning, ripped her arm free and lightly punched her in the face, knocking her back, much to the shock of Split and Nokset.

  Kenneth would have been more worried, but after the incident at the orphanage with Nokoovo almost getting into a fight and her explanation for why, being she hadn’t been in one for years, and wanted to so badly, didn’t exactly cause him to yell out.

  Especially since she didn’t look worse for wear.

  Besides, if he could avoid it, he wouldn’t want Nokstella and Kolu to worry if there was another way, “Umm, what are you doing?”

  The only explanation given was, “I’ll bring him back when I’m done.”

  She made it sound like she was some barbarian kidnapping a princess for some one-sided fun.

  “Well, don’t I feel pretty now,” Kenneth sarcastically remarked before she turned to leave. “Nokstella, Kolu, stay together and don’t get into trouble! If someone tries to start trouble…!

  By that point, he was out of earshot while everyone in the room stood a bit flabbergasted at what had happened, the silence only broken by Nokset’s mocking laughter.

  Outside, Kenneth rested his head in his hand, which rested on Nokandrite’s shoulder, as he asked, “Any particular reason you are kidnapping me?”

  “Are you hurt?” She gruffly asked.

  “Other than my pride as a man.”

  “Then shut your snout.”

  Walking down the street, all the village folk got quite a sight as they watched Kenneth being kidnapped, not that anyone did anything to help him. Though it wasn’t like he was screaming for help, that was on its way in the form of Split, Nokoovo, Kolu, and Nokstella. Nokset as well, though it was more so to probably watch whatever misery was in store for him.

  And that would apparently take place at Nokandrite’s stomping grounds, “Taking me to the great pyramide, are we?”

  “We are taking you nowhere,” She sneeringly hissed, “I’m taking you to the grand hall.”

  ‘First great hall, now apparently grand hall, what’s next, the magnificent hall, majestic?’ Kenneth pondered, his rescue lagging sorely behind.

  Inside, she walked with purpose, down a hallway, entering what he assumed to be the kitchen.

  He’d never actually entered it when making a deal with Nokandrite, or more precisely, she wouldn’t let him enter, and of all the threats some had used on him, none were so spine-chillingly frightening, plausible, and right out of the blue.

  Though he was beginning to question her seriousness in making food, because the kitchen was a meticulous mess, bordering on insanely cluttered, and logically arranged.

  And that was just his initial assessment as he saw some of the other cooks, or undercooks, whatever they were called, he assumed from their lack of a hat. However, he’d never quite known fully fletched cooks to waterboard dead animals.

  There were three on the task. One to hold the dead thing aloft by the neck and spine, one pouring water down its throat, and one holding it by its rear end with a bucket under it.

  ‘Well, I feel a little better about eating the food now, not so much for the food itself,’ Kenneth couldn’t help but think, feeling a strange mix of sympathy and indifference.

  Though that quickly faded in favour of shock as Nokandrite came to a stop and threw Kenenth down into a pot.

  Once the initial shock of warm water wore off, he stood up. “You know I took a bath a couple of hours ago.”

  “I don’t care, just stay,” She growled, before turning to look at the three stooges, the water the second one was pouring down the carcass's throat, overflowing. The sight alone sent Nokandrite into a white hot rage as she stomped over to them. “You scales for brains plebo shedlings, zillo hatchlings!”

  Her voice was so booming and commanding that Ulric couldn’t hold a candle to it, nor would any drill sergeant, with how quickly the three stood at attention.

  “You don’t pour the water in after you beat it, you reach up and…” she demonstrated her point, grabbing the carcass by the tail and shoving her entire hand up its rear and ripping out the intestines, in one go. “There! Now wash both and shove them back inside!”

  ‘Fuck that,’ Kenneth panickily thought. He didn’t know what was in store, but no way in hell he was taking the chance of that happening to him.

  He’d gotten one leg over the side of the triangular pot when Nokandrite came back and shoved him back into it.

  “Oh, you little scrawny thing, ain’t worth serving to starving children?” She spat on the ground, somehow adding to the violations of the mountain there already was.

  “Quite the horrifying image there. I would call this out as cannibalism, but it’s not cannibalism to cook a human for you, is it?” Kenneth replied.

  “Urg… unclench your tight tail hole.”

  “After seeing what you just did, I prefer to be a tight ass.”

  “I’m not going to eat or cook for you,” she said in an annoyed tone as if her answering him was a great inconvenience, while he was soaking wet.

  “Then why am I in a pot?”

  Her head suddenly snapped to look at him, making him jolt, then she grabbed him and brought him close to her face. “You will make my food delicious. I heard about you, gold leaker.”

  Kenneth raised an eyebrow in utter confusion. “You kidnapped me, threw me into a pot, all so I can sweat in it? I can see you are not much for hygiene in here, but do you really want my smelly feet in here?!”

  “Quit your complaining, a lot worse has been done in that pot.”

  “What? You screw each other in it?”

  “Yes.”

  “You know that doesn’t even surprise me,” Kenneth replied in a monotone tone. “So was it just a special at lunch, or are you not a morning person?”

  “Well, I wanted to kidnap you earlier, but you weren’t where you were meant to be, and those scales for brains, zillo’s weren't any help,” She growled in annoyance. “Because of them, I had to wait before trying this. I might as well have been serving good-tasting shit earlier, not that any of them taste.”

  “You are certainly a cook,” Kenneth remarked. “Just a question, but do you happen to have a lifepartner… was it called? You know, someone where it isn’t just sex?”

  A dead silence suddenly filled the air as all the other cooks stopped up and Nokandrite stared wide-eyed at Kenneth, her scales turning salad green. She then gently placed a hand on the top of his head and smiled.

  “Okay, you don’t need to pet--”

  She slowly began pushing down.

  “What! Are you trying to drown me?!”

  “No, no, little gold leaker, I won’t. All those golden juices, however need to mix in the water.”

  He didn’t believe that for a second as he grabbed the sides of the pot, “ I was just asking because if you didn’t, I know a man who shared your standards for cooking.”

  She stopped and eyed Kenneth, letting go and gesturing for him to go on.

  “Well, he’s a man of taste who settles for nothing less than good food. Of course, he’s a cook, so that makes sense,” Kenneth explained, noticing Nokandrite’s glare softening into a smaller glare. “He really loves the craft even though the only praise he gets is complaints.”

  “Ha! Did we hatch from the same egg?!” Nokandrite laughed.

  “Doubtful, but he’s easy to please, as long as you have great taste in food and can appreciate his cooking,” Kenneth responded.

  “How’s he looking?”

  “Well, he’s taller than you for starters,” Kenneth said, noticing she was looking a little bit interested. “And he knows how to use his three fingers.”

  “What else?” she said, the three other cooks paying very close attention, stopping in their tasks, until a sudden glare scared them all back to work.

  “Well, he is a bit thin compared to other men around here, and his tail ain’t quite as flexible as most others. And shedding can be a problem. You know, hair everywhere.”

  “…Are you saying he’s a plebo heretic?!” She yelled with barely veiled anger once it clicked.

  “Yes, but still, I think you’d hit it off.”

  “You are quite something.”

  “You kidnapped me and threw me in a pot. While I’m here, even though I was sincere, might as well have some fun,” Kenneth nonchalantly said.

  “Fun, yes,” she said with a smile as she nonchalantly picked up the lid to the pot and slammed it on top.

  He barely had a second of panic as he dove under the water, narrowly escaping getting his head smashed in by her. As he came to the surface, he noticed quite clearly that the lid wouldn't move. “Hey, are you gonna let me out?!”

  “Oh, right now, you are safer in there. I’m angry and no one likes me when I’m angry!”

  “Yeah, yeah, you are incredible, I get it.”

  “Flattery only works on dumb horny zillo’s and dumb plebo’s!” She yelled, her voice carried clearly despite the fact that he was inside an enclosed space.

  “Wasn't trying to flatter you,” Kenneth replied, as he knocked on the lid. “I do hope you understand I’ll be running out of air sooner than boiling alive. So could you lift it off, and we’ll call it even.”

  A moment of silence followed, but then, light. “If you do that again, I’ll stoke the flames.”

  “Message received. So you know I do have some salt I could give you as thanks for lending all those carcasses,” Kenneth offered.

  “Keep your salt,” she spat on the floor, “how long would that last! No, I’ll leak you dry for years to come!”

  Finally, his rescue arrived with Nokstella and Kolu leading and the others coming in a few seconds afterwards.

  “So did you all take the scenic route here?” Kenneth questioned.

  “You wouldn't know where it was without the cook,” Split replied.

  “Who goes in here except them?” Nokoovo added.

  Nokset stepped to the side, “I would like you to know I knew where it was the whole time and said nothing.”

  “Sounds about right,” Kenneth remarked.

  “What are you doing, cook?!” Nokoovo asked in an angry tone.

  Most were quite avoidant of her, but the cook didn’t even flinch, “Don’t get in the way of my cooking, zillo.”

  It seemed like a fight was inevitable.

  “Hey Nokandrite, would you be willing to make a deal?” Kenneth asked.

  “What?”

  “Well, how about I stay in this pot, and in the meantime I’ll teach my students, and you, and then we can all be happy,” Kenneth suggested.

  “What would I have to learn from you?”

  “Well, cleanliness for one.”

  “She scoffed and spat on the floor. “My kitchen is in proper shape with every piece of trash thrown away, keeping it nice and clean.”

  He glanced around at the piles of flesh and saliva on the floor. “You are joking, right?”

  Her scales turned white, and her eyes brimmed with rage as she reached for the lid again.”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “No need for that again!” Kenneth quickly said, trying to calm her down. “Try to look at it this way. You want me to stay in this pot, right? Well, as long as I get to teach, I will, and who knows, maybe something I say will prove useful in making your food better.”

  She squinted her eyes, “Nokhova, how does it look!”

  “The only male cook stepped forward and said, “It’s clean, and the entrails are back inside. It is ready to be boiled.”

  “You have until it’s done.”

  “Alright then. Now let’s talk about cleanliness. It is one of the most important things you should care about when healing people, and in general,” Kenneth began, already noticing a low, grumbling growl from Nokandrite. “Now, let me start by showing you. Bag, please.”

  Split walked over to the pot, and in a moment, Kenneth pulled out a bar of soap. “Now this is soap, a very handy little tool in keeping clean and getting out those stubborn stains.”

  At that, Nokandrite seemed less angry, or maybe just hungry.

  Kenneth dipped it into the water and began rubbing it with his gloved hands as they began to foam up, with bubbles. His audience was captivated, with no one blinking. Too bad all of them were only focused not on him but on the bubbles that gently fell, swirling down onto the floor.

  “How are you doing that?” Nokoovo asked.

  He could already see where this was headed: “Why don’t you all give it a try?”

  He handed her the bar and immediately sprang from her grasp. The moment she squeezed just a little, it flew through the air, Split catching it, only for it to do the same.

  It was like watching a cartoon with everyone reacting in a comedic manner while trying to catch the soap. But the fun couldn’t last forever, as eventually the soap ran out of water to keep it lubricated, with Nokandrite catching it.

  “A recommendation, don't drop it,” Kenneth said.

  “What is the purpose of this lump?” She said, sniffing it. “Make you smell good.”

  “As I said, it’s helpful for cleaning, and when dealing with sick people, it’s always a good idea to have it handy to avoid the spread of infection and diseases like the burning death. It’s like the saying goes, cleanliness is next to godliness,” Kenneth explained. “Now, how about an exercise? All of you have soap on your hands, so just rub them together and get those clean. And don’t be afraid to get into the grooves.”

  A bit hesitantly, everyone began doing it with Kenneth showing them a few techniques.

  However, eventually Nokoovo asked a question, “What is soap made of?”

  “Oh, just some animal fat, oil, and other stuff,” he replied. “However, that can wait; don’t be afraid to get the soap into the crevices you all got. Trust me, you want to. Soap is a lubricant, and while it isn’t like penicillin in killing what's killing you on the inside, it is effective in getting filth you don’t want inside your or someone else’s body off—“

  Right in the middle of his explanation, Nokuji walked into the room and saw the scene before her, visibly growing confused for a moment before stepping up to the pot. “Is there an explanation behind this?”

  “Nokandrite, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to use me as a seasoning, after she found out I leaked gold,” Kenneth explained, adding air quotes to the last part. “Well, long story short, she kidnapped me, and now I’m teaching about cleanliness.”

  “In a pot?”

  “In a pot,” he affirmed.

  Nokuji turned to face Nokandrite; however, in the middle, her gaze lingered on her daughter. “You hit her, I presume.”

  “Ha! What’s with that tone? Be thankful I did. No one else wants to,” Nokandrite gruffly said, Kenneth partly expecting her to be at the very least, peeled afterwards for.

  Her gaze narrowed, “Mind your tongue, and get Black Beak out of there, I have business with him.”

  “No,” Nokandrite casually replied. “I am preparing food. You can speak when I’m bringing it in.”

  Nokuji only glared as she stepped closer to the mountain of a woman who only crossed her arms. “I won’t ask again.”

  Nokandrite stood firm and did not flinch. “I’ll grovel at your feet and cut off my tail and eat it raw in front of everyone, if my cooking doesn’t meet your royal standard—burb!”

  In the middle of the standoff, Nokandrite burped right in Nokuji’s face, but what everyone had their eyes on wasn't the blatant disrespect, but a bubble that flew out of her mouth and landed on Nokuji’s snout, popping a moment later, leaving her in bewildered confusion, or maybe she was just numb with rage.

  Only now did he notice, “umm… Nokandrite, where is the bar of soap you had?”

  “I ate it,” she replied.

  “Of course you did, how great,” Kenneth sighed. “Well, good news, it probably won’t kill you. Bad news, I recommend you find a toilet before it starts spewing out both ends.”

  Nokuji let a smile cross her lips along with a chuckle, “I accept your challenge, cook, let’s see how you fare.”

  With that, she took her leave.

  A low rumble escaped her maw, the sound combining with the sound of her stomach growling. Looking angry, she pointed to the other cook one by one, “You skin the food! You get the carcasses into the pots! You light the fires!”

  In a flash, all of them sprang into action, getting everything ready.

  “Well, they look like they have a pretty good handle on it. Now you should probably leave, I’ve seen how strong your stomach acid is,” Kenneth said.

  “None of these zillo’s and plebo’s know their tail holes from one in the ground,” she said with no intention of leaving, as another growl sounded, whereupon she immediately punched herself hard in the stomach. “There’s more where that came from, you weakling!”

  “Did you just threaten your own stomach?” Kenneth asked in bewilderment.

  “Yes, and I’ll do a lot worse to you if you don’t keep leaking?” She yelled, grabbing the lid.

  “Okay, no need for that.”

  She grabbed his coat and pulled him uncomfortably close. “Either the lid goes on or I get in and squeeze everything out of you.”

  She let go, and Kenneth turned to his students and the others. “Well, class is over for today. I hope you enjoy your free time, and Kolu, Nokstella, don’t get into any trouble, and don’t get in the way of the cooks, okay.”

  He’d barely finished his sentence when the lid came over the pot, leaving him inside to sweat and be steamed.

  Some time later, when Kenneth started getting dizzy, he peeked out from under the lid. Everyone was still there except for Nokandrilte. “You all stayed.”

  “I can’t leave,” Split replied.

  “I wanted to see if you died,” Nokset lovingly replied.

  “I have nowhere else to be,” Nokoovo said lastly.

  “Papa, is water bad?” Nokstella asked with slight worry.

  “Oh, a hot bath is never bad, but I should probably get out before I boil like seafood,” Kenneth said, glancing a second time. “All’s clear, now to sneak out.”

  “Ummmmm…” Kolu sounded while Nokset grinned.

  Kenneth sighed, “She's right behind me, isn’t she?”

  “Why do you ask a question you already know the answer to, leaker?” Nokandrite said menacingly, as she grabbed the lid and lifted it off. Sticking her left hand into the warm water, she tasted it. “I don’t need you, leave.”

  “Gladly,” Kenneth sighed as he jumped down and began twisting his gloves and other pieces of his attire to ring out the water. All except his pants since he went command.

  Finally free and out of the kitchen, Kenneth, with wet squelching footsteps, entered the mess hall, where most were already gathered. He approached the commander's table. “Well, I’m here.”

  Nokuji gestured to the empty seat in front of him,” Take a seat, you too, daughter.”

  No one had batted an eye when she’d asked Kenneth, but Nokoovo was another story entirely, with shared glances and uncomfortable looks.

  Her gaze remained firm, however slightly softened as she asked, “Kenneth, will you become my daughter’s lifepartner?"

  If the silence in the room and fair shares of stares had been uncomfortable, that bombshell made everyone look at one of two places. He or she.

  ‘Errrrrrrr... what...?’ Kenneth thought, his voice sounding like a dial tone from a phone, as he was utterly caught off guard. “Umm... that was a bit sudden...”

  “You slept with my daughter in my home, did you not?” Nokuji questioned.

  More looks turned his way.

  “Okay, one, a bit of context would have been nice to add to that sentence, two, this could have been handled a bit more privately, don't you agree?” Kenneth said, gesturing to the gawking and stunned crowd around them. “Thirdly, we did not have sex, I wanna stress that. I just fell asleep, and she just lay down beside me because I’m warm.”

  “You did not answer my question,” Nokuji calmly said. “You get on well with my daughter, and you would become part of the family and become a royal, earning the Droktra Obaliy name.”

  “Okay, listen... listen, listen, listen,” Kenneth repeated in a half-serious and half-nervous laughing voice. “While it has probably at some point been a boyhood dream of mine ot become royalty--”

  “Royals and Royalty are not the same,” Nokuji corrected him. “That title is reserved for only the king and her family; we are simply an extension welcomed in name alone.”

  “Regardless… it’s… I don’t know… It’s all of a sudden...”

  “Does my daughter frighten you?” Nokuji asked in a cold voice.

  “mother…” Nokoovo said in a low voice.

  “No, of course not,” Kenneth said with more firmness in his voice than he’d had throughout this entire conversation. “I just… I just think the age gap is a bit of a problem. I assume I’m a lot older than Nokoovo.”

  “I’m twenty-two,” She said.

  ‘Well, at least she’s legal, wait, what am I thinking?’ Kenneth questioned.

  “And how old are you, since that seems to be a concern of yours?” Nokuji asked with slight intrigue in her voice.

  “Well, I stopped counting after five hundred summers,” he replied to the crowd as their already shocked expressions grew, somehow, including Nokuji and Nokoovo. “Kidding, of course. I’m forty.”

  Nokuji’s eyes twitched for a moment. “Huh… I wouldn’t have guessed you were older than me. But what is the problem? My daughter is at a more than fresh age, and I doubt one of our age would complain much of a younger partner.”

  “Okay, could we have Nokoovo join the conversation, because I’m starting to feel uncomfortable at the way you're talking about her like she’s not here,” Kenneth said, sweating.

  “Speak, then, daughter.”

  All eyes landed on her, at least all that could keep looking at her. She held her gaze low, barely looking Kenneth in the eyes, her scales pure ivory white. “Do you want to?”

  ‘Ooh… god…’ Kenneth thought, sighing. “Listen, it’s not that I’m saying yes or no to all of this. Honestly, Nokoovo, I enjoy conversing with you, but… I already have a wife or life partner, as you call it, and two children.”

  “And where are they?” Nokuji insensitively questioned.

  “Home…” That was all Kenneth could say as bitter sorrow welled up.

  “Home…” She repeated. “Wherever that may lie, I doubt you’ll return, not from my grasp or the king's, once you create what you’ve promised. Might as well forget them and move on---”

  Kenneth covered Nokstella’s ears and spoke with utter intensity. “I don’t know what life partner means to you here, but I would never betray her like that. So shut that mouth of your’s before I do it for you.”

  Nokuji’s scales flickered for a moment as everyone waited with bated breath.

  “A no, it is then.”

  She accepted his answer as silence returned, no one uttering a word, even as the food was brought in, Nokandrite, looking worse for wear, grimacing, and barely keeping it together or inside.

  Unlike previous times when everyone had dug in, there was far less enthusiasm, and everyone felt the weight of the uncomfortable silence. Had it been just himself, he wouldn’t have bothered with the meal, but with Nokstella and Kolu here, he got a few pieces for them.

  He didn’t even bother with the second part where everyone traded, giving them the food immediately, much to Nokstella's confusion, as she tossed it back onto the table, whispering, “Papa, need give.”

  She practically took over, making eye contact with one or another. He didn’t see who as he avoided eye contact with Nokoovo. Everyone ate, but he thought he did notice a few looks of delight as people swallowed the food.

  Once finished, Nokandrite walked up to the table with a butcher's knife in hand, the Nok version. “Tell-- hrup… tell me already.”

  Nokuji looked down on her for a moment. “It is adequate.”

  Dropping the knife, Nokandrite hurriedly yet carefully left the room, looking like she’d shit her pants except for the fact she hadn’t any on, sounds of vomiting filling the air outside the moment she was out of sight.

  Yet most seemed indifferent as they continued to eat. Honestly, he just felt like leaving, but Nokuji still needed to introduce him to a mechanic or whoever was in charge of the machinery around here.

  He cleared his throat, “Lord Commander. Could you tell me who you were supposed to introduce me to--“

  ‘Pling, Pling!’

  Suddenly, right in the middle of his speaking, a golden brooch landed in the center of the table in view of everyone, as its owner, Nokiolite, stood up. “I resign from my position.”

  ‘Thank god,’ Kenneth thought.

  Nokuji showed no emotion, unlike a couple of others. “Pick it up, and sit back down.”

  “I told you I resigned. If you want someone to fill my spot, I recommend Nokkuoras. Now I’ll take my leave, then,” she walked away.

  However, Nokuji wouldn't let her. “Take your leave. And where do you intend to go, back to your lifepartner, and children, or the entrance to Amitos' embrace?”

  The room echoed for a moment, the sounds slowly fading as Nokiolite looked back. “Where I go, you won’t see me. And I don’t have time to wait on you.”

  As she walked outside, she turned invisible and stripped off all her clothing, becoming impossible to follow.

  “Well, I must say this has been a rather exciting, elegant lunch, now,” the woman playing with her food and stacking bones said, finishing off by placing a bone on top, making a little tower.

  She had soft violet scales, almost like an orchid, and even from where he was sitting, he noticed her tunic was a bit longer than most, going all the way down to her knees, though they did not lack for covering as she also wore leather stockings.

  With a prideful look, she leaned back in her chair to admire her construction, exposing her brooch with the insignia of a hammer on it.

  However, her marveling at her own work seemed short-lived as the woman beside her, with the insignia on her brooch being a gear, flicked one of the four bones at the bottom away, letting out a hearty laugh.

  The gear commander had smokey grey scales who, interestingly enough, wore a shirt, and most rarely, pants, though the oddity of her did not stop, as the most interesting were her eyes, more precisely what covered them, glasses.

  However, it was not quite as Kenenth knew them. The easiest way to describe them would be by calling them bubblegoggles.

  “Bahahaha!”

  “Oh no, it's going to fall,” the hammer commander said in an obviously fake worried voice.

  The gear commander’s laughter stopped, and in visible annoyance, she noticed the little bone tower was still standing despite losing a leg. The hammer commander smirked at the gear commander as they locked eyes. Then she just went and punched the entire thing, sending the bones flying across the room, landing on another table.

  Her smirk persisted as she leaned back in her chair.

  It was clear who was winning the battle of the minds, but that was about to change as the gear commander jumped up, yelling, “You wanna fight?!”

  The hammer commander cracked her neck and got all up in her face, “You think I’m afraid?”

  “Knock it off, both of you!” Nokuji said in a raised voice, her presence still commanding respect. “Nokalccha, I’ve got a task for you.”

  “What commander?” the woman with the gear brooch asked.

  “You are to assist Black Beak in his work, and remember he’s a guest.”

  “As you say,” Nokalccha sighed. “So then, Beak, what do you want from me?”

  “A project. I need some assistance in building a fermentation tank,” Kenneth answered her. “It’s something that lies outside my area of expertise, so I figured if anyone could help me make something from scratch, it would be one with mechanical expertise.”

  “Let’s get started,” she immediately agreed, standing up and walking over to him.

  “That was faster than I expected,” Kenneth admitted.

  “Always wanted a man to say that to me, and you went and ruined it, thanks a lot, Beak,” Nokalccha said.

  “Umm.. what?” Kenneth asked in confusion.

  “Forget it. You coming?” She asked.

  “Okay,” Kenneth replied, standing up and leaving, never once looking back.

  Outside, Nokalccha took the lead, walking in front. As he walked, his mind was darting back and forth through the entire conversation. The awkwardness, the quite possibly hurt feelings, and why he’d said what he had said.

  The only thing that still made June his wife was his lack of a signature on a piece of paper, but even if he had signed, that wouldn’t have changed how he felt. And yet, how did he feel?

  He enjoyed being around Nokoovo, working with her, but… but… all of it was just happening so suddenly. He didn’t even have time to think.

  “Are you staring at it?” Nokalccha questioned.

  Kenneth had been so engrossed in his own thoughts that he had not noticed the woman walking in front of him, who was now staring him in the eyes, with her head upside down, and her back arched.

  “Huh…? Um, what should I… I mean no…” he confusely stammered, only a moment later noticing that her tail was in... well, not a knee sock, but a tail sock, one lined with steel, the shape making it obvious the tip of her tail was missing.

  She stroked her opposite down chin, “Really, how disappointing. Everyone eventually stares at it.”

  “…you don’t say.”

  Suddenly, her upside-down eyes flashed with rage as her scales whitened, “Zillo!”

  “..Um, sorry,” Kenneth apologized, honestly having not meant to look at it.

  However, her anger had not been directed at him, but at the person following behind, the hammer commander.

  Nokalccha straightened her back and snapped around, walking past Kenneth and getting all up in her face, “You want to fight?!”

  “That is not why I’m here,” The hammer commander said as she looked past Nokalccha and directly at Kenneth. “Black Beak, my name is Nokaljjour, and I’m at your service. In regard to building, my experience outranks everyone else, especially this lesser commander.”

  Nokalccha suddenly punched Nokaljjour, knocking her back, and before Kenneth knew what was happening, she took off her bubblegoggles and threw them to him. “Hold them for me.”

  With no pause or attempt to communicate, both were in a brawl, with some of the surrounding people gathering around to keep watch and make sure nothing went out of hand.

  Though in Kenneth’s case, that ship had long since sailed, with both hitting each other with heavy blows, at the very least keeping everything above the belt, like a pair of boxers in the ring.

  However, unlike the saying fly like a butterfly and sting like a bee it was more like, fly like a stone, and sting like a hammer. That last one became quite evident when Nokaljjour sent a couple of Nokalccha’s fangs flying.

  It was far from a one-sided affair with Nokjjour and Nokalccha getting some good hits in on each other; however, right around when they drew blood, the crowd stepped in to stop them.

  A silence ensued as both glared at each other…

  “Not bad,” Nokalccha said.

  “I’ll remember that punch,” Nokaljjour replied.

  Seemingly having blown off enough steam, they were let go as everyone broke up and got on with their day, but despite it being normal here, Kenneth despised it, yet even so, he would do his duty.

  “Well, that was eventful!” Kenneth sighed as he walked over to Nokaljjour and shined a light into her eyes. “Pupils equally reactive.”

  “What are you doing? It hurts?!” She complained.

  “Congrats, you don’t have brain damage. Say if it starts hurting.” Kenneth instructed her as he turned to Nokalccha.

  “Handy having a healer around,” She chuckled in a more relaxed tone than previously.

  It frustrated Kenneth, all of it did to the point he couldn't keep it in, “Yes, I should charge per check-up and make a fortune.”

  “You're one of those soft scales who’s never roughed up a little?” Nokaljjour commented.

  “Roughed up, Yes. Roughing someone else up…” he grew quiet and checked her pupils. “They are reactive, and you don’t look absolutely worse for wear. Say something if you start having headaches and such.”

  “Do you know why I fight?”

  “A lack of control over intrusive thoughts.”

  “It’s fun. Nothing better to get you warm and relaxed than a good little fight,” Nokalccha told him. “Well, one thing is better. Fighting that guard commander, and when Di is at her fullest, we go at it. I never knew men could go on top.”

  Fighting his glare, Kenneth held his hands over Nokstella’s ears, who looked around innocently. “There are children present, mind, cleaning up the language. She doesn’t need to hear about you fighting whoever you see without reason.”

  “Let me explain, so she doesn’t get confused,” Nokaljjour said, kneeling down and, against Kenneth's better judgment, giving her the benefit of the doubt, removing his hands. “Little girl, you saw me fight that other woman, right?”

  “Yes,” Nokstella replied.

  “Now you must always remember when you start a fight, you can’t do it without reason, and something like a simple bump or someone giving you side eye is enough. And always aim for pain, never damage, you want it to last.”

  “Okay, that’s enough,” Kenneth said defensively. “So are we going to get started on our work or what?”

  “If you insist,” Nokalccha shrugged, Nokjjour coming along, both trying to lead the way, walking faster and faster until they began to run, while Kenneth lightly jogged, arriving near the wall at what appeared to be Nokalccha's workshop.

  Inside was filled with gears, tools, and schematics, littered across the room as if a tornado or a ransacking thief had been here. Though from the lack of Nokalccha’s reaction, he assumed it was normal.

  “Why am I not surprised that you work in this mess?” Nokaljjour said with disgust. “Black Beak, come back out, we are going to my workshop.”

  In a huff, she walked off to the building right beside it and waited.

  Nokalccha walked out and put her arm around Kenneth, smirking at her neighbor. “Oh, sorry, but my good friend Black Beak here is going to make... what was it?”

  “Well, a fermen--“

  “We are going to make a furman! But stay over there, and I’ll tell the commander all about you giving up because you can’t handle my perfect placement of my work.”

  “What placement?! It’s more cluttered in there than the scales in your brain. No wonder Noklobgi chose me to be her successor,” Nokaljjour snapped back.

  “I don’t even need to see your workshop, you stank would make me blind anyway!” Nokalccha shouted as she stormed over.

  Nokaljjour responded in kind, both meeting in the middle and yelling,” You want another fight?!”

  ‘Not this again,’ Kenneth internally groaned as he looked toward Split. “Can you do something to make them stop?”

  “I’m watching and protecting you not stopping them,” She replied.

  “Of course,” He sighed, putting Nokstella down and gesturing for Kolu and her to stay back while he intervened. “Okay, no need for another fight, you're both tough, and let's stop this and compromise. It’s a nice day, so I suggest we work outside.”

  Both looked at Kenneth, then each other.

  “I suppose.”

  “Don’t think you are high and mighty, it’s you that wants to split up, and besides,” Nokalccha said, sitting down. “I agreed to it first.”

  Nokaljjour had an annoyed look as she sat down as well.

  Kenneth joined last as Kolu, and Nokstella knew this meant he was going to work, and they began to do their thing. “Okay, now what I wanted both of you to assist with was a fermentation tank. Essentially, it’s a closed-off... well, tank able to have a precise environment, with heat adjustment, and the ability to ferment. I’ve made some bad drawings to hopefully give an idea of what I want.”

  It had been years since he’d seen a fermentation tank, but he still loosely remembered what one looked like and drew to the best of his ability. It was an area too removed from his area of expertise, so he tried to keep it as original as possible, not knowing what was more important than anything else.

  Both studied his drawing for a moment..

  “Well, we need to change the design for something like that. Maybe have a wide bottom and a narrow top for it to be over a fire and let the heat spread out and get as much of the surface covered,” Nokalccha suggested.

  “And burn your hands every time you need to empty it,” Nokaljjour scoffed. “It needs to stand on legs, and then have a space underneath stick up into the center like a spear so heat can spread more centrally.”

  “Are you dumb?!” Nokalccha yelled. “Then you might as well have a tube where you insert a hot rod and then change it all the time.”

  “Perhaps my idea is too complex for you, simpleton.”

  “Simpleton! Oh, you zillo, I’ll show you and your boring ideas,” Nokalccha said.

  “Boring! I’ll show you!” She snapped both standing up.

  “Please don't fight again,” Kenneth begged.

  “There’s only one way to settle this!” Nokaljjour said, glaring.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Nokalccha agreed.

  “A CONTEST!” Both yelled, spinning around and walking back to their workshops.

  “Huh,” Kenneth let out. “That went better than I expected.”