After giving each girl a ride around, I asked for Mesh, Buddy, Breth, Tescelle and Nuwari to join us on the top deck for brunch. It was already late in the morning, and lunch would be soon, so after some explanation, we ended up getting an early lunch brought up to us. Once everyone was up and seated, I gave the same speachs, and Kadence shot me a questioning look.
"This is for everyone that follows me; if later on, you guys decide to call me something stupid like King or Emperor, then it will be your choices, but I'd just like Hyde personally."
Kadence relaxed, as did the rest of the table as I explained. This kind of thinking was new for them; freedom of speech was a thing in this world. I asked the table to dig in and eat so I could do as well. My stomach had rumbled before I became the human rollercoaster, now I was feeling a bit light-headed.
Everyone agreed, so we all ate well and made jokes about my pants. I felt better after eating, my energy returning to me. I pushed my chair and stood up.
"I will be leaving with Mesh, Kadence, Nina, Mishka, and Kyra. Breth, you will now be in charge of the army, and Buddy, you already know what you and the Tigers are doing. The rest of you need to work together to keep moving forward; I'm counting on all of you while we are gone."
I received mixed words, but they all said the same thing, confirmed. Now that I removed the command of Great Master, it would take everyone some time to adjust. They would work together and figure out a system, of that I had no doubt.
"So, I forgot to ask before I planned this Mesh, but have you done any flying with those things?"
Mesh just grinned at me and stepped back from everyone, and let his wings snap open. Bending his knee, Mesh jumped up into the air as fast or faster then I could turn up. I looked at the deck, and it wasn't a mark; those wings were mighty!
Mesh came flying back down, and his orange scales glittered in the sunlight. He came in steady and walked forward as his feet touched down. The show-off even expertly closed his wing and tucked them in as Mesh landed. Asswipe made me look like a beginner when he only had a half-day on me, but maybe that was just it; he wanted it this bad that it was just natural that he been good.
"That answers that question, Kyra. Do you mind going with Mesh?"
"Yeah..."
"I'll make it up to you when we get back, okay?"
"Mmmm, I hope so; I sent my brother back to my father's kingdom with your message. He should be gone for two weeks, so we will have lots of time!"
That took me back to my bedroom with her before her asswipe of a brother interrupted us. That would be fun, but I had to put that thought away for now, so I nodded and reached for Nina. She came to me and on contact merged with me, making it her easy to appear above mine, or that's what it felt like.
Somehow she told me without words on my mind that she would be my second set of eyes and warn me of dangers. That was extremely helpful, and I tried to thank Nina for using the same thought speech, but I just got laughter back and the feeling of needing time to learn. Many amazing women in my life, I thought and then could feel the heat of a blush come from her.
Smiling, I turned to Mishka, who was waiting patiently, and she ran to me and jumped into my arms; she had enjoyed the flying the most and had made me do some crazy, gut-wrenching things. I caught her and looked at Mesh, who had Kyra in the same bridal style but looked more awkward doing it. I don't think the scowl she was shooting Mishka was helping either.
Honestly, the whole thing was just a series of misunderstandings that couldn't only be explained away. Mishka grew up believing that one day she would be raped by the Lizardmen of the tribe and forced to have children. The things are, it never got to happen, but the fear was still plainly there, and Mesh couldn't do anything about it because it wasn't a fact he could deny. If it came down to it, he would have done it for the survival of his species.
Meanwhile, Kyra was just pissed that she wasn't flying with me, but it was what it was. I nodded to Mesh, and he took off, straight into the air, then looked to Kadence. She smiles at me and nods; then I looked at Mishka, who was nearly bursting with excitement.
"Let's go!"
I had my shirt on, but I only lit my pants, and Kadence's dress caught fire as we started to run. With Mishka in my arms and Kadence on one side, and Nina watching my six, we jumped over the top deck's railing. Both of us shot into the air after Mesh and Kyra. I looked back to give a quick wave to everyone before turning around and lit my mind ablaze, chasing after the other two.
Nina complained that she was getting warm, but when I asked her if it was too much to bear, she just sent laughter back to me. I just assumed she was complaining about something to talk about, but I still felt bad. I had to put in a lot of burning thoughts and effort to catch the other two.
I may have powers like their's, but those were theirs, and they were masters of them in their own rights. I finally caught up with them, and Kadence and I fell back behind Mesh so he could lead the way. Mishka didn't speak, but she looked everywhere and was so excited she was almost animated. This side was adorable to see in Mishka.
I looked ahead to the distance where Mesh was pointed. The home of Marlogra.