Chapter 132: The greedy fool is awake.

Zyra stared at his calm eyes. The panic in her chest didn’t instantly vanish, but it slowed down just enough for her to regain her mind. She stopped thrashing. She looked at the rope. With a steady, deliberate movement of her fingers, she found the loop, pulled the slipknot, and the ropes fell away.

It was an easy slip, compared to the complications she had been drawing up in her mind. The moment she was free, she kicked off the bottom of the pool and broke through the surface, gasping, coughing, and drawing in sweet, sweet oxygen.

Hunter surfaced right beside her, his blonde hair slicked back. He didn’t look angry; his voice was quiet and steady as he swam closer to support her weight. "You weren’t fighting the water, Zyra," he said gently, helping her slide onto the dry sand of the lounge area. "You were fighting your own fear. I won’t compliment you because I expected better, but I will say that you did really well as a first timer once you calmed down."

Zyra looked at him, "That sounds like a compliment. I need to be sure because you are really not good with those."

Hunter let out a long sigh and locked eyes with her. "Fine, it is." He chuckled softly and swam away.

She swam after him, shouting loudly, "Wait, I need to record this. You have to repeat it. Nobody will believe me otherwise."

Hunter grunted and increased his speed. He would not be repeating anything that sounded like a compliment, lest she run off and jump into an unsafe body of water in the wild lands.

While Zyra was busy recovering on the warm sand, the rest of the pools around had descended into absolute, chaotic entertainment. Hunter’s ’everybody gets in’ rule had been taken very seriously, and the water was now a swirling soup of splashing beasts and humans.

Tyrant was treating the entire exercise like a personal day at a luxury spa. The tiger was floating flat on his back in the deepest pool, his giant paws folded peacefully over his stomach. He drifted lazily across the water, looking like a giant, furry island.

"This is how you do it," Tyrant rumbled, his deep voice echoing off the ceiling. "You must become one with the flow."

Zyra rolled her eyes, "Easy for you to say, you have natural buoyancy!" She muttered.

Meanwhile, the humans were struggling through the drills, grunting under the force of the bags that were twice their size. Big Vince fully clothed in heavy leather armor, was currently treading water with a look of pure, unadulterated focus. He looked like a man on a real mission.

"The ducks are beating you Armillo!" Malia shouted, laughing at the grown man who was in a swimming competition with two ducks.

Hunter blew his whistle. "Two more minutes and you are all done."

Zyra looked around for her beasts. Even Snow and squirrel were participating. Snowy was keeping watch from the dry edge like lifeguard while the squirrel sat safely on one of the leopard’s head, keeping its tail as far from the water as possible.

Suddenly, the doors of the water pavilion creaked open.

Scotty strolled into the hall, looking completely relaxed and holding a glass of milk in his hand. He was completely dry, wearing his work overall, seemingly untouched by the morning’s grueling physical torment.

Instantly, the intense training ground came to a grinding halt.

A ripple of snickers and giggles started at one end of the pool and quickly spread through the entire pavilion. The beasts, in particular, were laughing the loudest.

"Look, look! There’s the greedy fool that stole from Spice!" one of the leopard twins cackled, splashing water with his tail in Scotty’s direction.

"Hey, greedy, over here come and eat my mushrooms." Snowy called out.

"They really can’t survive without us." Tyrant declared.

The beasts laughed, making different excited sounds that only Zyra could understand. Hunter knew something was going on just by seeing her smile and cackle by herself.

The humans however were more concerned with whether Scotty was okay.

"Scotty do not touch the herbs again or any beast food again, it is just a terrible idea. One more time and they will be hiding their snacks around you." Armillo said.

The men burst out laughing, including Hunter.

Scotty stopped in his tracks, blinking at the chaotic scene. He puffed out his chest defensively. "In my defense, the herb really did smell like lemon grass."

"Just work in the kitchen if you love food." Zyra suggested lightly.

Scotty shuddered like he had been told to leave beast valley. "No Divine maiden, no one here cares for the beasts more than I do. I promise that I will not eat anything without asking questions first."

Zyra shrugged, "It’s your funeral."

Laughter erupted again, but the beasts agreed on one thing; that Scotty was the best caretaker at the valley and losing him would be a great loss. He was the easiest to push around.

Hunter blew a sharp, echoing whistle that cut through the laughter.

The beasts immediately quieted down, though wide, toothy grins remained on their faces.

He pointed a dripping, stern finger directly at Scotty. "Scotty. You’re late for physical conditioning. Join in. Fifty weighted laps in a pool of your choice or the lake."

Scotty’s smug expression instantly vanished, his face turning as white as a sheet. "Wait! I am still sick and weak, maybe next week." He quickly dashed out of there regretting why he had even come there.

Malia laughed and announced that breakfast was ready, ending the training session to Zyra’s relief.

********

Lita and the servants had washed a mountain of dishes, but there was still a sea of grease to be cleared. The kitchens of the Kaelions were unforgiving, and the lunch menus featuring different dishes were already being wheeled in.

Lita just couldn’t take it anymore. Her lower back throbbed as if she’d been hit by a thunder bolt, and she was thoroughly sick of Loveline’s screeching, commanding voice bouncing off the tiled walls.

If I have to scrub one more plate, my body is going to implode, Lita thought, her eyes darting around the chaotic kitchen. She scanned the room for a perfect excuse to escape this purgatory, and then, like a divine revelation from the heavens, she remembered she actually had one.

With a dramatic flourish, she dropped the greasy duster she’d been holding, stood up straight, and began untying her stained apron.

"And where do you think you’re going?" Loveline’s voice cut through the steam, sharp enough to slice through a thick wall. She blocked the exit, arms crossed, her face a mask of managerial fury. Her hand was already rising, itching to bring pain to Lita’s left cheek.