Luscious was glad Nectar was off the ice though he was more than a bit concerned about her. That was when Fay dropped in, transforming from a brown feathered hawk " What are you thinking so hard about "? He tilted his head to the side, " Where have you been "? [ I didn't even realize you were gone ]
She sighed as Cassie ran past her, hands in the air " Baca "! Luscious' eyes followed her as she hugged the man tight and a knowing smile appeared on his face, " Atmon "?
Fay nodded tiredly, " Atmon ". He looked up at them and smiled, " Nice to see you too Fay ". Atmon and Luscious stood face to face, with Atmon only a few inches taller than him.
Atmon suddenly laughed, pulling Luscious under his arm and ruffling his hair, " A message from your father " [ Was his hair always so greasy? ] Luscious managed to get out of his grip and blew the lump of hair dangling down his forehead, " And the extra gruffness "?
He shrugged and smiled, " From your mother of course ". Luscious nodded and Fay rolled her eyes, pushing Luscious' face to the side, " You can continue whatever this is after we greet the emperor ".
Luscious suddenly sighed, " Do I have to come along "? Fay looked at Atmon blankly and he nodded, pulling Luscious by the ear " You must have given Duchess Fay a lot of trouble ".
Cotton looked between the three, slightly confused " Duchess "? Lucy nodded, " Uh-huh. Fay is the duchess of the house of vixens, second only to the clan of foxes. I shouldn't be telling you this but her people are known for their sly and cunning nature ".
" However, they proved loyal to the throne when one of the previous queens, who was a humming bird saved them during THE BLACK PLAGUE ". Cotton furrowed her brows slightly and Lucy quickly added, " I'll tell you all about it another time ".
Cotton nodded, seeing Fay in a new light " Honestly, I thought she was Prince Luscious' baby sitter. Don't get me wrong but he seems to dodge work at any cost and he's silly to match it ".
Lucy shrugged with a smile, " He's a lot of things to different people. But he'll always be my Big Brother ". Fay suddenly called out to them and they began to walk. Lucy suddenly spread her arms wide, " Sister Qidu really is amazing. How did she come up with a dance like that "?
Cotton nodded, " Yeah. The clock was my favorite part though ". Lucy jumped up, her claws appearing out of nowhere, " She's awesome ". Fay sighed as she looked at Lucy, " You could literally poke an eye out with those. Keep all that energy in check ".
Lucy nodded cheerily, her long thin whiskers shrinking back into her face, " Sorry about that ". Fay rubbed her temples tiredly, " That's okay. We should find the emperor so Atmon can officially introduce himself ".
Cotton pointed past them, her expression and tone slightly concerned " It's a little too late to worry about that ". Fay's eye suddenly twitched as she stomped in his attention, " No one takes me serious anymore ".
~ ~~
Dinrod laughed as Reli slammed into him and hugged him tight, " Father "! He stumbled back and laughed, " I wasn't expecting this welcome ". He glanced at Cookie who was standing not too far away and smiled, reaching out an arm to her " That means you too 058 ".
She suddenly smiled and joined the two, " Nice to see you're well General Sopins ". Reli pulled away from him and held Cookie's hand out with a big bright smile on her face, " Father she has a name now. It's Cookie ".
He chuckled lightly as he nodded, " Nosa told me about that, I must have forgotten about it already ". Reli nodded, " Yeah, it was my amazing Sister Qidu that gave her the name ".
Dinrod nodded slowly, his expression suddenly filled with confusion " Sister Qidu "? Reli moved her hands in a circle as if remembering something important, " The empress. Sister Qidu is the empress ".
His eyes widened and he looked back at Nosa, dumbstruck " You were being serious "? Nosa raised his arms and suddenly threw them down, " You didn't believe me "?
Reli looked behind her and saw Melanie standing by herself and pushed away from her father. She ran to get her and dragged her over, " Don't stand by yourself ". Melanie was adamant at first but was dragged along anyway [ She's really strong ]
Melanie went stiff as she faced Dinrod [ He's a lot more intimidating than I thought he would be. How did Reli just hug him? ] The man suddenly smiled warmly, arms out for a hug " You must be Melanie. Williams speaks much of you ".
Melanie was surprised [ He does? ] as Dinrod pulled her into a hug [ What? ] " I hope my warrior princess didn't give you too much trouble ". Melanie shook her head as she pulled away, " Not at all General. She was even nice enough to let me stay in your suite.....I hope you don't mind ".
He waved it off with a smile, " Of course not. Sopins enjoy the company of others ". Melanie glanced at Reli who was playing with Nosa, " Really "? Dinrod nodded, " Yes. You could say we'd die without the social contact ".
Melanie nodded slowly, absorbing the newly found knowledge " So the rumour that you'll never find a Sopins alone is true "? Dinrod nodded, looking over at Reli once more " Yes. This is why I must thank the empress for her time ".