Daily Wed Short: Kyo 04

Food is wealth. Wealth is power. Power is fish. Fish is food. Bless the Great Cycle.

-Green Goblin Chant

Kyo’s eyes sparkled at the massive three-story building that would be her alchemy lab. It was surrounded by a fence wreathed in strange symbols. The symbols glittered and sparkled with an inner light. They almost looked like words, but Kyo couldn’t read them. Talos the Butcher had taken over carrying her from Sene, which was a nice change. She had never been so high up, but riding on the big cat’s shoulders was incredible.

Sene had been highly annoyed at having Kyo removed from her cuddling hands. Talos had given Lion’s wife a long look before placing Kyo on her throne. It was a throne that bobbed with a steady step, and it didn’t drip gold and jewels, but the kitten liked it well enough. From up high, she had been able to look down her nose at all the various races that had once towered over her pitiful form.

The trip back to Lion’s territory was quick with Talos. If people had avoided Sene, they fled from him. The street crowds melted like the water left in the sun. Kyo suspected the massive cleaver that Talos held in the hand that wasn’t supporting her mainly was to blame.

Sene had taken charge as soon as they crossed into Lion’s turf. Talos shrugged his massive shoulders and followed her to the three-story building. Entering the fence required Sene to feed a drop of blood to the metal wrought iron.

“Blood bound!” Kyo said excitedly as Talos nodded. Items that were blood or soul-bound were costly. The price for the entire fence was probably close to a single refined mana crystal!

After the three of them had entered the fence, Sene turned to the rest of the crew and dismissed them, saying, “Leave us. Report back, and make sure the staff is sent over.” Once the rest of the group departed, she closed the gate with a metallic screech. Kyo felt the fence had a strange sense of hunger accompanying it.

“Is the fence hungry? Should we feed it?” Kyo asked, curious.

“It's always hungry, but you don’t need to feed it. Some idiots will handle that part.” Sene said with a dark grin. Talos grunted in agreement before carrying Kyo through the expansive garden.

The kitten stared at herbs of every shape, color, and size. There were strange plants that looked like pitchers and others with green teeth—reaching out with Plant Manipulation IV; a welcoming sensation flooded her mind. It felt so good her grip loosened from Talos’s hair. She lolled like a ragdoll from the euphoric greeting of hundreds of different species. Thankfully the enormous cat kept a hand supporting her the entire time.

Once the initial rush of intense pleasure departed, Kyo was in a blissful state of mind. Every blade of grass, flower, tree, and vine was singing in praise of her presence.

It was a heady feeling for a kitten that hadn’t had anyone to depend on. She knew without being told that anyone stepping into the Garden with ill intent was dead. Among all the greenery, no more than eight species weren’t poisonous in some manner. The eight that were not poisonous were venomous, a hybrid of plant and animal.

Unfortunately, the good time didn’t last as Sene led them both into the building’s main door. After entering, they made a sharp left and descended three flights of stairs to a large metal door.

Sene opened the door with a flourish and said, “Welcome to your kingdom, princess.”

Kyo’s eyes grew wide as her jaw dropped in awe.