Morning had come for the eight warriors about to trek off in pursuit of the black viper. Ares had awoken earlier and had gone for a light jog, and finished up some of his workout before then showering with the water from his ring, before changing and drying off his clothes in the sun on his backpack.

When he returned to the tent where everyone was waiting, he saw the seven warriors with their swords, spears and axes at the ready.

“Are you ready to leave?” Korra asked.

“Yeah, I’m ready to leave.” Ares nodded.

“You have no weapons?” Korra asked.

Ares had gotten into the habit of keeping his weapons in his ring storage, it worked out much better for him in that way. He just flashed a smiled towards Korra.

“I am a weapon.” He said, trying to keep himself from laughing. Instead he walked on ahead. “Well then? Shall we be off?” He asked, motioning with his head.

Korra took point, letting Ares follow behind the three women, as well as Ronfan, who was speaking with Koifan in a jovial manner, though Ares wasn’t entirely sure since they were talking in their own language.

The other two men he had met yesterday were behind him, and bringing the rear was Morak. Well, even though he didn’t trust Morak, if he was that far back, he didn’t mind… He tried to recall what had happened to Morak after he slapped him, but trying to avoid ogling their breasts, he had spent quite a bit of his mental energy.

He’d probably have to get rid of his cultural sensibilities, he didn’t want to be seen as a weak leader. He sighed out at the thought of it.

They travelled along the plains for some time, and eventually came across a forest.

“Let us eat outside in safety. Once we enter the forest, a new world of danger will arise.” Salea had said. She was of the curvy faction of oxfolk. She then placed down a large pot that she had been carrying with her items, and then started to cook some food. It would take about an hour, which was fine for Ares since he wanted to stretch a little and then get to know his companions more.

He wanted to speak with Roshe and Kask, but they were speaking with Morak. There was no need to aggravate Morak, so he walked over to Ronfan and Koifan. They stopped talking to one another as he approached.

“Hey, sorry for interrupting your conversation.” Ares smiled. “I was hoping to get to know my companions better since this is a life threatening task and all.”

Ronfan chuckled. “I am Ronfan. This is my sister, Koifan.”

‘Oh, a sister…’ That made a lot more sense. Ares nodded. “Again, it’s a pleasure to meet you both.” Ares bowed his head.

“Yes, it is a pleasure as well…” Ronfan replied back.

“Yes, a big pleasure.” Koifan smiled.

Ares shot his gaze right up to hers, then her horns, then back to her eyes, then to Ronfan’s horns.They both had very similar horns, they came out and then curled inward once and stopped half way through a loop.

“You say to not call you a human, why is that?” Koifan asked causing Ares to return his attention to her.

“I’m not entirely human, and it seems to aggravate many people. So I’d rather people not think of me as such. I’m not the same.”

“Oh, oh.” She replied back, nodding her head. “So what are you?”

“Due to some circumstances, I can’t say for now.” Ares smiled again to try and defuse the line of thought.

“Oh, you can’t? Really?” Koifan leaned forward.

‘I see. So this is the terrifying beast known as a woman’s charm?’ Ares thought to himself, his heart pounding within his chest. His eyes slowly shifted up to the sky and he said.

“Unfortunately, even if a beautiful woman like you asks, I cannot say.” Ares said, though he refused to step back. Then his eyes slowly shifted over to Ronfan, who seemed to be holding in his laughter. ‘Ronfan, brother please, help me.’ He called out to them with his eyes. However, Koifan seemed to shift aside and then Ares looked back at the tips of her horns.

There was a growling sound that came from behind them, and Ares turned, he faced Kask. Kask was a slimmer oxfolk guy, though his muscles were still impressive. Kask clicked his teeth and shook their head.

"Ares, would you speak with me?” He asked.

Ares walked over to Kask and then extended a hand. They both shook hands and Ares spoke out quietly.

“If there is a time you’re in need, you can rely on me. I’ll repay my debt.” Ares said far too seriously.

Kask nodded their head slowly. “That time may come soon with the black viper.” They stated in response as they walked away with Ares.

“How tough would fighting a black viper be?”

“No doubt we will have to go feral in order to deal with it.”

“Ah, all of you?”

They nodded in return, then Ares went off into thought.

“Are you all the most powerful members of Torak’s tribe?”

“No, not the most powerful, but we are a member of his, I believe the humans would call it, the royal guard?”

“What do you guys call it?”

“We are his oxenblut.”

“Oh? That does sound like a great title. Is that why you don’t wear anything to cover your tops?”

Kask smiled and then nodded their head. Ares thought about it for a little while. It may be a good idea for him to create such a thing for himself too, or even for the people. Though then again, having all these different units may come to bite him in the ass…

They continued to speak for some time until Salea called them to eat. It was a soup, with bread, as well as some meat that she had carried with her.

The soup was filling, the vegetables were cut quite thick so were quite rough to bite into. His molars had to work quite hard to bite into the vegetables, but it was delicious. Nicely salted, the meat was ender, the rich flavour of the soup and meat contrasted with the more plain flavour of the vegetables.

Once he finished, he let out a sigh. “Ah, that was good. It’s a shame you’re an oxenblut, otherwise I’d ask for you to join as a chef.” Ares chuckled, rubbing his stomach which seemed to bulge slightly.

Salea smiled back at him. “You can still ask.”

“I’m sure you’ll say no.”

“I will, but it’s nice to ask anyway.”

“I feel that it’ll be rude. Still, perhaps in a week I’ll have someone join me who is as good as cooking as you.” He chuckled and then finally got up, trying to stretch out. “Is there anything you’d require of me?” Ares asked. “Since you’ve cooked, should I clean out the pot.”

“I was to leave the pot here, so that we do not waste time with washing the pot, and waste effort carrying it with us.”

“I can deal with both issues easily, may I?”

Salea nodded her head, and then Ares made his way to the giant iron pot. The pot was near empty, and so Ares offered the rest of the food to the oxfolk before then bringing out water to rinse out the pot, then causing the water to disappear in case he needed it in the future, before then waving a hand over the pot before it disappeared too.

The oxfolk were surprised by his ability. As they tried to ask him how he did that, he smiled.

“It’s a secret.” He grinned.

Once they were done eating, they continued along their way into the forest. It was filled with life, with birds tweeting around, small animals moving about.

They all continued heading straight into the forest, following Kask’s lead. They continued in relative silence. The wind picked up, and Kask stopped.

He growled something, but then switched back to the language that Ares understood. “It’s close.” He whispered.

“How close?” Ares asked.

“Within an hour, we shall meet it.” Kask dropped to a knee and then rubbed the back of his horns.

“So quickly?” Korra asked.

“Yes.” Kask whispered.

The air grew tense. There was a silence in the air, the shadow of death had come. Ares felt the air cool around him, and he clenched his fists. Whatever a black viper was, it would be the deadliest thing he’d have faced so far. He thought of Levi, and how powerful the near godly being felt. Then he relaxed. Yeah, Levi was more powerful, no doubt about it.

Ares stepped forward. “Want me to go scout ahead?”

“Can you?” Kask asked.

Ares rubbed his chin. “We could go together. Gaining knowledge of the area will be a good idea.”

Kask seemed unsure, but Ares raised his brows. “Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.” Ares nodded his head.

Kask sighed and then nodded, leading Ares forward. Ares followed behind, as silent as he could, following Kask’s steps. Then Kask stopped, the ground underneath them began to shudder slightly.

Kask turned to face Ares, his eyes wide. “We have to go back.” They said as they charged passed Ares, who ran after them.

“What’s wrong?” Ares whispered loudly.

“There isn’t one black viper.” Kask continued to charge back.

“Oh.”