Porsogon and Neo stood alone in the giant rock plated yard, in front of them were the main house where his father work and sleep. His 20 something counselors and heads of powerful families were all gathered here tonight, they sat on both sides of the two pillars of fire which situated his father in the center of the room."NEO, YOU DARE SHOW YOUR FACE AT MY HOUSE AFTER WHAT YOU DID?!" Porsogon"s father once again yelled at them, the pure pressured from his voice made Neo"s knees gave out, he immediately kneeled and kept his head low on the ground.
"U-Uncle, your child is here to ask for help, please, here me out." Though scared, this was Neo"s only chance of persuading him, even if he had to risk his life, he had to do it to save Yilas.
"HEAR YOU OUT? HAHAHA..." "Hahahahahha...." The headmaster laughed, and accompanied him was the train of hysterical laughter from his minions.
Porsogon didn"t kneel, instead, he lowered his head to show his respect. In the left corner of the room, a young green-eyed leopard female had her eyes glued to Porsogon"s handsome face, she smirked and watched him silently. For many years, her eyes could only look his way.
"Father! Neo had returned after some hardship, your son believes he has righteous reasons for his action." Porsogon spoke up in defense for Neo, and Neo who was helplessly shivering on the ground felt the weight somewhat being lifted off his shoulders since his brother had spoken. Since Porsogon was a highly respected youth, he was sure even the elders would listen to what he had to say.
"So what I"ve heard is right! You commanded all beasts in the training ground today for that little rascal"s sake! You are all in this together..." An old man with a head of a lion said in his deep, raspy voice. The gray on his nose openly showed the merciless signs of age, his eyes were red and the lids were sagging. Every beast in the room turned their heads and nodded as if they had already expected the news, they were just waiting for someone to speak it aloud.
"IS THAT TRUE?!!" The headmaster spoke once again, quieting the room, Porsogon ducked his head even lower.
"The matter was urgent! It concerned our own clan"s well being so I made the decision on the spot!" The room started to gossip, this time more restless than before. The headmaster"s eyes were frown and crowded, it was difficult to see what his expression was.
"It was a big herd, I heard. It was coming in the direction of the mainland, so I think young chief here got a point." The young female who had been eyeing Porsogon this whole time finally found the moment where she could join in, she waited this long just so it seemed like she was the only one on his side.
But what she said didn"t sit well with everyone, some glared their eyes at her, some covered their mouth and whispered some not so nice words. They rarely had a good reaction whenever she spoke.
"IF ANYONE CAN MAKE COMMAND, WHAT ORDER DO OUR BEASTS HAVE?" The headmaster"s voice showed annoyance, he, of course, couldn"t let the matter be dismissed so easily. It could jeopardize his power in the eyes of the beasts here.
"I mean no disrespect father, I shall take full responsibility for my action." Porsogon knew his father wouldn"t let the smallest mistake be taken lightly in his present, therefore, they must not anger any further him before asking for his support.
"HMM..." Porsogon"s father finally calmed down, everyone in the room seemed to have also been satisfied with the matter at hand. However, the main subject was still kneeling next to Porsogon, he had tugged down so small that they had almost forgotten about him.
"What about Neo? Shouldn"t he be punished for bringing the problem to us?" A rhino head male spoke up after the crowd had stopped buzzing.
Neo, who had calmed down some, was scared once again. He secretly looked up at Porsogon, looking for back up.
"Of course, Neo would also be punished for his reckless behavior." Porsogon lifted his head, looking directly at the rhino with his burning hot gaze. Even the big, fearsome-looking beast-man like the rhino would felt nervous, he avoided Porsogon"s eyes like a plague, sweats starting to run down his face. He thought this man"s son was just as frightening as him.
"ALRIGHT, QUIET DOWN! NEO, WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
"I-I... U-Uncle, as you may know, I have been staying with a smaller clan and trying to get them to merge with us. But you see, before I could do that, the Goat"s city master, Bryok, had taken..."
"BRYOK!!??" As soon as the name was mentioned, Porsogon"s father punched his hand to the ground loudly, making a loud thus noise, shaking the ground just barely a second. Obviously the name wasn"t such a pleasant one to his ears.
"Y-Yes, Uncle, the man who kidnapped the clan"s head named Bryok..." Neo repeated the name he heard from Viosus.
"THAT b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"
Porsogon had never heard his father mentioned this beast before, but he had heard tales about a beast-man named Bryok.
His clan soldiers told stories about a Bull beast-man whose skin was as black as the night sky, but his heart was as bright as the sun. He with his spouse had freed many clans from the terror of the snake clan back in the day and brought them into a unity which was named the Goat"s city like they have known today. They also told story about how strong and fearless the beast-man was, he went head to head with the biggest python in the snake clan and used his giant horns to pierce its guts to death. His legendary fights had lived beyond his years.
However, after his younger successful days, Bryok of the present hadn"t made much of a name anymore since he had gone into a mysterious hideout. Some said he was still secretly running the city but no one really knew since it was such a long time ago when it all happened.
Through all those stories, Porsogon couldn"t figure out any connection between the beast and his father.
"ALRIGHT! CUT TO THE CHASE!" The headmaster thrust his fist onto the ground, making a loud thud noise, making the room fell into silence before Neo gathered the courage to speak again.
"Un-Uncle, before I could proceed with my plans, the head of the fox clan had been kidnapped." As soon as Neo mentioned the Fox clan, many elderly beasts had started their own discussion, all the buzzing noise made him even more nervous. But Neo took a deep breath and continued "Now the remaining members would only consider joining us if their head was returned, so I was thinking if we could... maybe, we can lend them a hand?"
Silence! The whole room fell into complete silence, the sound of the wind blowing regularly was the only thing keeping Neo sane. Elders looked at Neo with their eyes winder than the letter O, Neo and Porsogon both held their breaths and waited for the judgment.
After about 15 minutes of thinking, the headmaster finally made a move, he sat straight up and looked at them dead in the eyes. With a stern, cold expression, only one word escaped his thin pale lips, running through the bushy beard it was hidden under.
"No!"