With slow and controlled breathing, Kroc quietly laid on his heated cushion of a bed and kept his movement at a bare minimum. For the past month, he had been doing nothing but training his body during his waking hours. While the sensation of being sore was nothing new to him, Nikita had a brutal streak to his training which utilized every bit of Kroc's body. Far harder than any training Kroc had done before but he rather enjoyed the training. He relished figuring out how to counter the white tiger's attacks. Or rather, attempt to counter, as Nikita could easily evade his counters and counter strike with brutal efficiency.
Kroc heavily sighed, prepared for another evening of the rainbow serpent's training. Her training was one he did not entirely enjoy. Her trainined was not physically straining like Nikita's training, of the likes Kroc could clearly understand, but rather psychically draining which often had him at a frustrating loss. 'Rain', the affectionate way to refer to the great and ancient rainbow snake who commanded the realm of dreams, sent continuous barrages into his mind of techniques and training, learning about the alphas who betrayed her and how to control his feral state to become a powerful alpha himself. While her lessons were interesting and crucial to his development, her emotional sudden lashes gave him terrible migraines by morning. Just in time for more of Nikita's training.
The crocodile remained still, prepared to feel her presence drag him to slumber for more lessons. Instead of feeling her oppressing weight on his mind, which usually rendered him unconscious, he sensed a presence in the room. His pupils tightened to slits, immediately whipping around with a fierce hiss and flashing his impressive teeth. Barely visible to the eye, Seyri, who had been lurking in his shadow ever since arriving to Nikita's territory, remained unperturbed by Kroc's reaction. The crocodile forced his body to relax, taking a deep breath and leaving his feral state - but not without feeling a sort of mental exhaustion which had become all too common for him.
"Great Amako Rain demands your presence, Alpha Kroc. Please prepare yourself for teleportation." Seyri politely spoke with a forlorn expression as she gently wrapped her arms around his large bicep, which was almost as wide as the petite ghost was.
In an instant Kroc's environment changed. The crocodile remained still, finding himself stepping on cool tiles with a crisp chill in the air; nothing like the harsh coldness of Siberia but containing an unsavory chill all the same. The room they were in was a massive domed piece of architecture, deep under the waves in Verain's territory. Large structured windows surrounded the room, proving they were far beneath the waves with large fish swimming by them. The room was surrounded by merfolk guards who remained erect and alert, silently observing him.
Kroc's gaze was drawn to the massive iridescent white serpent coiled in the room. Her form was large and imposing, staring at him with a burning intensity. She slowly uncoiled herself, never breaking eye contact with Kroc. Her every movement reflected the rainbow from her scales, dotting the inner walls with a beautiful coloration. Marring her beautiful scales were the injuries from the battle she recently endured from her traitorous children and other ancient scars.
Curiously, showing on the large upper part of the dome was a poorly filmed and executed movie which Kroc recognized as one that Jackie liked to watch. Something about tarantulas on fire? He never really understood the strangeness of the movies nor did he have time to think about why it was playing there.
"Kroc … my favorite child." Rain's voice spoke in a low rumble, reverberating through the room as she drew closer to him. Her tail wrapped around him, startling him as she rose herself up and held Kroc in front of her. Kroc remained silent, finding her large size to be rather intimidating before he bowed his head in respect as best he could in his awkward position. If that dragon, Longwei, was considered enormous, then rainbow serpent's size was a colossal titan.
"I will do your bidding, Rainbow Serpent." Kroc greeted.
"Yes, yes you will!" Rain's voice shouted, her tail tightening painfully around Kroc's body as he held completely still. "You will go and kill my traitorous babies, and be my new favorite child! You will rip them to shreds without mercy and demand that the rest of my children return their loyalty to me!" Rain's voice lowered in pitch, shaking the entire room as she more violently shook Kroc in her grasp.
Kroc very dizzily kept quiet, buckling down and preparing himself to endure the Rainbow serpent's wrath. Her low bearing hiss made the structure tremble and shake, somewhat alarming Kroc as he uneasily eyed the thick walls. While growing up, Kroc had always heard of the great and powerful Rainbow Serpent who controlled the lands, never knowing if her existence was myth or true. Seeing her now in the flesh confirmed she was truly real; and was currently shaking him around like a ragdoll in her fury.
Kroc held his breath, stunned by her words. He was going to the island now to reconquer it? He had yet to completely master his feral state and yet she demanded he now goes to kill many strong alpha in her name. How could he be ready so soon? He knew he was not ready. He had barely trained for a few weeks and was not prepared to take on such powerful alphas. Being defeated by Nikita so effortlessly proved he was yet to be properly prepared. And yet, the order of the Great Amako Rain could not be denied. Kroc bowed his head in respect. "Aye, Rainbow Serpent. I will do as you command."
Rain pulled him close, very gently touching her snout to his. "You are strong, my child, and have gone through many hardships. You will conquer those traitors and await my orders of what to do with their traitorous followers. AND SLAY THOSE TRAITOROUS BABIES OF MINE IN MY WRATH'S STEAD!" Rain's voice thundered through the air, nearly blowing out Kroc's eardrums as he did his best to withstand her rampant emotions.
The currents in the water shifted as Kroc became alert to potential danger. He remained still and steady, listening to distant fast movement before the queen of the merfolk rose from the room's water hole, immediately locking her sights onto Kroc. Once observing the scene for a moment longer, her posture relaxed as Rain spotted the mermaid.
"Good evening, Verain. Meet my favorite child who will rip the heads off of those who have betrayed me." The Great Rainbow serpent spoke with an endearing smile, turning towards the large floating mermaid as Rain held up the very dizzy crocodile who could not see straight. Knowing he was in the presence of someone important, Kroc did his best to bow in respect.
"And must you shake him so?" Verain sighed, looking at the dizzy crocodile. He one of Sabre's acquaintances training under the white fang, and Rain's new favorite baby for the moment.
"Ah," Rain spoke, seeing Kroc's head struggling to remain fixed in one position. "It would seem I have." Rain gently set Kroc onto the ground, watching him kneel down and stare straight ahead to try and steady himself. "I meant not to disturb the waters of your domain. Have I caused damage to your kingdom?" Rain asked, glancing to the thick walls of the room which housed her.
"Just some small shaking, nothing to concern yourself about." Verain waved off; though that very shaking was precisely why Verain had rushed over to see what was upsetting the rainbow serpent.
"That is good." Rain smiled before turning her gaze down onto Kroc. "Look at my new favorite baby, Verain. Is he not perfect? He is perfect to me." Rain thrummed, shaking the room before she leaned down and very, very gently tapped her chin to the top of Kroc's head in an adoring, motherly manner. Despite being unsteady, Kroc lowered his head to her, accepting the thrumming bits of affection from the rainbow serpent as he tried to better balance himself.
The mermaid queen smiled politely, amused by Rain's affectionate manners. "We are pleased your new favorite baby is to your adoration."
"This is my child who will go slaughter those traitors for me." Verain spoke with a thrumming hum. "He will be my favorite of favorites, destined for glory!"
The mermaid smiled politely again. "At least he is also well spoken by our Sabre."
"Yes. He shows much promise. I know he will do well after taking Nikita's training for the past month. He's ready." Rain spoke with a pleased smile.
"After only one month?" The mermaid rose an eyebrow. "We would expect at least a year, if not more."
"He will do well. He will be leaving immediately to begin reclaiming my lands from my traitorous babies." Rain hissed, slapping her tail against the ground and causing stone to crack, sending shards of rock through the air. The mermaid queen rose her hand, lifted masses of water into the air to serve as shields for the guards in the room, catching the debris and letting it them drop back to the ground.
"Will he?" The mermaid queen elegantly rose an eyebrow. "Unarmed and untrained against all your previous babies which hold many strong human weapons and are hiding in the core of the red desert, with no rivers or waters for your new favorite baby?" Verain crossed her arms, looking to the poor crocodile with mild curiosity and some resignation at his promised death if he were to go. "Wouldn't you like to cuddle the poor baby more? And let Nikita at least finish training him?"
"He has Seyri to guide him." Rain spoke, curiously looking over to Verain. "What else could he need?"
Verain tapped against her phone for a moment and then snapped her fingers. One of her guards left as she rose a hand towards the very eager snake. "Rain, sending him now without a plan is not a good idea. Let alone the fact that he is an untrained hatchling. He is unknown, has no backup, and you don't have a plan for that land after it is retaken … if it is given that you would be sending him to die right at the jaws of those alphas."
"Irrelevant. Kroc is my favored child and will do what I demand of him to do." Rain spoke with a low bearing hiss, sliding her tail protectively around Kroc once more.
"Yes, he would do so." Verain remained firm. "But that implies he will die quite soon if send like this."
"Not so. Seyri will guide and protect him." Rain spoke, confident in the ghost's strength. "I see no reason he should not go as quickly as possible to kill my ungrateful children." Rain hissed.
A portal opened within the room, making the guards hold at the ready before a patterned, furry white puffball burst into the room.
"RAIIIIIINNNNNN!" Sabre shouted, stumbling a bit before getting her footing on the tiled floor.
Kroc twisted his head around from Rain's grasp, puzzled to see Sabre there before glancing over to Verain, noticing her posture had slightly relaxed. Was Verain distracting Rain long enough for Sabre to arrive? As to why, Kroc could only suppose Verain knew he wasn't ready to take on such a tremendous task just yet.
"Greetings, Sabre." Rain joyfully greeted her. "What brings you here to Verain's domain?"
"I came because I heard that you are about to send," she began before spotting Kroc somewhat limp in Rain's tail. "KROC?! What happened to him?" She quickly leapt onto Rain's tail before she rushed over to Kroc to check on him. Kroc stared back at her, briefly blinking before inclining his head slightly to greet her.
"Rain was only demonstrating her affection for her new favorite baby, Sabre. The crocodile is fine for the moment." The mermaid queen explained, pleased with Sabre's fast response.
"There is nothing to be alarmed about. Any child of mine would not suffer from my affections." Rain spoke as she gently squeezed Kroc in her tail's grasp, watching him tip his head back and look over to Sabre.
"I'm fine, sheila. Just dizzy." Kroc reassured the distressed feline.
Sabre bumped noses with Kroc, looking uneasy. "Rain, please put him down." She mewled. "And then tell me about your plan for retaking Australia. I want to help. Even if in secret, but I want to help."
"Kroc will go and follow Seyri's direction to go hunt down my traitorous children." Rain hissed as the building shook with her powerful hiss before she tipped her head back, restraining herself. "He will go and take their heads for me before I go and reclaim the lands, finding new children to give my love to."
Sabre looked at Rian, then at Verain, then at Kroc, then back at Verain, whom nodded, and back once more to the rainbow snake. "That sounds like a total takeover." Sabre clapped once. "Uncle Nikita will finish training him in a year or two, and by then we can have an army or at least we could have destroyed their resources and power base. Are we having them hunted one by one silently or do we need to plan small shows out of it?"
"A year is too long. I want them dead now, and cannot do so myself." Rain hissed, slowly moving her tail back and forth with Kroc holding on to her. "I don't care how my new favorite child kills them, but die they must."
"Ohh … but wouldn't you like to be there, once you heal completely to see it all? I think you need to reaffirm your position here and make sure no children get traitorous ideas." Sabre spoke in a velvet purr, trying to reason in ways Rain would consider. "Die they will, don't worry about that, Rain. We will make sure of it."
"Later will not do. I desire them dead within the next moon cycle." Rain hissed.
"Rain, such will not work. Kroc is NOT ready and without the help he will not even get to the top alphas. Do not excite yourself." Verain directly stated, no longer bothering to mince words.
"Kroc has been trained by the child Nikita; he is favored by Sabre and myself. He is ready." Rain stubbornly insisted.
"He has not finished his training Rain. He barely started it." Sabre frowned as she puffed up her fur to make herself look bigger. "And I do favor him, that's why I don't want him to die. So I will have to side with Verain."
"He will not perish. He has Seyri to protect him." Rain insisted with a hiss growing in volume. The walls began to shake as her lips parted, emitting a low pitched hiss which reverberated through Sabre's body. "My favorite child will not die."
"He will if you send him now!" Sabre grabbed Kroc's tail and made the motion to pull him away from the serpent, but Rain's grip remained firm. "He is too MY Kroc! You can't send him to die!"
"Rain, put your baby down." Verain demanded. "Why do we not try a veil shout-out? Which shall be done in a space where other Extraspecies won't die. You both look ready to unleash your veils as it is."
"I anger, Verain, Sabre. My children have turned against me, and must die. My patience grows short knowing these ungrateful children still breathe." Verain hissed, baring her fangs. "I desire not a veil shout-out. I desire you understand my anger." Rain hissed.
"We know! That's one of the reasons we don't want you losing Kroc too and those guys not even dying." Sabre puffed up her fur. "I don't even know what a veil shout out is, but fine, if you want it. Just put Kroc down and we'll speak afterwards. I'll show you some interesting movies that will entertain you in the meantime while he trains, and give you weird hooman food to try too."
"You believe these movies will satiate my anger towards my traitorous children?" Rain questioned with a softer hiss than before, lowering her tail to the floor but keeping her grip around Kroc's body. "Are they like the ones you've given me before? Are there more varieties?" She asked, her eyes gleaming with intrigue.
"Yes; there are a lot of those types of movies." Sabre nodded with a confident grin. After all, Jackie's horrible crappy collection of cheap B rated monster movies was only the start, and there were so many more Sabre could order online. Hopefully Rain seeing more badly behaving mutant creatures die might help soothe her anger; or at least it would entertain her a little longer.
Rain remained quiet, silently staring as she remained deep in thought. Kroc remained silent and still, unsure of what a 'veil shout-out' was but he did not want to be around when it happened.
"It will be fine, Rain. I can take on your veil so you can vent out, and then I'll introduce you to those movies and I will get you some hooman candies too."
" … very well. We will have a veil shout-out, and you will feel my anger, child." Rain spoke as she withdrew her tail from around Kroc's body. Kroc shakily stood up, rubbing the back of his neck as he stood up and remained by Rain's side. He belonged to the rainbow serpent now; he had the mark to prove it. Would it be disrespectful to go to Sabre's side now? He imagined it would be.
A portal opened beneath of Kroc's feet, startling him. Rather than jumping away from the portal, as Nikita's training had taught him, he allowed himself to fall through. Kroc landed on all fours, emitting a threatening hiss as his eyes darted around and spotted Madeline, Reza, Cyan, Indra and Sabre's kittens within the new room he found himself in.
The hyena aggressively barked up a snarl, lunging at the intruder. Kroc tensed his muscles, prepared to catch the hyena and subdue her.
"Wait." A voice spoke as Madeline flew back, snapping her jaws with a snarling laugh as Seyri rose up from Kroc's shadow and stood before him. "Queen Verain teleported Kroc here with Sabre's order." Seyri explained, hesitating before withdrawing back into Kroc's shadow.
"It's true." Reza said, checking his phone and typing back really fast to whoever was the lionfish's informant.
Madeline emitted a cackling laugh, somewhat nervous as she reluctantly stood down. Knowing the crocodile or not meant nothing; the Amako's kittens were in the room she was defending. She kept kept a close eye on Kroc, baring her teeth at him in an intimidation display. "Careful, crocodile."
"Aye, sheila." Kroc nodded, staring at Madeline before turning his gaze to the little kittens playing with each other. Kroc curiously stared at the kittens, wisely keeping his distance as Sabre's young cubs slowly made their way towards him despite Madeline trying to pick them up and return them to their basket.
"So … you somehow managed to get our royal kitty to save you." Indra laughed, fanning himself with his wing. "How nice it is to be favorited by a powerful royal. When will she be back? She needs to check the fabulous overcoats we designed."
Cyan flipped out his notebook, quickly writing to participate in the conversation.
"Not sure." Kroc admitted, holding a hand down as one of the little tiger girls crawled onto his claws and nibbled on his finger. "Where's the little tyke, Antain?" He asked, tasting the little fox wasn't there in the room.
"He's with Nikita right now. Probably teaching him to kill something." Reza shrugged, seeming fairly uncaring.
'Do you need heated winter clothes for Nikita's territory?' Cyan held up the note to Kroc so he could see it, finally able to slip his question into the conversation.
"Hm. Depends on who wins." Kroc admitted, not sure what his future held. Sabre was stubborn so he doubted Rain would last too long against her charms.
"Wins?" Indra looked up with curiosity.
"Yes. Sabre and Rain are doing what's called a veil shout-out." Kroc explained as he gently pet the tiger's back as she rolled over and stretched herself out so he could pet her belly.
"Who's Rain?" Madeleine asked with wide eyes as Reza stopped texting, flickering his eyes over to Madeline before continuing to type out a new message. Indra was appalled by her question before his eyes narrowed towards the uneducated hyena.
"The rainbow serpent, which I serve." Kroc simply explained as he watched the tiger cub flip over and crawl up his arm.
"Rain is the rainbow serpent who can drown islands if she so wishes." Indra explained. "If you are to be a royal guard, you need to know those who are important to our Amako. Her veil is unbeatable."
A portal opened against the side of the room as Sabre entered. Her appearance was a shock; her fur was standing straight up on its ends, making her appear twice as big than she actually was. The Extraspecies in the room remained silent as Sabre walked in bow legged with her arms straight out, trying her best not to make contact herself as the portal closed behind her with Ryn, her personal teleporter provided by Verain, stood at a safe distance away from the stiff and distressed looking feline.
"Meoooooooooooowwwwww," Sabre mewled with overly dramatic sadness and great distress. "Tooooo much static."
"Wow, that's rare." Reza laughed, taking a picture of her and immediately texting away on his phone. "Oh, please don't come near me, I might die if you touch me with that much static."
"M-my Amako! What happened?" Madeline asked with a loud cackling laugh, appearing very nervous as she approached the feline but kept a small distance from her.
"Sabre, did you get hit with the rainbow serpent's veil?" Indra asked, sounding appalled as Reza took a few more pictures of the hilarious state of his Amako.
"Yes." Sabre turned to look at them. "I think it's the first time a veil really hits me, it made me all puffy." She said with an unsure laugh, admitting to have been hit with what would be the veil equivalent of an H-bomb right in the face.
"Your cells have been overcharged by an opponent's veil, it seems." Indra lightly laughed, standing perhaps the furthest away from her in the room. "For birds and mammals with fur, the effects can vary, but static electricity coursing through your follicles is a side effect from enduring a strong touch of a veil. For those with scales, they often get an itchy sensation beneath their scales. I will explain to you more in depth once you are ready to listen." Indra smiled, appearing both amused and slightly unsettled.
"I don't like it. I'm puffy and keep shocking myself!" Sabre meowled again, very, very distressed.
"Are you alright, sheila?" Kroc asked, tipping his head to the side. "Is Rain angry?"
"Huh? No. Probably because you did started all." Sabre smiled. "I'm fine, just uncomfortable and puffy. Let's give Rain some hours of fun before I call her. After that we probably should go and get you to just look strong and capable, declare alliances, and all that. But you are not going into battle yet." She then looked at Kroc. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine." He stated, remaining still and unblinking.
"Mentally." Sabre clarified, narrowing her eyes towards the crocodile.
Kroc remained silent, glancing away in thought as the little white tiger cub needily meowed for Sabre, crawling closer to her at a surprisingly quick pace. Sabre instinctually purred, bending over and very gently touching her precious little cub's cheek, only to hear him loudly squeak in pain. The young mother jolted, realizing she had shocked her cub with the static in her fur before quickly backing away from him.
Seeing Sabre unable to comfort the tyke, Kroc picked the little crying cub up and gently rubbed his cheek as the kitten cried. He twisted in Kroc's claws, reaching out to his mother for comfort while clearly not understanding what had hurt him in the first place.
"Baby Dumplin'!" Sabre squawked, feeling a horrible pain in her heart about shocking her cub. Her poor, precious little jelly bean! She meowed, approaching and moving around, her tail sweeping the floors as she clearly wanted to comfort the baby but was unable to do so or she'd shock him again.
A portal opened in the room before Nikita burst through the ripped distortion in space, immediately locking his gaze onto the little white tiger who was softly crying. Nikita emitted a harsh snarl towards Kroc as a warning before approaching and examining the little crying kitten.
"There there, little grand nephew. Just small shock." Nikita softly comforted the little cub, taking him from Kroc's hands as the fearsome white fang gently chuffed towards the cub.
Madeline remained frozen in place, unable to emit a protective growl towards the very powerful Extraspecies. She held her tongue, trembling before nervously cackling and keeping her head low in a submissive manner.
"Uncle Kita!" Sabre blinked, surprised. "Is my baby Dumplin' doing fine?"
"He startled - nothing to worry, little niece." Nikita purred, licking the top of the white tiger's head before looking over her highly static fur. "And you name cubs? Why you not tell me?" He asked with an adoring smile
"Name? No, that's a nickname. My hooman gave them nicknames and I think they are cute for the moment." Sabre said while looking at her poor little startled baby.
Nikita twitched, clearly displeased by her answer before he chuffed towards the young cub. Sabre would say she was amazed by Nikita's supernatural sense of knowing when his grandkittens were in danger but that 'supernatural sense' was actually an invisible lizard named Bin who specifically kept an eye on her kittens. There was no doubt in her mind that he sent Nikita cute pictures of her kittens whenever possible, and also informed him of updates regarding her kittens and her too. Seeing as how this was convenient for her, she allowed Bin's 'secret' observation of her kittens and keeping Nikita updated on his grandnephews and grandnieces. "I'm glad to see you. Do you have any idea how to remove all the static?"
Nikita chuckled. "Niet. Not normal static. It be down after some time and giving many discharges."
Sabre sighed, her ears drooping. She definitely could not hold her kittens like this. But what she could do was speak with Kroc now that he was here. "Uncle, I'll leave the kittens in your capable claws for some moments, I need to speak with Kroc … and wait for the static to go away." She groaned, almost giving the old tiger a nuzzle before stopping and moving away. She grabbed Kroc's arm, getting a new small shock and giving him one too before leading him out of the room.
.
.
Kroc followed quietly after Sabre as she led him into a medium sized room with a built in bar. He blinked, puzzled as Sabre made him sit down on a reinforced metal stool. The large crocodile remained silent, staring at nothing in particular; he was not in shock. He was … deeply thinking. If it was not for Sabre's interference, he would have most likely died rather quickly. And yet, he could not bring himself to thank her.
Sabre jumped over the bar and snatched up a bottle of very expensive whisky. She served herself a normal shot, and then gave the bottle to Kroc. "Bar's full so drink up. You need it."
Kroc stared at the bottle, tilting his head a bit as he stared at the liquid before he popped off the top and let the liquid drain into his throat. Sabre watched the fiery liquid drain into Kroc's gullet in a smooth motion before he set the empty bottle down with a stiff sigh. "Thanks, sheila." Kroc spoke, staring at the bottle and the lights reflecting off of it, as he could not bring himself to look at her just yet.
Sabre jumped into the bar once more and took out three more bottles, which she gave to Kroc right off before taking her own glass all in one go.
Supposing he was to drink the presented drinks, Kroc went ahead and took all three bottles. "Thanks." He thanked once again, popping off the tops of all three bottles before drinking them all down together. Once they bottles were empty he set them aside, lightly rubbing his snout in thought before glancing over to her. Sabre had just gone up against the rainbow serpent; one of the oldest mythicals in existence, and defied her wishes. "You alright, sheila?"
Sabre was still incredibly staticky, her fur still strongly puffed up despite still being wet. "Yes, I am. Rain only used her veil and after the first time she was so shocked I was not unconscious that she did it again." She laughed dryly and without humor. "I even encouraged her to do it once more. That calmed her down somewhat."
Kroc stared at her in amazement, speechless. Sabre was strong enough to take on a veil from the rainbow serpent? He could not form words. When they first met, she was merely a young clouded leopard who was caring for a young fox. Not a single hint as to her royal blood nor any indication of her powerful blood. And now, she was strong enough to take on such a powerful veil. Extraspecies born with strong blood were certainly on another level entirely. No amount of training could ever come close to allowing him to withstand against Rain's veil.
"Kroc?" She placed her hand on his shoulder. "What's up? You seem … in shock." Sabre nervously bit her lip. "And, why didn't you said anything while Rain was being unreasonable back there?"
The crocodile kept quiet, forming his words carefully. His hand overlapped with hers, gently squeezing her hand. "I had no right to say no to Rain's ambitions, sheila." He spoke, locking his eyes with hers.
"Huh?" Sabre blinked, puzzled.
"Greatest Amako Rain is the rainbow serpent; one of the most powerful beings which exists. She had given me mental training, ensured I would be physically trained by one of the strongest Extraspecies in the world, accepted me as her child, and given me orders to carry out. How could I have possibly said no to her ambitions guided by anger and resentment towards the children who betrayed her?" Kroc asked in slow and deliberate words, intent on making her understand what he was saying.
"You know you are not ready and she knows you aren't ready … well, now that she calmed down she recognizes she was being immature." Sabre's eyes rolled. "She accepted you as a favorite child, and she is very motherly. She would have stopped to reason."
"I am well aware that I am not ready, Sabre." Kroc's eyes dampened, downcast and serious. "Are you aware of the legends which surround the rainbow serpent? And the reason why so many alphas, who were once her children, betrayed her?" Kroc asked, gently squeezing her paw.
"Mmmhhh no?" She inquired.
"The reason why so many alphas turned against the greatest Amako Rain is because of her childish reactions to reasonable solutions, tantrums towards those who anger or go against her immediate ambitions, and many other tragedies the greatest Amako Rain has committed in the past. She has sunken islands over insignificant details and ravaged the lands for the millennia that she has existed. Despite her infinite wisdom, she believes each and every idea she has is a wonderful idea; that, it is so wonderful, none of her children should reject it." Kroc slowly explained. "I am eternally grateful for what she has done for me. However, I can understand the anger of the alphas who betrayed her."
"Wait, WHAT!?" Sabre jumped up from her seat in surprise. "Has no one ever told her what's up?"
"Not a single one could; her ideas are the 'best'. So great, that any child who disagrees with her must have ulterior motives, or simply have not thought about the idea in the way that she has. No alpha would have the strength to speak long enough before being blown off their feet from her powerful veil. We are merely 'children' to her; and nothing more. Children she needs to constantly care for, and micromanage, and inform them of every little thing they should do." Kroc explained, dipping his head down a bit. "I've learned a little bit about these things when I was younger; I used to fear her, not understanding why she could do such terrible and devastating things. I would hear stories from other crocodiles and Extraspecies, telling of her petty actions against other alphas, sometimes snuffing out an alpha she thought disrespected her, and placing untrained alphas at the top without the decision of the people. Her actions made little sense to me, but what would I know? I was no royal who could understand the decisions she makes which affected millions of Extraspecies."
"She did?!" Sabre was astonished. She had never heard of any of this.
"I am surprised you know so little about the rainbow serpent you so bravely showed disapproval towards." Kroc admitted, puzzled by Sabre's lack of information.
"Well … I do know what Verain, or Rita, or Nikita told me, and her of course. She is … well, personally she is a bit childish in some things but she is caring and loving and supporting. Or so it seems to me." Sabre sat back down and placed her hands on her knees, looking at them. "She has told me how much she likes you, although it seems she wants to hug you too hard, and she did cry a lot about her other babies betraying her, and she genuinely wants to help Australia and others."
"During her times of teaching me, mentally training me in my feral state, I could feel how much genuine love she had in her heart; so much, at times, I felt suffocated." Kroc chuckled with a warm smile, "but is was not an unpleasant sensation."
"See? She isn't so bad. But I will ask her to take it more light though … and I will also tell her to expect that you are going to be honest with her and tell her 'no' when needed." Sabre placed her hands over his.
"I doubt she'd listen to me, sheila." Kroc emitted a small chuckle. "Why would she listen to a child who she thinks may be becoming like her other children who betrayed her?"
"Because its something new she isn't used to do. And she won't be thinking you are going to betray her because you have my back up word that you won't?" Sabre said, not exactly convinced after hearing of the crocodile's complaints.
"Of course I would not betray her." Kroc sighed. "She may listen to me with your word. I am unsure, though."
"The word of a royal is … important right?" She asked, feeling anxious upon whats she had some to realize.
"Yes." Kroc answered, staring at her. "Why are you uneasy, sheila?"
"Because it depresses me how different a royal is perceived by commoners. It's not just the word, I mean, when Rain hit me with her veil … I think I can now imagine how terrible it would be for anyone to be hit by that … or mine. I may have good intentions overall but I suppose that so many having no voice close to mine makes me unsettled when I think about it and how big it is."
"You'll be fine, sheila." Kroc smiled. "You have a good head on your shoulders. You are still mindful of those around you and will not use your veil unnecessarily."
"Not on purpose, at least." She chuckled. "Want to hear something funny? I lent Rain Jackie's crappy movies. She is apparently very entertained by them."
Kroc remained still, thinking on her words for a moment. "The ones with the monsters and poor human acting?" Kroc asked, baffled.
"Yep. The same ones." Sabre chuckled a bit more with a devious kitty grin. "She likes them."
Kroc continued to stare at her, not laughing as she thought he would. He merely pondered on her words for a moment too long with a fairly straight face. "Never would have imagined those would entertain Greatest Amako Rain." He said, tapping his metal chin before hesitating. "How ... is our host?" He asked, appearing rather anxious.
"Who would have guessed, right?" Sabre calmed down her grinning, trying to appear more serious. "Jackie is recovering. She is getting better but wants to overexert herself often. Maybe she and Rain can one day have a marathon of those crappy movies."
"Nothing permanent?" Kroc quietly asked, looking somewhat fearful of the answer.
"Thankfully no. Rita healed her and did some experiments to help her. She will recover fully, but she is still very pissy about her house." Sabre answered, her tail flickering.
"Experiments?" Kroc asked, stunned as Sabre's eyes burst open, realizing what she has just said.
"Don't mention it ever again!" Sabre loudly squeaked, mortified with her slip. "No one else know yet and no one should know!"
Kroc stared at her, troubled by her words before he glanced away. " … I imagine the sheila would be mad about her house. I will need to repay her as ah, as an apology." Kroc said, jumping topics rather quickly.
"Yes, yes, you will. You and everyone." Sabre nodded, sweating bullets since she said Jackie was experimented on. She let her guard down but at least it was with Kroc. Reza would have told EVERYONE! "And once you help Rain with Australia I'm sure you will be able to. Don't worry, I'm taking care of the house, and the whole territory too."
"And you're doing a fine job." Kroc grinned, "is this place er, in New York?" He asked, looking out the window and seeing a lot of construction going on; and in the far distance, he could see a single lone building standing amongst the buildings being constructed.
"Sort of. It's the whole Peninsula where Jackie's house is. Somehow now I own a micronation … I think?" She smiled. "It's becoming sort of like a city-state."
"So I've heard, sheila." Kroc spoke, staring at the lone brick building in the distance before looking back to her. "How does Jackie like it?"
"She doesn't know yet. I don't want to tell her until she recovers." Sabre admitted. "You know her. She will only get super anxious and worry about it."
Kroc slowly blinked, carefully staring at Sabre and appearing somewhat unsettled. "She doesn't know the territory she lives in was leveled to the ground?" Kroc asked, uneasy with how Sabre was handling the situation.
"Mmhh … yes. I want her to heal first before she goes nuts over it. Her house was barely standing after you guys broke it, and the rest, well, it just went on and happened and it became a big thing and-," Sabre began rambling before coming to a stop, seeing Kroc quietly staring at her.
"I'm not one to speak for you, Sabre, but maybe you should tell her? Poor sheila might have a heart attack when she comes back and sees her whole land has changed." Kroc hesitantly spoke up, once more looking outside at the lone building.
"Maybe … would you like to come for a stroll and see? You'll get why I want to take it slowly to Jackie." She moved in front of him, offering her hand. "And you are always welcome to come and relax when Uncle Nikita lets you too."
"Aye. I'd like to take a look around and see what's changed." Kroc admitted, standing up.
Kroc stepped outside of the large building and stretched, feeling his back cracking as Sabre took his arm and headed off towards Jackie's house. The crocodile curiously looked about the environment, seeing Extraspecies working hard to build up structures for future buildings between tents that likely acted like their resting areas. Upon seeing Sabre, many of them quickly bowed and gave her their respect to her fluffiness as Kroc kept his chin up high, noticing their glances at him as well. Kroc wisely kept quiet as Sabre excitedly talked about the planned installations in the city from fountains to streets of rivers for merfolk, fully integrating the city to hold just about all races of Extraspecies before they made it to Jackie's house.
The outside brickwork covering hard reinforced concrete and steel was familiar, but much of the house had been gutted and torn out. No furniture was in place, only the walls and new flooring which was much sturdier than the flooring it previously had.
"I'm also trying to add an extra floor, a terrace, and make Jackie's house a bit bigger and more modern. The building was very old, so there was a lot of room for improvement." She laughed at her own pun.
"It's very … empty." Kroc noted, walking around and enjoying the fact his big body wasn't in danger of knocking anything over. "It looks more sturdy too."
"It IS more study. Heck, you could really use it as gym and it wouldn't collapse." Sabre giggled. "I reinforced everything, made it secure, and once it's finished it will be more cozy and energy efficient too. Jackie won't need to worry about maintenance or utility costs."
"And you haven't told Jackie about the changes in her den?" Kroc asked, glancing away. Changing this much about someone's personal den was likely to be quite the shock for the poor host.
"No, not yet." Sabre shock her head. "Not until she is more healed, has relaxed and is calm. I don't want her stressing out."
"The sheila seemed attached to her old den. Improvements are nice, but what about her scent? I … well, I can't taste the sheila's scent in her own den." Kroc admitted, feeling a little uneasy. "Does that not bother humans?"
"No, hoomans don't even notice their own scents." Sabre shrugged. "Plus, they're all improvements! She'll love them." She clapped, shocking herself again with a small cry. "Why don't you bring a housewarming gift once it's ready?"
"Alright." Kroc nodded, not knowing what else to say. "Er, what is a housewarming gift?" He asked, unsure of what the phrasing intended to mean.
"It's a gift friends get for their other friends who move into a new house … den. Or in this case, have a complete renovation of their house." She explained. "It's to wish them a good life into setting on a new den."
"I suppose I could." Kroc noted, now wondering what would work for his host. Being partially - or rather, mostly - responsible for her house's destruction, the least he could do was get her something nice for her new den. Maybe something to help remind her of her old den?
"Yes ... oh! You want to see the new super big walk in freezer?" Sabre said, going to the large door and grabbing it before shocking herself once more and making herself yowl in frustration.
"You alright, sheila?" Kroc asked, gently touching Sabre's arm and feeling a small shock sting his arm. Scales or not, the jolt was enough to make him shy away from Sabre.
"Ow!" Sabre huffed. "It wont go down yet!"
"Maybe getting wet can help bring it down?" Kroc suggested, observing her ridiculously fluffy fur.
"I doubt it. It might get worse." Sabre groaned in despair. Plus her fur would get unnecessarily damp.
"Nikita mentioned shocking others - maybe if you shock me some more, the static will go down?" Kroc suggested, willing to endure a few shocks if it would help Sabre relax.
"Like hell I'd shock you!" Sabre growled before freezing, realizing there was someone she would do that to. She gave a really big an evil smile. "But there is someone I can shock." She maniacally cackled before she grabbed her phone and called a fast call number. "Ryn, please bring Aleksey to my coords." She winked at Kroc with an evil kitty grin.
Kroc watched Ryn appear and then vanish through a portal. As Sabre giggled to herself, Kroc recalled the seemingly innocent action of walking with him in front of other Extraspecies while holding his arm. Such an action held significance, but he did not know if she was aware of that. "Sheila, I have a question." Kroc spoke up, glancing over to her. "What uh, what was the meaning of you holding my arm as we walked?" He asked, looking slightly puzzled.
"Meaning?" Sabre blinked, tilting her head. "I just did."
"Yes. Did you hold my arm to show favor to me around your followers?" He asked, tilting his head to the side in thought.
"No. I just did it, naturally." She blinked again. "But … it may serve I guess?"
"How so?" Kroc asked, realizing she did not know the significance of what she thought was a minor action.
"I did show you have my backup or at least that we are close." She said, tapping her index finger on her lips. "I think it is actually a happy accident, I said I would ask you to be a fake seasonal mate to show I support you, so this probably served to prove it."
"You meant that?" Kroc blinked, baffled by her words. "How would that serve us?"
"Well, you have the favor and back up of a royal, so that improves your own position." She explained before smiled warmly, looking away with a big blush under her fur. "You know … if I hadn't known that Aleksey was alive, I would have gone with you, I suppose."
"What's that?" Kroc asked, snapping to attention rather quickly. He carefully thought over her words, hesitating for a brief moment. "Watch your words, Sabre. As a royal now, they uh, they hold meaning." Kroc informed her as he glanced away, not sure how exactly to respond to that. She was back with her mate so why would she bring that up? His tail swept across the ground, feeling a bit apprehensive as to where this was potentially going.
"I am honest. You are great." She said, feeling this was the moment to say things. "I mean, we are friends and now I'm happy with my obnoxious mate, but… I really mean it. I would have gone with you."
"Don't let Aleksey hear you say that. He'll come for my head." Kroc smiled, feeling a bit nervous. If it came down to a fight between himself and Aleksey, Kroc knew he'd win. Aleksey would have every right to challenge him to a fight if Sabre showed interest in him but Sabre would be greatly saddened by the loss of her mate she cherishes so much. Kroc would not dare do that to Sabre.
"Well, you and I are still best friends and that's that." She smiled, looking at him with big eyes and a bright smile. "I don't plan leaving Aleksey. I love him." She assured the crocodile. "But you are also my friend and I will do all I can to help you."
"He's a good feline. He'll get strong." Kroc reassured her, blinking for a moment. "Not that it does me much good while I'm hunting down other alphas. Don't think they'll care who I'm friends with; just if I am stronger than they are or not."
"It will help once you do." She assured him. "Kroc … I really think of you as a very cherished friend." She leaned on him.
"Thanks, sheila." Kroc smiled, turning his head for a brief nuzzle, ignoring the small shock he got. "I will always support you."
"And you'll always be very special to me." She responded. "I'll give you a big hug and use your back as a scratching post later." She laughed.
The portal opened as Ryn and Aleksey stepped through. The large smile gracing the tiger's lips immediately fell as he noticed the close quarters between Sabre and Kroc, narrowing his eye but wisely holding his tongue on the matter. "Da, mate? You call?" He asked with a small purr, happy his mate had called for him.
"Si." Sabre nodded while evilly approaching her mate. "It's just that I decided I will start lifting your punishment right now." After those words she quickly gave him a big hug, shocking him and making his fur stand up on ends as well from the shock.
"AUGH! Mate, what is shock?!" Aleksey demanded, startled by the grab as he staggered back with Sabre tightly clinging to him, purring and giggy.
"I got staticky from the veil fight with Rain and I just thought I wanted a comforting hug from my mate." She rubbed her cheek over his chest, making sure to pass on the static electricity on him and give him a few more little shocks.
Aleksey trembled, unable to bring himself to separate from her. This was the first contact she had allowed in quite sometime, and while he yearned for your touch, the constant shocking was rather painful. "Watch wounds." Aleksey remianded her as he nuzzled her, accepting the shocking if it meant she would touch him.
"I am." Sabre purred, nuzzling him more. "Hug me, ´Leksey."
Kroc watched the young couple with a smile on his face. He was going to miss little moments like this. Later when he had his own territory, he would be sure to visit as often as he could to enjoy such pleasant, nice interactions. He was going to be training long and hard before going over the Australian island in the name of the Great Amako Rainbow Serpent, so moments like these would be greatly cherished.
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Peeko: FINALLY got this chapter out XD this chapter went through so many changes before we finally settled on the most logical one … I wanted him already ripping off an alphas head all bada** but this is better, considering the timing XD
Chaos:FINALLY! I kept insisting that a grand fight was unrealistic and would end up with Kroc getting ripped out :o , so no. I did not allow such. Also with that other story we are preparing..well, we are absolutely obsessed with it and we love it. We hope you'll too once we start getting it out ;D Also expect Sabre's chap to come out soon..well, we will hurry to get it out as an apology for this taking so damn long.