"The answer isn't as complicated as it seems." Mittar shrugged. "If a predator has the right connections, gaining influence is easy. You just have to know who to talk to, when, and how, and they'll be eating out of the palm of your hand. It's no big deal." He explained this while examining his fingernails, as if they were far more interesting than the question at hand.
"As for me." His younger brother chimed in. "I'm something of an explorer. I roam the world in search of the remnants of forgotten civilizations." The youngest Mullen smiled. "Whether those remnants are temples, tombs, palaces, or even just carvings or paintings on a stone wall." He listed them off, counting on his fingers as he spoke.
"That sounds exciting." Achilleus said, his eyes lighting up.
"It is. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more thrilling pastime, take my word for it." Mukei chuckled.
"Boss, can we become explorers too?" The Motumisz boy asked, turning to Razvan with an eager look. The leader of the Athamana, however, just rolled his eyes.
"Once we finish what we set out to do back home, we can go right ahead." The Zaukán boy said, crossing his arms.
"Hooray! Did you hear that, boys? The Boss is on board!" Achilleus started jumping for joy, prompting Benkó to step up and smack him on the back of the head.
"Calm down, mudbrain! Work first, play later." He added with a grin, while his friend rubbed the back of his head in pain.
"And why did you have to smack me for that?" Achilleus grimaced.
"Because we all know you wouldn't stop otherwise." Remarked Teveli with his eyes closed. The look on his face made it clear he had witnessed Achilleus being unable to stop more than once.
"I'm not that bad." The team's earthbender protested almost instantly.
"Like you were twice as bad." Chimed in more than half the Athamanas at once.
"Fine, I give up." Achilleus grimaced, crossing his arms grumpily.
"Are they always like this?" Mukei asked his older brother.
"Usually." Tele Tete shrugged in reply, even though he hadn't been the one asked. "You get used to it after a while." He added. "They're always teasing each other. The only thing that changes is who's the target at the moment." The hegin rolled his eyes.
"I like that about them." Kamu grinned.
"Well, buddy, that's not saying much, you like every bit of trouble." Ajtony rested his elbow on his friend's shoulder again, achieving nothing more than causing the ghost-man to slip out from under his arm.
"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not a prop?" The Ishán of the Immortal Mist narrowed his eyes, but the ghost of his best friend just grinned back at him.
"As many times as you like. You know I don't care." The poison-mixing spirit put his hands on his hips, then threw an arm around the Teike man. "Oh, don't look so glum. I know you like me." He chuckled.
"And that's the only reason I haven't gotten rid of you yet." Kamu sighed.
"They?" Mittar asked, gesturing toward the pair.
"Great, another idiot. If you're going to compare us to something, let that be brothers, if you don't mind." Kamu said, crossing his arms.
"I'm glad you finally admit that every normal pair of brothers ought to poison each other." Ajtony grinned.
"Exactly." Suk agreed.
"Zovárd!" The hegins exclaimed in unison, leaving everyone else present staring at them in bewilderment.
"Don't even question it. Poison fanatics." Tele Tete said, pressing his fingers against his forehead.
"I don't mean to butt into your conversation, Crazy Farmer, but..." At the sound of Marianne's voice, everyone immediately turned toward her. Though she was still sitting on the ground, she had stopped drawing. "Darling, is it normal around here for a pack of undersea-walkers to be chasing someone?" The tailor asked, prompting the group to immediately scan the area for the pursuers she had mentioned.
Indeed, black shapes were visible amidst the white landscape of the Dead World. A pack of undersea-walkers was chasing someone, and that someone was no stranger. The group recognized the figure, as he had come here with them. The man being pursued was none other than the mad researcher from Cannibal Island.
"Llyr!" Mittar suddenly exclaimed, but in the very next instant, the man was no longer standing among them. Instead, a massive shark was charging toward the group.
"Shouldn't we help?" Wandi asked cautiously.
"That would only make matters worse." Mukei said in a serious tone. "I don't think my brother would realize right now that you don't mean any harm." He added, watching the shark as it moved further and further away from them.
"He's reacting as if..." Marianne began, but she didn't finish the sentence, simply narrowed her eyes.
"Because that's exactly what's happening, Mom." The younger Mullen boy sighed, causing his mother to look at him in surprise first, and then at her other son.
"Oh..." The sigh escaped the tailor. "Who is the man?" She asked curiously.
"The ambassador of the Cold Sea." Came the reply from Kamu, who was merely curiously watching the chase, which had clearly begun as an assassination attempt.
"Amateurs." Ajtony muttered, rolling his eyes, though he spoke so softly that hardly anyone heard him.
"Not everyone can be as good as us. We'd be out of a job." Kamu replied in the same hushed tone, smiling as he exchanged a glance with his friend.
Meanwhile, Mittar was closing in on the undersea-walkers pursuing Llyr. Even from that distance, it was obvious that the ambassador was growing exhausted and wouldn't be able to withstand the chase much longer. That was why Mittar swam as fast as he could, and upon reaching the undersea-walkers, he tore out their throats.
Blood billowed upward through the water like smoke from the wounds he inflicted. Some bites weren't deep enough to kill instantly, causing the pursuer to collapse to the seabed with a scream, while others breathed their last without a sound. Slowly, the white expanse of the Dead World became dappled with red stains. Yet the predator, in his shark form, did not pause for even a moment, nor did Llyr or the remaining undersea-wallers chasing him. The pursuit continued until only a single pursuer was left.
Mittar was just about to reach the pursuing undersea-walker when it grabbed Llyr's cloak and tore it from the man's body. It was as if time had stood still. The ex-ambassador from the Cold Sea turned back toward his attacker, his eyes wide with shock. Yet, before the wide-eyed undersea-walker-assassin could utter a word, a shark bit off his head. Moments later, Mittar stood before Llyr, cupping the man's face in his hands, his eyes glistening with concern.
"Didn't you say that man was from the Cold Sea?" Marianne narrowed her eyes as she saw Llyr still standing firmly on his feet.
"To the best of my knowledge, that is where he's from." Kamu said seriously.
"Well, unless that happens to be his ability, he ought to be dead by now." Remarked Matthias coldly. He stood beside his wife in a form even younger than usual, glaring at the undersea-walker and his son.