“Hyip, hyip, I will come with you,” Yinyin said.

“Uh…” Ares looked at her. “You want to what?”

“Hyenas will wait until Yinyin decides. hyip.” The hyena woman threw a glance towards her entourage who were waiting to hear what the verdict was.

Ares turned to look at Kask. “What do you think?”

“I do not mind another traveller joining us but…” Kask motioned his head aside and so Ares followed him away. “Hyenas are… not the most trustworthy.”

“They’ve done nothing wrong to me so far,” Ares said.

“It is simply what we know.”

“It’s not what I know. Yinyin has been quite receptive to listening and has certainly earned at least a little bit of faith from me.”

“If it would please you then she may come along, alone.”

“Hey Yinyin, will you be coming along?” Ares asked.

“Yinyin and Yipyip, hyip.”

“Who is Yipyip?” Ares asked.

Yinyin looked down to the hyena that she was riding which was panting quite joyfully with it’s stupid little face.

‘How adorable…’ Ares couldn’t help but think. Ares turned to look at Kask. Kask returned the gaze but then nodded, leaving both Ares and Yinyin be.

“Hyip, Yinyin come?”

“Yinyin come.” Ares nodded.

Yinyin rode Yipyip over to the group, the Storm Seven which now needed to change their name.

“Hey everyone, this is Yinyin and Yipyip. Yinyin is the woman, Yipyip is the hyena. Yinyin this is Saykkera, the dragon. This is Kask, our scout. This is Anka, she’s our hammer. Teorn, our cook. Azzo our…” Ares looked at Azzo. “Our wise sage…” Ares nodded to Azzo who had pulled out a pipe and nodded in return. “Finally this is Emerli, my sister.”

“King’s sister, hyip?”

“Yes, my sister.”

“Hyip, a Habbin?”

“A what?”

“A Habbin, hyip. Disaster seers.”

“I know that she’s a Hablin.”

Yinyin nodded her head. “Hablin, Habbin, Hobbon, hyip. The same.”

“I see…”

“You are strange, hyip,” Yinyin said.

Ares pulled back and then looked up into her eyes, then down to her hyena, and then to the rest of the hyenafolk.

“Right. I’m the strange one,” Ares said.

Yinyin howled with laughter and then looked over to the seven others she had joined.

“Kask, we have to change the name.”

“The name, Ares?”

“The name of our group. We aren’t the Storm Seven anymore.”

Kask looked up at Ares with a peculiar gaze. “Of course, Ares.”

“I’m thinking the Mighty Nine, but that’s taken by someone else.”

“Who?” Yinyin asked.

“By those more dysfunctional than us,” Ares said. “I’ll think of something.”

“The Omni Nine,” Azzo said.

“The Omni Nine?”

“We are many. One of all.” Azzo took a long puff of his pipe and then blew it out, looking over to Yinyin, Ares, Saykerra and then the hyena. “Those that rule the land, the sea and the air. Man, beast.”

“Azzo. You are the wise one after all,” Ares said.

“That is why I am here,” Azzo said. He took in another long puff of his pipe.

Ares looked to the group. “The Omni Nine it is. It’s slightly less worse than the previous name, and you’ve Azzo to thank for that.”

With the name sorted out, Ares led the party away to follow the trail of the wyvern before Kask quickly took his place ahead. Yinyin had also rode out now and again to scout, but not too far away.

Kask stopped the ground and then dropped to a knee. He stared at the dirt for some time and then stood up. “We will need to walk around.”

“What’s the matter?”

“The earth is taken.” Kask looked up to search for something.

“The what?”

“Hyip, earth taken,” Yinyin said. “Not for us to tread, hyip.”

“What does that mean?” Ares asked as he looked between the pair.

“The earth is taken, claimed. We must walk around to avoid such a thing.” Kask stood up and then tracked his gaze away.

“Why?” Ares asked.

“This land has been gifted to another, it is not one we can traverse without incurring the wrath of one thing or another.”

“Sounds like a bad idea. Let’s go around then shall we?” Ares said as he looked around.

“As you wish.”

Kask led them aside, following the edge of some invisible line that Ares couldn’t see. Just exactly what was Kask looking at? Ares couldn’t figure it out. Was there something only an oxfolk could see or smell to figure it out?

Eventually Kask found a little mound for them to rest up at.

“We shall take a sleep here. We are in dangerous lands, we will have to take great care.”

“Don’t worry, I’m here.” Ares grinned at Kask.

“Hyip, hyip! Yinyin and Yipyip watch, smell,” Yinyin said.

“I’ll take first watch with Yinyin and Yipyip, Kask and Azzo next, Anka and Teorn, then Saykkera and Emerli. This works out great actually, four even watches. Amazing.” Ares clapped his hands together.

Teorn went right to work on cooking food. Ares had been quite nice tonight as he offered Teorn even more meat for the night. The bearman cooked up a storm so that the nine of them could be well fed tonight.

Ares poured some of the meat stew for Yinyin whose eyes darted up to look at him as if to size him up.

“What? Go on, eat up.”

“Hyip, for me?” Yinin said.

“Yeah. The food is yours. You don’t want it?”

Yinyin narrowed her eyes but then snatched the bowl and shoved her snout into it before she lapped it up and ate the food. She then offered some of it to Yipyip.

“Relax, relax. Yipyip will get his… her… their own little bowl,” Ares said as he then placed it down in front of the hyena who looked at him with a stupid smile and then tried to lick his face. “Hey, hey.. Don’t worry about it.” He said as he waved the hyena away.

Ares left the two of them to eat in peace as he ate his own bowl. Emerli had walked over to him.

“You alright?”

Emerli nodded and then ate beside him as the pair stood.

“If you ever need anything, Emerli, I’m always here for you.”

Emerli nodded and then brought up a small vial filled with something.

“If it smells bad I’m not drinking it,” Ares said. He took the vial from her, opened it and then sniffed it. He gagged and pulled away as the rancid, putrid smell of the black and grey liquid.

He looked at Emerli who stared at him with a frown on her face.

“You’re very lucky I’m a nice older brother,” Ares said. Then he dunked the drink before then swallowing down the meat soup. “I want you to remember that.” He sighed and coughed. “What a way to end a night, at least that’s the worst of it.”

There was a whistle through the air.