As Bogo and the enforcers were doing their investigation, back at the mansion, the guests were all doing the most of their day.
The days at the mansion were pretty much normal and calm, as the game was being continue at night, after dinner. During the day, the mammals in the house could do other things to pass their time.
And pass their time was something that they really needed to, as the days on the mansion were so calm that it verged on being boring. For some, having a boring morning and afternoon was quite welcome, after the tension that there could be during the night.
Nick and Judy certainly felt like they could pass their morning in peace after the tensions that they passed on the previous night. Of course, not everything about the night was bad. After all, there was no attacks, although they went through a little of tension due to the invasion of the house by Benjamin's ex.
Also, the night surely was not uneventful, with Josh having received his "guests" during the night. Guests that left on the morning after breakfast, and all of them seemed to be pretty happy and all waved goodbye to Josh as they left. Angel and Amber even blew kisses at the cheetah as they departed, under the eyes of the servants and of the owners of the house, who gave shocked looks at the departing mammals before shooting glares at Alex, who just smiled sheepishly back at them.
"Josh just does it sometimes." Was Marcy's simple explanation. "He enjoys company, and people do enjoy his company. He makes new friends on every place he visits."
Yeah, it seemed to be the case. He certainly made "friends" with those four mammals that just left, and they left saying on how the night was wonderful, and how the bed was "very comfortable".
Just a few minutes later, Judy overheard Adrian telling one of the servants to remove the sheets and the mattress of the bed of Josh's room and burn them right after the cheetah leaves the house.
Mostly, the events of the morning were soon forgot, as everyone was engaging into other activities through the afternoon. Chandler was with Hannah, and he was showing the house to her, as this was her first time visiting the place, and he seemed to want to show her some of the favorite places that he had in it while growing up.
Meanwhile, Gazelle and Tyson had requested a place for themselves. They had chosen to use their free time to practice their dancing. Gazelle still had a few shows programmed, and both of them wanted to be ready to do well for the shows on the upcoming months, including on their Christmas and New Year's shows. Adrian made sure to provide am empty room that would be perfect for her and Tyson to practice their dancing routines. As he did, Nick looked over at the horse, and he couldn't help but have the impression that Adrian almost seemed to be kissing up to Gazelle.
Was it because she was an important guest on his mansion and he wanted to have her speaking good about him to her rich and important friends?
Well, it certainly gave the fox the impression that the horse wanted something...
However, Nick didn't attained himself to that topic for long. His mind was busy playing other things at that moment. Like, asking himself how he actually felt about a certain bunny.
"You two do look kind of cute together."
The fact that Ben's brother said that to him still bugged the fox. Even more since Nick knew that the guy apparently said that to him after readying his mind.
Was it possible for someone to read your mind and learn something about yourself that even you didn't knew?
All that Nick knew was that he didn't stopped thinking of it as he watched a movie with Judy. That and on how close she was to him on that moment.
Of course, she had been close to him before in the past, during previous movie nights. That bunny really liked to cuddle, as it seemed. However, Nick never thought too hard on it. At least, not until that night. All of sudden, Nick realized that a girl was cuddling with him for the first time since high school, and the thought alone nearly caused him to have a panic attack.
The thought have been on his mind ever since, and now, two days after that night, he was still thinking of it, and thinking what he should do about it.
Ignore it until it went away? Nah, that rarely worked.
Look for a psychiatrist? People would ask questions if he started seeing one all of sudden. Besides, Nick didn't considered himself to be on the point where he needed a psychiatrist. Not yet, at least...
Talk to Judy about it?
That plan actually seemed to be the best one. However, somehow, at the same time, it also seemed to be the worse.
He felt like he should talk to Judy about what was going into his mind. However, the idea of talking about her on that specific subject terrified Nick for some reason. Even more than months ago when he was hesitant to tell her about his fist encounter with the supernatural in fear that she would think he was insane.
That worked out in the end, as she understood and even helped him through it.
So, why his other subject scared him?
Because it was more important? Because she could not react as well?
Because it could damage their friendship?
Nick was glad that he could still hide his feelings behind a mask whenever the situation asked for it. He developed this skill soon after that unhappy incident on his childhood. That terrible experience scarred him for life, but it somehow taught him never to drop his guard and hide his emotions like a pro poker player.
Even his mother said that she could hardly know what went through his head after that night.
So, Nick was able to stand by Judy's side without raising any suspicion of the turmoil going into his head while they discussed things that ranged from their theories to the solution of the murder game to their worry on the officers that got affected by whatever it was that those mages did on the Precinct.
All the while, Nick nodded at her, but he was only half-listening to what the bunny girl was saying. He was mostly thinking on if he should or not talk to her about what was really on his mind. A part of him truly wanted to, but the other was terrified out of its piece of mind.
He was too focused on his little trouble, but he and Judy both noticed when Benjamin and Gabe passed by them. In part, because the deer was laughing hard as they passed by the two.
"Gabe, you didn't!" Benjamin said as they walked pass the bunny and fox, who looked at them as they passed, but quickly went back to their own conversation as the two mammals walked away.
"I did!" Gabe said, "I swear I said those exact words to my brother! Right to his snout!"
"Just because he spoke ill of me?" Ben said, as they both walked across the hallway. "You really faced him like that just because of that?"
"Of course!" Gabe said, as if this was an obvious thing. "He might be my brother, but I'd not let him speak like that about someone who's once been engaged to me. Besides, I decided that it was a good idea to stand for him. After all, you know that he spent years tormenting me."
Gabe regretted that statement nearly immediately.
Ben's expression immediately fell, and he looked down. For a moment, Gabe could also have sworn that he saw the cheetah's body shuddering.
Gabe silently cursed himself, and saw himself desperately looking for something to change the subject.
Luckily, there was a much better topic to speak about:
"So, I heard Jace's wife just gave birth again!" Gabe said, "This time it is a girl."
Ben nodded, and he looked up at Gabe.
"Y-yeah. Little Jessica. They sent me pictures." The cheetah said, still looking a bit shaken. "She is the cutest thing."
"Yeah, and I heard her brother is happy too for gaining a little sister." Gabe said, looking at the cheetah with a smile on his face. "I bet you are happy too, aren't you? Now you got someone else to call you Uncle Ben, don't you? Say, do you plant to shower her with gifts and candy like you said you would do if you ever had nieces and nephews?"
"Well, that's kind of my idea." Ben said, and this time he was smiling. He was remembering of all of the long talks he had with Gabe about how it would be cool to have nephews and nieces to shower with gifts. Ben had always liked the idea of being an uncle or even a father. He just knew that he liked having kids around. He used to talk to Gabe how it would be cool when they were uncles.
They even talked about adoption, for when the time came that they wanted to start their own family.
"So, when you plan to go in there and get to know your new niece in person?"
"Oh, at Thanksgiving." Ben said, this time he was smiling back at Gabe. "I usually go home to visit at Thanksgiving. I am still looking for a gift for her. It has to be something really nice."
"Oh, just buy a stuffed toy or a set of playing blocks. She is just a few months old, I am sure she's not picky." Gabe said, and the cheetah immediately turned to him.
"I am her uncle. I have to give a nice present." Ben said, "I need to give her just the right thing. I have to find gifts for all the rest of my family, anyway. No reason why I can't put some effort into finding the perfect gift for little Jess."
"Oh, yeah. You always put a lot of effort in giving gifts to people." Gabe said, looking at the cheetah. "I do remember how you often started looking for them right after Thanksgiving. You started to look for presents right on the following day to the dinner, and you would go from store to store and spend hours looking among the things to be sure that you would have the right gift to give. And that was only Christmas! I'm not even counting birthdays."
Ben rubbed the back of his neck as he blushed.
"Well, it is important to give people the right presents." Ben said, "After all, if you are going to give them something, you might as well give something really good. So, there is nothing wrong putting some real effort into it. I learned it from Mom."
"Yeah, I heard." Gabe asked, and looked at Ben.
"But... I haven't seen you there around Christmas anymore." Gabe said, and Ben looked at him.
"You see, sometimes I went to your house during Christmas since... our breakup." He said, sounding a bit sad. "Your family was always nice to me, and they welcomed me and treated me like a guest. I went in there hoping to see you around that time, but you were never there."
Ben looked at him, and he then looked away.
"I... don't go to my home at Christmas anymore." Ben said, his tone nearly apologetic. "I usually go home during other times of the year, like Thanksgiving. It is when I bring the Christmas gifts."
"Why?" Gabe asked, and Ben simply continued to look away. Tension formed into his features as Gabe asked that question.
"I... I can't..." Ben said, and he looked sad at it. Gabe looked at him.
"Why not?" He asked, and the cheetah looked at him. The expression on his eyes said everything. Still, the deer continued to look at the cheetah.
"Ben... don't you miss everyone?" Gabe asked, and Ben looked at him. "Don't you miss your house? Your siblings?"
"Gabe..."
"Don't you miss me?" Gabe asked him. "Don't you miss the times we had? The things we used to share? All that we went through together? Don't you miss all of it?"
"Gabe, please..." Ben said, and Gabe placed a hand on his shoulders very gently.
"Ben... what happened... there are no words that could actually describe it. How awful it all was. But it has been seven years now." Gabe said, looking at the eyes of the cheetah. "Seven years is a long time. A long time to go away from your home and people who love and care about you."
"Gabe..." Ben said, looking at the deer in the eyes.
"I am not going back... I can't."
"You can, Ben." Gabe said, looking at him with gentleness. "Ben, you gotta let go of the past. You gotta leave it all behind. You don't need to keep your distance anymore. Not from your family or mine. Not from your siblings. Not from me."
"Ben, no one is going to hurt you anymore." Gabe said, looking at the cheetah. "None of us will ever let anything bad happen to you again. I won't let anything bad happen to you again. I'll fight for you like I should have when you needed me. I won't let you down again. I promise."
He reached out, and gently brushed his fingers over Ben's cheek.
"You can come home now. This time for good. Come back with me, Ben. Come back, and let's start again from where we left."
This was a plea. It sounded like one.
That was what made it all the worse for Benjamin.
"I... I..." Ben said, looking at the deer for a few moments. Then he hung his head.
"I can't... Gabe I can't... not after all that happened. I just can't go back. It is... it is too hard... I..."
Ben looked up at the deer. His eyes were starting to get moist.
"I'm sorry."
With this, Ben gently pushed Gabe away, and walked away, sniffing as he tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to come out.
Gabe was left in the hallways, watching as Ben moved away looking like he would start sobbing at any moment.
Gabe felt awful.
He felt awful for having brought that up. He felt awful for making Ben feel like that and get upset. Ever since they first met, after he saw that young cheetah cub bawling before him, Gabe had decided that he wanted to make him smile instead of cry, and now he had just made Ben cry.
The deer was quick to go after the cheetah, and to apologize for having made the conversation go in that direction. Soon he was talking to Ben over other subjects. Happier subjects. The kind that would put a smile to his face.
And a smile was soon playing at Ben's muzzle as they talked.
One thing about Ben was that he was able to let go of things easy.
He was not the kind who held on to negative emotions, as he was able to let them flow away from him and smile once more.
It was more than he could say of some mammals that both of them had known on the past.
Still, there were things that even Ben could not fully let go. Like what happened seven years ago.
That really hurt Ben. Probably more than all of the other things that happened before and that ended up leading to that moment. Hurt him so bad that the cheetah abandoned everything just to try to get as far from it as possible. Even when there was no danger to himself or those he loved, Ben still had to go away.
Leaving Gabe behind.
Gabe knew that it had hurt Ben bad when he the cheetah left him behind. He knew how hurt Ben truly was at that moment. He never forgave the mammal who hurt him so much, and he never would.
Ben still had reasons to keep distant. He was still hurting. He was still reluctant to come back after all that he had been through.
Gabe understood it, and he understood that he could not force Ben to come back. However, the deer also knew that he was not going to give up.
Knowing that Ben was gone was maybe the most painful thing that Gabe ever had to go through. Knowing that Ben would not be by his side hurt. Now, many mammals would resent the person who was leaving, but not Gabe.
Gabe still missed Ben.
He still loved Ben.
He loved him for many years. He loved him until he was old enough to understand what that feeling truly was. He loved him through all of the tribulations that they went through in order to be together.
Yes, for their love was not an easy one. There were obstacles that got on their way and nearly tore them apart. Obstacles that nearly forced them to give up on their love. However, all of those obstacles were overcame, with some help of those who truly appreciated and wished their happiness.
Gabe and Ben had to struggle for their love. They had to struggle and fight for their right to be together and be happy, and in the end, their love prevailed.
They went through much in order for them to get their official engagement, so they could be together forever, as they had promised when they were just fawns. Gabe didn't gave up back then, and he didn't intended to give up now.
Perhaps Ben only needed more time.
If that was the case, Gabe would wait for as long as it took.
He was not going to give up on Ben. Ever
Charles had become a member of the Manechester family upon marring Euphemia. He even took the family name as his own. However, even marrying into the family did not made him a proper Manechester.
Perhaps that was why Yahya found his presence to be a lot harder to keep up with than that of his actual grandchildren.
Charles seemed to always have something to say, and sometimes the kissing up that he did was so obvious that was nearly outrageous. Was his grandson-in-law always seeking for attention? Did he wanted his approval constantly? Was that why he always seemed like he was trying to please Yahya?
Either was the answer, Yahya only knew that it was hard to keep up with it for more than ten minutes at a time.
The Manechester elder had always hated such butt-kissers, ever since he could remember.
Which was why he excused himself and moved away from Charles as soon as he saw an opportunity, claiming that he had to check on a thing. Charles at first tried to go with him, but a single glare at the younger horse was enough to get Charles to understand that Yahya wanted to be alone.
As he walked away from Charles, Yahya could nearly left out a sigh of relief.
However, that was short lived, as the horse noticed someone coming behind him with his wide range of vision. He saw who it was, and he just continued walking. The mammal continued right behind him as he made two curves, and followed him as he walked into an empty room, filled with nothing more than the artworks of his son's collection.
"Do you often follow others around, Mr. Horne?" Yahya finally said, before he turned around to look in the eyes of the hybrid.
Melor was standing in there as he looked at the horse. His hooves were on his pockets and he had a smirk on his muzzle as his leopard eyes looked at the horse.
"Only those who catch my eye." Melor said, looking at the horse with a smirk.
"That is not very polite of you." Yahya said, looking at the hybrid. "Some mammals can be made really uncomfortable by the perception of someone lurking after them."
"You mean the prey?" Melor said, looking at the horse. Yahya said nothing, and only continued to look at him. Melor then shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess it can't be helped." He said, "I do sometimes feel the urge to follow others around. You can blame that on my leopard half. I am sure that some would certainly do."
He looked straight at Yahya as he said that, and he still had that smirk on his face and that look on his eyes. The same that he gave to Yahya the first time the horse came in and saw him without his mask. Yahya looked at him with indifference, with his arms crossed over his chest as he looked at the hybrid.
"So, I see you truly are staying in the mansion now." Melor said, looking at him. "Really taking a break from your work at the Beastar Corps?"
"You can blame that on one of my subordinates." Yahya said, looking at the hybrid. "He managed to convince me that the last weeks have been taking a tool on me and that it would come back to get me if I didn't took a few days for myself. He was so insistent that he actually managed to convince me..."
"A hard task, I am sure." Melor said, his smirk widening a little bit.
"...So, I have decided to take a few days of license from work." Yahya said, "I left instructions to everyone that I am sure that will be followed while I 'take a few days to take care of myself'. But make no mistake; I plan to go back to work right after Halloween."
"Work first and all, huh?" Melor asked, to which Yahya said:
"The Beastar Corps are my company, and we offer a very important service to society." He was looking at the hybrid as he said that. "I cannot absent myself from duty for more than a few days. Not only I have to manage everything, but I also have to go back on making my own part of work."
"A boss who goes out and does the company's work himself." Melor said, "That is quite rare nowadays."
"Don't be so ironic, Mr. Horne." Yahya said, turning his face away from the hybrid, but still having him on his very wide field of vision, and watching him in despite of walking into the room and stopping before a window.
"I simply want to continue to do what I wanted when I first founded the Beastar Corps." He said, "To work for a better future and a better society for all mammals."
"Including those like me?" Melor said, his tone of voice becoming a little different as he looked at the horse. Yahya, in spite not be facing him directly, could still see the strange hint on the hybrid's eyes.
"Of course." Yahya said, "After all, mammals like you are still part of society."
There was a visible tension in between the two mammals, before Melor shrugged.
"Anyway, I don't see why you can't leave this at the hands of a subordinate." Melor said, looking at the horse. "Or maybe even of your partner."
Yahya's muscles tensed as he heard that, but Melor didn't noticed that. Then, the horse said.
"I don't have a partner."
Melor looked at the horse with a raised eyebrow.
"Really? Why not?"
It took a few seconds for Yahya to answer, and then he said:
"I found no one who would be qualified for the position."
More silence followed those words, and then Melor said:
"You still looking for one?"
"Why do you ask?" Yahya said, still not looking directly at the hybrid, but still having him in his sight. He could see very well when the hybrid shrugged before saying:
"Just wondering. You know, if you want my opinion, then you should get yourself a partner. Seriously, they can be quite useful."
"Like Ogami?" Yahya asked, "Is he useful to you?"
"Oh, he is." Melor said, looking at the horse. "Well, he is a little obtuse sometimes, but he is a very good partner, believe me. You would do well if you had him around you as your partner. Or maybe me!"
"I could be your partner." Melor said, sounding very confident as he said that. This granted a snort coming from Yahya, and it didn't sounded like that of the amused kind.
"What? I could be a good partner." Melor said, "I am strong, determined, bold, I work well under pressure, and I can be quite good to have around in a fight with bad guys. I could even help you with magecraft if you have problems with it."
Yahya said nothing, but his expression was a bit sour. Melor could tell even though the horse was not facing him.
"Of course, maybe you have problems with having a hybrid as your partner..." The hybrid said, looking at the horse with a sour expression of his own. "Does the thought of being with a hybrid every day sickens you?"
"It has nothing to do with you being a hybrid, Mr. Horne." Yahya said very firmly.
"Then what is it?" Melor asked, and there was a few moments of silence before Yahya spoke:
"Having a partner is more than having someone to help you solve problems or fight bad guys."
He then turned his head to look at the hybrid, to make sure that he would get his point across.
"When you have a partner, this means having someone in who you can rely on." Yahya said, "A partner is someone who will be by your side in the moments of life-or-death, and they will be the only one who you can count on those moments."
"When you are out on the field you can rely only on your partner. No one else. Not your friends, not your family, sometimes not even yourself. The only one in who you will be able to count will be your partner. They are the one who is going to cover your back." Yahya said, looking the hybrid in the eyes as he spoke that. "That is why that a partner must be, before anything else, someone in whom you know that you can trust."
Melor looked at him, and then he asked:
"And you cannot trust me?"
"I don't know you." Yahya said truthfully. Melor looked back at him, and the horse once more turned his face away from the hybrid.
"You are not someone who I've met and talked with myself. You are not even someone who I hired myself." Yahya said, still studying the reactions of the hybrid. "You are someone who my son hired and who is living in my house. This makes you a stranger to me. I don't know enough to know I can trust you."
Melor looked at him for a few moments, before nodding.
"Yeah, that's fair, to be honest." Melor said, "But, the easy solution for this is you getting to know me. Come on, pop upon a bottle of expensive wine and let's have a good conversation! We'll talk as if we were old friends. You can tell me about your old adventures and I can tell you about some works I've done. Of course, you won't be able to confirm anything, once I've always make sure to do it in secret. I bet that by the end of it you will be considering me your best friend!"
Yahya turned his head to look at the hybrid once more. His expression was neutral, but it seemed unamused, and he said nothing as he turned his head back to the window.
"What? I am friendly!" Melor said, looking at the horse. "Well, maybe not completely friendly, but I am friendly once you know me. Just talk with me for long enough and you will see this. I bet that after tonight you will not think twice about letting me have your back."
Yahya said nothing, and he seemed to be in deep thought as he looked outside. He could still see the hybrid in his 350° vision, and he didn't liked the stance of the hybrid, and neither the sureness with which he was saying those words.
"I am not a man whose trust is won easily, Mr. Horne." Yahya said, his voice was calm, but there was something in it as he spoke. Nearly as if it was something between a warning and a veiled threat.
"It is not easy to convince me to let you guard my back." The horse continued. "In fact, in my whole life, there was only one mammal who ever proved to deserve my trust at this point. The only mammal to whom I'd ever trust my back. My one true partner"
Yahya looked at Melor by the corner of his eye, and that glare seemed hostile.
"If you think you will be able to compare to him, you better give up on this thought right now, because I assure you that you can't do such thing." A sureness was on that voice that surprised the hybrid. "No one can."
Silence followed those words.
For a long moment, none of the two mammals on the room spoke, before the hybrid put his hooves up in defense.
"Hey, don't need to be so hostile, dude. I was just making a commentary." He said; feeling actually a bit intimidated by the way that the horse was looking at him. Yahya snorted again and focused his attention back to the window.
"I am just saying that you should give me or Legoshi a chance." Melor continued, "You don't have to get all defensive like that. I assure you, neither of us has any intention of trying to replace your Sassy Wolfy."
Yahya's eyes widened as he heard that. His head snapped to look directly at the hybrid.
"What?" The horse said; turning directly to face the hybrid and walk on is direction. "What did you just said?"
Melor's smile diminished as he saw the horse coming in his direction. It was as if he suddenly was afraid, or as if he realized that he had just spoke the wrong thing. Either way, Yahya didn't noticed, he was too focused on what the hybrid had just said.
Something very personal. Something that Yahya never told anyone, even his own family. Something that he hadn't said or heard in decades, but that he still remembered very well, even after so long.
"You..." Yahya said, looking at the hybrid. "How do you know that? How do you know that nickname!?" Yahya demanded, and the hybrid looked at him. For a moment, it seemed that the hybrid was trying to come up with an excuse. However, he quickly relaxed; his expression once more was that of smug arrogance, with that smirk as he looked at the horse.
"Oh, Yahya..." Melor said, looking at the horse, nearly as if he was defying him. "You still don't know much about mages, do you? Well, let me tell you this. We are mammals of secrets, but we know things. We have ways of knowing things. We work hard in keeping secrets because it is easy for us to find secrets. We don't need to be able to read minds like the Clawhausers to find out things about you that you would like to keep secret."
The hybrid them chuckled.
"What about that? You know little about me, but I know a lot about you." Melor said, looking at the horse with an expression and a tone of voice that was of teasing. No. More than teasing, it was nearly as if he was challenging the horse.
"Interesting, isn't it?"
Yahya hated many things. One of them was a certain kind of smile. The arrogant kind of smile that he many times saw on the faces of perps and mammals who broke the law, who smiled at him as if they considered themselves to be smarter and luckier than him. So smart and lucky that Yahya would never be able to lay a single finger in them, no matter how much he tried.
The hybrid had the very same kind of smile on his muzzle right now.
Yahya now wanted nothing more than to wipe it off his face.
Before Yahya could say anything, though, the door behind the hybrid slammed open, and a frantic wolf made his way inside.
"Melon! Melon!" Legoshi said as he rushed inside. The hybrid immediately turned to look at him, and the wolf immediately was speaking before the hybrid could even ask what was happening.
"Melon! I just got a signal from my familiars outside! Someone is breaking the area of the bounded field and invading the property! They are still on the outer edge of the barrier and they haven't approached the house, but they are still somewhere within ten and twenty meters from the house and they don't seem like they've left! They might come closer and invade!" The wolf said, gesturing at the cicada that he had on his paw, which was chirping madly as if vibrated its wings.
The wolf was so focus on the hybrid that he failed to notice the horse, at least until he looked on Yahya's way, finally noticing that he was in there.
"Oh! H-hello, Manechester-sama." Legoshi said, bowing his head at the horse.
Yahya looked at the wolf, before he looked back at the hybrid, who was now looking back at him.
Yahya still wanted to say some things to that antlered mammal. However, considering what he had just heard, Yahya believed that he could do it later. Yahya was a horse who had his priorities straight.
"Did you said that someone is invading the property?" Yahya asked, looking straight at the wolf.
"Why are we doing this again?" One of the security, a rhino, said as they walked across the area. By his side, a zebra security looked back at him as he answered:
"Because Yahya Manechester told us to."
This was really all that needed to say, however, the rhino was not quite satisfied with this answer.
"And why did he told us to go patrolling the area?" The rhino asked once more, looking at the zebra. "Because the wolf of the bugs and the crossbred told us to?"
"Yeah, I assume that would be a reason." The zebra said, looking at him. "Because they noticed that there was someone lurking around the house, and that they would be in this area."
"Really? And where are them?" The rhino said, gesturing around. "We've been looking around here for nearly an hour and we've seen no one! We are basically just walking around the house like two idiots while looking for someone who a wolf detected with his magic bugs! I swear, if I tell anyone this then they will think I lost my mind! Or at least that I am some chump!"
The zebra looked around, and he scratched his head with his hoof, adjusting his hat.
"Yeah, we really have looked all around the house and we found no one. I guess that whoever it was must have left." He said, looking back at the rhino. "Guess we can go back inside and inform that the area is clear."
The rhino was clearly happy for hearing that, and soon the two prey animals were walking back to the mansion.
Little did they knew that there was someone nearby, and that was watching them walk back to the mansion while remaining out of sight.
It was not too hard, actually.
Mundanes, as it turns out, were actually quite easy to fool.
So easy that it was almost ridiculous.
The fools didn't saw what was right in front of them.
Still, getting close to the mansion had proved to be turning more difficult lately. Security had gotten tighter, and now there were some obstacles that weren't there weeks ago.
The two mages who were living in the mansion were not as good as they pretended to be. However, they also were not of all incompetent. The proof of that as that they were able to detect his approach, even if the two mundanes sent to check were not able to find him.
And that is only those two. He was not even counting on the other mages who were visiting the mansion.
Getting near the mansion surely would be a lot more difficult. Who says going inside.
Oh, but he wanted to go inside.
He wanted to go inside and find Benjamin Clawhauser.
Or at least have him come out again.
Anything that gave him the opportunity to get to that cheetah again.
However, doing so now would be too dangerous. There would be reactions to his presence into the house, and he was sure that some of them could be violent.
He needed to wait.
He needed to wait for the perfect chance to go for it as soon as he saw an opening leading to the plump cheetah. Meanwhile, all he would do was keep lurking.
After all, he just saw how he didn't had to worry about the mundanes at the house, considering how he easily fooled those two.
He nearly felt embarrassed that he once was as easy to trick and fool as them...