"You shouldn't even give up, like what is that? If you give up, you're a certified loser. At least if you try, you're a winner in your book." - Max Holloway
The chain on the spiked collar of the craver grew taught and its head got jerked back into the single file line. Like a slave trailing behind its master. Muzzled like a dog.
Lilo rolled his window down and peered out to find out who was leading this pack of cravers.
It was a shepherd no doubt. One with red stark leather armor, laced in gold etching of runes that shimmered in the light of the suns.
Oddly enough, there also followed a pure white cape, dragging behind him to create a noticeable gap between him and the line of cravers; like a veil that separated the slaves from its master.
He was tall, thick with rippling muscles under his tight leather armor, and long shoulder length black hair with a stripe of white that split it down the middle.
This character held the same bold arrogance that was within Lilo's heart. One could deduce this simply from his posture.
His chest held high, his shoulders and hips loosely swaying with each swagger dripping step.
Lilo could only see his back, but the shadow cast by this figure was vast and deep; enshrouding the cravers in its arrogant darkness.
"That's Pop." Jawbi says in a tone filled with deep hatred, "We don't fuck with that Kilo."
"Kilo?"
Pepper raised a questioning look at Lilo, as if he should've known the meaning of this word like it was a common slang in the dictionary.
"Yeah… it's a derogatory term to describe ugly fat bastards like that guy: Kilo."
That was certainly odd because… Pop was not ugly or fat.
"So his name isn't Kilo, it's Pop; but y'all are calling him Kilo… as a way to like…taunt him?" Lilo scratched his head.
Wonka nods.
"You try. Use it, trust me it feels good." Jawbi urged Lilo.
Lilo took a moment to ponder his options and a pick a target. He browsed the people passing by outside his window. It felt strangely exciting to add to his repertoire of swear words. He felt like a teen again.
'A bratty teen... hmmmmmm'
Lilo eyes darted to the back of the van where Lemon was still fidgeting with the gadget, trying to deduce how Lilo had solved it so easily.
A small thin pointer finger stretched out and landed on Lemon. A devious smile creased Lilo's face.
"Kilo."
Laughter rippled throughout the group in the van. Lemon courteously flipped Lilo off and bit her lip to hold back curses.
***
The van pulled into a large garage, another limestone sculpted hut. It has been described as a hut simply from the shape of the organic feeling structure; but by no means was it as primitive as a hut.
The sculpted elements of the home were seamlessly blending in and flowing into each cut corner with magical precision. Everything was shimmering and glossed over; and yet, it had a rustic feel to it. It felt hand made, but the hand was that of a god or an angel.
There were runes etched into the walls and doors, making it a mechanical object that obeyed commands; much a like a circuit powered system.
The glass stained windows of mystical creatures made the large garage feel like a cathedral, and the mage lights that illuminated a green warm hue gave it a cozy feel.
"Wow. Nice place." Lilo complimented.
"If you work your way up to our status, you'll have your own one day." Jawbi said as he slid open the van door.
'Status?'
Lilo had noticed that there were people who gave respectful nods and even occasional bows as the van drove by in the citadel.
Being a cohort of shepherds meant they were valued, and Lilo deduced that having the ability to conjure up an impressive asset, such as this crazy ass van, must have created a notorious reputation.
As Lilo stepped out of the van, he noticed many gadgets and tools littering the tables and floors. There were books and scrolls with pages open to runes and diagrams that made Lilo have a headache if he stared too long.
It smelled of oil, iron, the euphoric cursed candy, and a feint smell of magic. Now one might ask, what does magic smell like?
Have you ever eaten anything in your dreams? How would you describe it? It's more of an idea than the sensation. The smell of magic would be described as a lucid fresh scent laced in a certain ancient and reminiscent feeling.
"Let's get this kid to a handler before he snoops around our manor and steels something." Lemon muttered as she hopped out the back of the van.
She was oddly taller than Lilo expected. Even more so than her sister who was in her mid twenties. Lilo had strain his neck to look up to her. He double checked her boots to make sure they weren't heels.
Lilo barely reached her collar bone in height. It was embarrassing.
He turned to Soda who had his back turned towards him, pouting and ignoring him this entire time.
'I forgot to ask... how old are you?'
Soda remained unmoving for awhile but eventually tiled his head enough to mutter in Lilo's direction.
"12, almost 13."
Lilo shook his head in disappointment. It would be awhile before puberty hit full effect and his body would grow into a decent size.
"How old are you guys?" Lilo asked boldly to the group.
Jawbi chucked and patted Lilo's back a little too rough, causing him to lightly stumble.
"You first." Jawbi's deep voice demanded.
"12... but I feel 27." Lilo muttered.
It was odd... to be stuck in a kid's body. It was frustrating as well, being treated with little respect when he was once a powerful and respected grown man.
"I definitely get old soul vibes from you kid, but everyone who's survived the outskirts seems to age at double the rate of those in here." Pepper commented. "I'm 23."
Jawbi had to stop to count on his fingers to make sure... "21... I think?"
"29...Whoa... I feel like a grandpa... I think I'm getting just about the age to become a Fien." Wonka scratched his unkept beard.
Everyone paused to look at Lemon who was last but was holding everyone's suspense.
"What?" Lemon kicked a wrench on the ground in a nervous fidget. "We should get going and hand off this kid to-"
"She's 15." Pepper rolled her eyes and everyone turned to exit the garage; leaving Lemon alone to try to cover her anger flushed cheeks.
The courtyard outside of the garage was gorgeous. It was vast and open, with a scenery over the blanket of clouds below and a clear suns lit sky above.
Thick, tall, pillars stretched to the heavens to hold up a dome that had an intricate graffiti-esk painting of what seemed like a reflection of the entire citadels layout.
Small pots of exotic plants of extravagant colors were littered around the courtyard to bring liveliness into the open space.
"The elders will meet here soon but we have matters to attend to, we've been gone for awhile and need to catch up on some things. Jawbi will take you to a handler, won't you Jawbi?" Wonka gave a friendly glance to Jawbi who nodded in response.
The rest of the group disappeared into a corridor and Jawbi leaned up against a Pillar, relaxing himself and openly studied Lilo.
"So you survived a night at the forbidden temple?" Jawbi Prodded.
"Aren't you supposed to take me somewhere?"
"The elders will come in here any minute with the rest of the workers. Satiate my curiosity and I'll give you the details later."
"Well... Yeah I did. It wasn't that hard. I just sort of burst through the ceiling, scouted the area, took a nap behind a giant stone warrior and then hopped out of there in the morning. I think I ran into a GT5 in there? But they just left as soon as it looked at me. Must be my aura." Lilo shrugged nonchalantly.
Jawbi remained relaxed. He did not find any amusement or truth in Lilo's comments. At least... so he thought, but in all honesty Lilo was giving a relatively candid recollection of the events.
Jawbi pulled out a device from his pocket. It was a pocky stick box, but with what looked like an antenna attached to the end of it.
"Put it in your mount and repeat what you just said." Jawbi's outstretched arm did not waver and something in his eyes told Lilo not to oppose his suggestion.
He did as he was told and Jawbi's eyes widened as the device provided him feedback. Lilo assumed it was relaying that he was indeed telling the truth.
"Not bad kid. You're definitely a unique find. I'll be interested to find out where the handler puts you." Jawbi smirked as he tucked the device back into his pocket.
"So... are you going to tell me about the jobs here? Why am I just being forced to enlist... and what happens if I don't like the place they assign me to?"