CHAPTER 268: 268: WINGS TOWARD WAR

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"No, you are going to starve because you refused to stuff your glowing mushroom inside my spicy jerky."

"... what? That is not food," Kai said. "That is funny, I must say, the way you ask for more mating time. But... Your spicy jerky isn’t getting my mushroom until we reach our home."

Alka kneeled down, allowing the group to board. One by one, they took their places.

Kai climbed up last, flopping onto her back with a groan. "I am going to sleep, I need to recover more aura." he muttered.

"No," said Naaro, immediately sitting beside him.

"Yes," said Vel, appearing on his other side.

"No, no," said Sha, pushing Vel slightly. "He is clearly more comfortable with me."

Azhara landed in front of them.

"He needs thigh support," she declared, patting her lap. "I have the most cushioning."

Sha narrowed her eyes.

"You are wearing armor. That is not a pillow. That is an iron maiden."

Akayoroi gently lifted Kai’s shoulders with her clawed hands. "He should rest in a position that supports spinal alignment and aura flow."

"Not again." Kai groaned again. "Why is my nap a public event?"

Alka huffed she meant, "Because you attract perverts and lustful lunatics."

Eventually, they settled into a tangled configuration of limbs, silk cushions, egg crates, and salty grumbling. Somehow, Kai ended up with his head resting on Akayoroi’s lap, his feet in Azhara’s, and Sha using his back as a notebook desk.

"You are a surprisingly stable surface," Sha murmured, writing with elegant strokes.

Kai said nothing. Because he was already asleep. Alka took to the skies.

The first push of her wings sent a gust of wind spiraling down the mountain. Moss peeled from the rocks. The fire pit scattered. A single burnt leaf bun took flight and sailed majestically into the void like a hero who had completed its mission.

The journey resumed. Hours passed in shifting wind and quiet muttering. The air grew colder as they rose.

The higher they went, the clearer the view became. Peaks spread out like waves frozen in stone. Clouds curled around them. Occasionally, a wild beast would rise in the distance, flaring wings or horns, but none dared approach Alka’s path.

It was almost peaceful.

Almost.

Because as they neared the edge of the high cliffs, a voice boomed through the air.

It came from below. A croaking shout layered with venom and fury.

"Kai the Ant. You will not reach your nest. We will drag your shell through the swamp and feed your soul to the leeches."

A dozen frogs stood on a ridge below, flinging curses skyward.

Sha blinked twice, leaning slightly forward to adjust her vision through the shifting wind. "Are those from the different frog clans?" she asked, her tone neutral but eyes narrowing.

Vel peered out beside her, squinting against the sunlight. Her fingers pushed her hair higher on her nose.

"They brought a banner," she muttered, her voice tinged with confusion. "It says ’Revenge Division’... but the letters are all wrong. The ’R’ is backward and the ’E’ is upside down. They must be from one of the lesser swamp clans. Likely a subordinate family to the main frog tribe. They must have caught word of what happened at the ruins."

She glanced at Kai for confirmation, but he was still sprawled out asleep on Alka’s back like a very exhausted god.

Azhara leaned dangerously over the edge, resting her chin in her hands as she stared down at the dozen frogs below who were waving spears and flinging colorful insults like confetti at a funeral.

"Even their spelling is angry," she said with a smirk. "I bet they cry when they read bedtime stories."

Kai stirred at last, opening one eye just enough to confirm that yes, indeed, angry frogs were yelling again.

He sighed. "Tell them I am not home," he muttered.

"Already done," said Naaro smoothly, reaching into her pouch and plucking out a polished rock the size of a plum. With the precision of a seasoned warrior and the casual flair of a girl skipping stones on a lake, she flicked it into the air.

The rock arched downward, whistling faintly, and landed in front of the frog group with a puff of dirt.

There was a moment of silence. Then one frog screamed. "He is throwing shiny death pebbles at us!"

Another shouted, "We are not scared of your round curses, Kai the Bone Chewer!"

Alka flapped her wings once, banking sharply to the left and rising higher. The wind buffeted her feathers and lifted them swiftly out of range.

The frogs, however, were not finished. One particularly loud croaker, bloated like a boiled squash and wearing a sash that read something between "PRINCE" and "PRUNCE," cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted.

"You killed our clan leader’s daughter’s husband! He was the Third Frog Prince! You have defiled his honor and boiled his dreams! This death must be repaid with either more death or frog marriage!"

The frogs stomped their webbed feet in unison, making squishing noises that were anything but intimidating.

"If you fight and win," the bloated frog continued, "you may marry our great leader’s daughter. She is thirty eight years old. She got fifteen medals in swamp wrestling, and a singing voice that makes trees weep. It is an honor you will never get again in your miserable insect life! Refuse, and we shall lick your bones until they shine like polished snails!"

Kai, whose head was now buried in Akayoroi’s lap, muttered something incomprehensible into her thigh.

"What was that?" Akayoroi asked gently, brushing his hair back.

"I would rather eat sand."

Azhara leaned forward again and cupped her hands around her mouth like a makeshift megaphone.

"Bye, idiots!" she yelled, grinning from ear to ear. "Sir Kai already has us, why would he ever need to marry some ugly, stinky toads with breath like expired mushroom soup?"

Vel glanced at her. "Technically they are frogs, not toads."