The boy ate the plate of braised chicken wings and potatoes before him with gusto.
Each time, he would finish the meat off the chicken, he would crush the bones with his teeth while maintaining eye contact with Xaloc.
An untamed wolf. The phrase entered Xaloc's mind. Maybe it was the golden eyes that reminded him of the wolves he watched on tv.
The bot picked the second plate and wolfed it down hungrily. It was like he was starving. But then he remembered the bony structure he had felt when Ozias had pulled him towards him earlier.
Maybe he was.
Xaloc sighed. In a world of gods, starvation was still a thing.
He glanced casually at the boy's empty plate and dropped his fork and knife.
"Do you still want more? You can feel free to order more." Xaloc raised his hands to flag down a waiter when Ozias shook his head.
He still had a bit of measure. Any more food and his stomach would be in a wall of pain. He did not particularly mind the pain but it would close him down if he had to fight.
He just watched the boy before him as he ate each bite gracefully. His black hair was short, looked silky and well maintained and those black penetrative eyes unsettled him.
He clenched his jaw and tapped his feet impatiently as he watched his surroundings intensely.
He had gotten a pair of sunglasses and a cap from Xaloc and even changed his clothes to mortal clothes but he still felt anxious.
He did not understand why this person was walking around with a bag full of mortal clothes.
When Xaloc was done, Ozias swore, "Dhit face Fairy. Who f***** eats as slow as you do? Hurry, let's do it. I have places to go."
Xaloc eyebrows raised curiously, "Do what?"
Ozias' golden eyes narrowed. Did this one like playing games? He had no time for that kind of shit.
"Fuck."
"Sex?" Xaloc leaned back on the chair and thought about their entire scenario. How did these people reach this conclusion or had he not encountered people who genuinely wanted to help?
He did not like that the picture he was getting from this boy was different from the one that his grandmother had painted for him.
"Cortis, Sex, fuck, mating. Whatever you call it, if you don't want to leave, we can do it here. I don't particularly care."
Xaloc thought process instantly cleared up, "You think I played along with your..'' He thought of the word to use. " your charade and invited you to have a mal because I wanted sex?"
Ozias paused, a bit at a loss, "You don't want to sleep with me?"
Xaloc chuckled, "You are good looking. Your body is a bit then but that is no problem at all." Seeing Ozias smirk, his smile grew wider. "But I am afraid I would have to decline. I am not a fan of casual sex. The business offer is something else entirely."
Ozias' eyes narrowed. He did not like it when he did not know what the other wanted from him and it irked him he could not read anything from those eyes.
"First, I need you to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?"
Ozias nodded even though the doubt in his eyes grew wider. "Sure."
"How much is a ticket to Shangri-la for a year?"
Ozias relaxed a bit. He had been in captivity for such a long time that he doubted he would be able to answer any questions Xaloc had for him.
However, with the papers lying around as that woman planned her trip, he knew the current prices of tickets.
"Ten thousand gold for Shangri-La." He lowered his voice a bit but then remembered that Xaloc had taken him to a restaurant farther than where they had met, an expensive one that had a private booth.
Ozias gritted his teeth. A private booth with soundproofing, what was he supposed to think? The question was a little weird as well, what did it mean? Could he just ask any travel attendant and they would answer him for free?
Who feeds a stranger just to ask him a bunch of questions. He must want something from me.
"Oh! How much is a ticket to Duat, Atlantis and Valhalla for a year?"
"Duat is three hundred gold. Atlantis is a hundred gold and Valhalla should be around five hundred, I am not sure."
Xalox nodded. The pouch in his bag contained close to five hundred gold coins. He needed to make money soon and give them back to Nyx. He wondered if he burnt it as an offering if she would accept it or has that practice faded away.
"I heard what the men said about you having an Atlantis ticket and being wanted."
Before he could finish the sentence, he was lifted up and pinned to the table in one motion. Ozias snarled and snapped his fangs close to Xaloc, his elongated black fingers gripping Xaloc's neck.
The noise had brought the attention of a waiter who knocked politely at the door of the booth. "Sirs, is everything alright?"
Ozias panicked, he could not..he would rather die than be captured again, chained like he was some sort of animal.
"Everything is fine. Just a little misunderstanding." Xakoc said as he felt the hands around his neck loosen a bit. This world was a little dangerous.
They both watched the door and waited for the waiter to leave.
Xaloc gripped Ozias's hand, "If you do that again, I would seriously hurt you." He said in a very serious manner before his voice softened.
"Who are you? Why do you understand the Lycan language? You don't smell like the moon." Ozias asked as he hesitated before he let go of Xaloc and stepped back from him standing right next to the door.
Xaloc thought of that vial of water that Nyx had given them back in the mortal realm.
"Does not matter. I need the ticket to Atlantis. In exchange, I would give you three hundred gold." He could not go to buy the ticket himself, his family members were still hanging around that area, plus he did not have any identity here, so it might be difficult to purchase a ticket.
"Why are you helping me?" Ozuas said, confused. From the beginning, he had attacked this person but the other did not do anything to him.
Xaloc sighed as he looked out the window, "I am helping myself."