After thirty minutes of exploring Ikarus...
"So, Cassius, have we gone around Ikarus already, and not a single person has seen your friend named Zephyr! Are you sure he's still alive?" I asked anxiously, with my feet exhausted. Plus, I'm still dressed as a girl, so I'm really attracting attention from the Ikarians!
"I don't know what happened to him because it's been a long time since we last saw each other. Let's not stop. I believe we'll find him eventually." Cassius replied.
"But before that, can we eat?" I asked.
"Where will we eat? We don't have money!" Cassius answered.
"We have a little left from our celebration earnings, right?" I asked.
"I used it to buy fish. Hehe!" Cassius replied.
"You're hopeless! You find us something to eat!" I replied annoyed.
"Fine! Fortunately, I still remember some places here in Ikarus. I know where we can find good and affordable food." Cassius said, and we started walking with him perched on my head.
"How long have you been here? And why did you come here?" I asked.
"It's been a long time, and I met Zephyr here. To be honest, we used to be enemies because of a woman, but in the end, both of us were not chosen by the woman we loved, so we remained friends when it came to fighting." Cassius explained.
"Wait, aren't you a cat? What battles are you talking about?" I asked.
"Seems like I need to confess the truth to you because we're no longer in Apollo, and it seems like we have many challenges ahead of us." Cassius said.
"I'm mad at you! Hmmp! If there hadn't been any trouble, you wouldn't have told me?" I said annoyed.
"You know, you're acting more and more like a girl. I'm the one who raised you. I made sure you grew up as a man!" Cassius said.
"Anyone would be mad if they were betrayed!" I retorted.
"Alright, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. But you didn't really need to know back then. But now, because things have changed, you need to understand. I wasn't really a cat." Cassius said.
"Were you a lizard?" I jokingly asked.
"You're so shameless!" Cassius replied. "I used to be a human who was turned into a defenseless cat!"
"Oh? Really? Why did you become a cat? Maybe you were a disobedient person back then?" I asked, chuckling.
"Ah! It's because I desired more than my status in life. I impregnated a deity." Cassius confessed.
"Wow! You're something else! You even captivated a deity? I wonder what you looked like when you were still human?" I wondered.
"Most likely, I was a handsome warrior, and all women were drawn to me. That's why I even captivated a deity. Haha!" Cassius replied.
"It's a good thing you became a cat! That's punishment for people like you, disobedient ones! You didn't even spare a deity!" I said. "But what is your true lineage when you were still alive? Are you from Apollo, or did you come from another Kingdom?"
"Looks like we're here, at our dining place." Cassius said, and when I looked ahead...
"Are you sure, Cassius? We're going to eat here? It looks like a storm passed through this dining place! And no one seems to be able to eat here! It's all dusty, and it looks like an old house!" I said, annoyed.
"Don't be so picky! You're really acting like a girl! We just need a place to eat! Come in!" Cassius shouted.
"You want me to enter this dining place? What if someone attacks me here? It's better if you go first since you know the place!" I replied. "Why are you trying to let me go inside first when I don't even know how to fight? You're a lousy cat, you know that?" I said.
"You're such a coward!" Cassius said, and he entered the place first, so I followed. "Is there anyone here?"
I looked around and felt disgusted because of the foul smell and the dirty tables and chairs that seemed untouched for a long time. But you can tell it's a dining place because of the abandoned utensils.
As we looked around, a basin suddenly fell in the kitchen, so I ran towards Cassius and lifted him up to use him as protection against whoever was inside that disgusting dining place!
"Put me down! You're such a coward, Arkcray!" Cassius angrily said.
"Fine, then! That's how you treat an Apollan who doesn't know how to fight, huh? You're getting us in trouble even though I'm incapable of fighting! You're such a great cat, huh?" I sarcastically said.
"You're so cowardly!" Cassius said. So, I headed towards the entrance of the kitchen while I'm carrying Cassius with me.
And what did I do? Haha! I threw Cassius inside the dark kitchen!
"You're shameless, you coward, Arkcray! I'll scratch you once I get close to you!" Cassius shouted.
"Did you see anything inside?" I asked Cassius.
But he didn't say anything, so I got worried.
"Cassius? Are you still there?" I asked.
But he still didn't answer, and I got even more anxious.
"This is not a good joke, Cassius! Don't scare me like that! I'm not going in there!" I shouted.
"Arkcray! Help me! I stepped on a trap for mice! Hurry!" Cassius shouted.
"I have to go in there? No way!" I shouted.
"Turn on the light!" Cassius shouted.
"Does the electricity work in this dining place?" I asked.
"Just do it!" Cassius shouted again.
So, I took a deep breath and knew I had to be strong.
I realized that if I'm already scared here, how will I save my friends from Helios?
That's right!
"You're brave, Arkcray!" I shouted and entered the kitchen.
But because it was dark and I couldn't see anything!
"Where's the light here?" I shouted.
"What are you doing here?" a man said from outside the diner.
So, I screamed and quickly ran out of the kitchen out of fear.
But when I stepped out of the kitchen, I bumped into a very huge man, causing me to fall to the ground and sit down.
"I-I'm sorry!" I nervously said to the intimidating man with brown skin, a serious expression, a large build, and wounds on his arms. He was holding a dead wild boar with one hand!
"Why did you come here?" the man in front of me asked.
"W-w-we were just about to eat, sir!" I stammered, trembling and nervous.
"Where is your companion?" the man asked.
"H-h-he's inside the dark kitchen!" I answered anxiously.
The man seemed to sniff the air and his eyes suddenly widened.
He took out a knife from one hand, and I trembled even more in fear!
"Please spare me! Don't hurt me! Don't turn me into an ingredient in your food! I'm not tasty! I'm just skinny! You won't get any meat or fat from me!" I pleaded, kneeling down and praying!
Huhuhu!
After a few moments, someone threw a fish from the kitchen towards the man's face, and I was surprised when he caught it.
"That's impressive!" I exclaimed, amazed, as I smiled at the intimidating man.
"Your senses are still sharp, my friend." Cassius said as he emerged from the kitchen, strutting with his head held high!
But... Cassius called him a friend?
That means... the man in front of me is Zephyr?
"Oh, it's you, Cassius. What brings you to Ikarus? I thought you would just stay in Apollo." the man said.
"We have a long story. But where is Zephyr?" Cassius asked.
Ah... He's not Zephyr. Haha! Good thing! Because I would really be scared of him and embarrassed if he were Zephyr!
"He's on his way here. He got delayed because he was carrying a big buffalo." the man replied.
"A buffalo? He's strong enough to carry a buffalo alone?" I asked.
"Who is this little guy, Cassius?" the man asked, looking at me.
"He is Arkcray, the baby I told you about, whom I took care of, so I stayed in Apollo." Cassius replied.
"Ah, so he's the baby you raised." the man said. "I'm Yazid, one of Cassius' friends." he introduced himself to me, the terrifying man with a huge body!
"A-Arkcray!" I said.
"Don't be afraid of me. I won't harm a friend." Yazid said seriously.
I looked at Yazid with my eyes almost twitching, making sure he doesn't turn me into minced human meat!
"You're shamless, Arkcray, and you're acting like you weren't taught proper manners!" Cassius said annoyed.
"You never really taught me! You're just showing off! You only taught me how to steal food!" I said and licked Cassius.
"I really don't know what to do with this child!" Cassius said.
"You really don't know how to take care of someone. I don't know why you took him in." Yazid said to Cassius, then he looked at me. "Remind me, and I'll sew clothes for you. It seems that you don't have anything to wear aside from that destroyed garment."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Yazid! You're so reliable! Unlike your friend Cassius, who is so arrogant!" I shouted.
"Just start cleaning this diner!" Cassius said annoyed.
"Hmmp!" I said and took the cleaning supplies, starting to wipe the dusty tables.
While I was cleaning, Yazid and Cassius seemed to be having an intense conversation inside the kitchen.
I wonder what they're talking about?
Perhaps they're exchanging stories about what happened in Apollo, considering they haven't seen each other in a while.
I didn't interfere and continued cleaning.
...
...
...
Even the floor, I need to scrub it so hard because it's all mud. It's difficult to clean while wearing women's clothes. However, I have no choice but to endure it.
And while I was scrubbing the floor on my knees, I felt as if someone was touching and caressing my thigh from someone behind me!
When I looked at my thigh, it was a man's hand!
So, my eyes widened, and I got annoyed!
"This lady is so smooth." said the man touching my thigh!
And when he looked at my face...
"Ha! I thought you were a girl!" he exclaimed.
"Who are you?" I asked while sitting on the floor, holding the cloth I was using to wipe the floor that I'm ready to throw it at him!
A man with tan skin like Yazid, but his body is just right and handsome. Maybe, his body is similar to General Silas', and he has a scar on his left eyebrow. He looks fierce, with thick eyebrows, and seems untrustworthy. He's the type that women chase after because he's handsome but won't take any of them seriously.
"I should be the one asking you that. Who are you? And why are you here in Yazid's restaurant?" he asked and sat in front of me, bringing his face close to mine and then smelling me.
"Why are you smelling me? How rude!" I replied, annoyed.
"I'm smelling to determine if you're really a man or a woman. I couldn't tell because when you turned around, I really thought it was a woman's body because it's fair and smooth." that man said and continued smelling me!
"I'm a man! Do you want me to show you my private parts?" I replied, annoyed.
"Let me see?" he said with a smirk, seeming unbothered.
"Oh, whatever! I have male parts!" I answered.
"Or maybe you're just pretending to be a man?" he asked.
"Do you want me to throw this cloth at you? Or maybe shove it in your face?" I angrily asked.
He just winked and stood up.
"You're quite beautiful for a guy, huh?" said the man in front of me.
"Zephyr, where is the buffalo?" Yazid said as he stood next to me.
My eyes widened, and I stared at the man in front of me whom Yazid called Zephyr.
"You're Zephyr?" I asked, pointing at his body.
"Why? Who are you?" Zephyr asked, annoyed. "Looks like I want to have some human meat soup for today." he said with a grin while looking at me!
"I'm not tasty!" I said.
"I feel... you're delicious." Zephyr said again, raising his eyebrows while looking at my thigh!
So, I covered it with the clothes I was wearing, "Rude! You're even lusting after a man like me?"
"Let me see your breasts?" Zephyr said with a grin.
"I have no words! I have a male body!" I said, "Do you want me to pour this dirty water on you? Or smash this bucket on your face?" I angrily asked.
He just smirked and stood up.
"You're also quite brave, huh?" said the man in front of me.
Then, Cassius suddenly jumped onto my head!
"Cassius? Why did you come here?" Zephyr asked.
"I'll tell you later, you and Yazid, so it's just one story." Cassius replied.
"Alright, alright, it looks like I'll prepare a lot of alcohol tonight! We have a lot to talk about, my friend, Cassius!" Zephyr said with a laugh.
"Drinking? I thought we came here to ask for help? Besides, it doesn't seem like this Zephyr can help us, Cassius! It's just a waste of our trip! And he's rude!" I said, annoyed.
"Hey, who did you bring to our place, Cassius? Why did you bring a brat? What's her name?" Zephyr asked.
"I'm not a brat! In a moment, I'll pour this dirty water on you! And I am a 'He'!" I angrily replied.
"He's Arkcray, the baby I took care of in Apollo." Cassius replied to Zephyr.
"A baby you took care of in Apollo?" Zephyr asked in surprise, touching his chin and seemed to be thinking, "Ah! He's the-" he added but stopped himself from speaking.
I looked at Cassius, who seemed to have lowered his eyes while looking at Zephyr.
"Do I need to know something? Are you hiding something from me again, Cassius?" I asked.
"I'm not hiding anything from you, Arkcray! Just keep cleaning!" Cassius replied, annoyed.
"Right! Keep cleaning, you brat! Haha!" Zephyr teased.
"I'm not a brat! Can't you see?" I shouted and made sure to show my annoyance.
"Hmm, are you angry, Arkcray?" Zephyr asked as he approached me.
"Don't talk to me! We came here and traveled with Cassius for someone like you? If I had known what kind of person you are, I wouldn't have come." I said.
Zephyr stood next to me and spoke to me again.
But because he was so close, I moved a bit because I was annoyed with him!
"Sorry if I said something unpleasant. Cassius already mentioned to me why you're here." Zephyr replied.
"You should leave! Now that you know, you're asking for forgiveness?" I said, annoyed, "Just because you're strong or skilled, doesn't mean you can belittle me! Yes, we don't know much about handling weapons, but we shouldn't be treated as lower-class!"
"Forgive me." said Zephyr and tried to hug me.
"Let go of me!" I said and removed his hand from my shoulder.
"What should I do to stop you from getting annoyed at someone like me?" Zephyr asked.
"There's nothing! My annoyance towards someone like you won't disappear!" I replied, "Just leave!"
And Zephyr finally left.
He didn't even do anything to make his apology more sincere?
He really is a useless creature! Argh!
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