As Zephyr made his way back to their base, his mind continued to be preoccupied by the peculiar mission that Apollo had given him to complete. When he confronted Drax and Lyra, he could feel the anxiety that they were experiencing. Drax, a seasoned leader within their group, was aware that this new directive may not go over well with their handler. He was prepared for this possibility.
Pulling out his link, Zephyr initiated contact with their handler, a genie named Ramon. He quickly explained the situation and the mission that they had been given, and as he did so, he watched Ramon's expression change from one of curiosity to one of concern.
After paying close attention to what was being said, Ramon let out a sigh as he became aware of the seriousness of the situation. He was well aware that disobeying the orders of the gods could have extremely negative repercussions. He instructed them to keep their distance and observe the situation, but they were not to participate in it unless it was absolutely necessary. It was a precarious circumstance, and they needed to proceed with extreme caution in order to stay out of trouble with the system that dictated how they should behave.
After Kyn had completed his morning run and returned to the hotel, he was looking forward to starting the day with a nice cold shower to wash away the sweat from his run. He began to feel revitalised thanks to the water's cool temperature, and he started to relax as he stood in the flow.
He had little to no idea that Nyx, the disappearing vixen, had materialised into his room; she had sneaked into his quarters with the goal to try and seduce him, but then again, he was still a human, but that still didn't prevent her from downgrading to one. As for now, she had a few minutes till breakfast; hence, Gaia couldn't interfere with her mischievous deity "duties".
As she was thinking of what to take, she heard Kyn thinking out loud, "What would make her that sad yet she's that much of a beauty?"
The man had been worrying about her yet didn't know her. "I guess this is why Gaia is so attracted to him." Looking at the silhouette behind the shower stall, she thought to herself. Let's have some fun then. She had come to try and seduce him but now had come up with a better idea. She thought of Ra and, with that, conjured her favourite pet helper, Mot.
"Mot, I need you to do me a favour, but for this I need you in your most basic form," she said.
From the darkness came the sound of clashing metal, and with it came a deep baritone voice, "No fair, I can't leave my treasures, not today, yesterday, or tommorow. I leave for wealth and wealth alone."
"Say's the entity that asks for ice cream every time I go out," she laughed and teased.
"M'lady, there is a reason as to why it's termed as 'food for thought' and never 'run for thought'. Only delicacies can be of equal exchange with this long life," he said, trying to gaslight the goddess about his weakness.
"If you do, you could get to walk around and eat whatever you want?" she baited,
"Hmmm, a chance to roam around – very tempting, but I like this form to that of a tiny serpent. To you I can.... But I kneel to no man," he retorted.
"How about I add in chocolates, cakes ..." she added, when out came a whimper, "Yes, chocolates, ice creams, fudge, Oreos and the like."
Clearing his throat, which sounded as if a glacier had fallen into an icy sea, came the entity, "What about burgers and pizzas?"
The goddess couldn't help but chuckle at the weird fetish Mot had built around modern foods; the dragon could literally trade in a chest full of gold for a Big Mac, for God's sake. You need to seriously get your priorities straight.
"Pizza's fine ... Deal or no deal ?" she added. Kyn was almost finished taking his shower.
"Deal," and from the darkness came a mauve-purple snake with eyes as yellow as gold. Its maw was black and looked like it could devour the stars. With this, her plan was taking shape.
Looking at the snake, she explained to him his objective: to keep an eye on Kyn. It turned out she had become an overprotective nuna, and with that, she had left him a very peculiar surprise. After he had finished showering and was reaching for his towel, he noticed a small snake on the bathroom counter; next to it was a letter addressed to Kyn from Nyx. The snake had a friendly and endearing appearance; it felt cute and at the same time dangerous. This reminded Kyn of the National Geographic shows he used to watch when he was a kid:
From Nyx,
The brighter the snake, the dangerous it is:
PS: Junk Food only... no dead rabbits.
to Kyn
"Hello there little ,fella", Let's see what your owner is trying to cook up now. Within it, the letter's contents had the name of the 'pet' snake, with steps on how to go about maintaining him.
He took the letter into his hands, and after a moment of hesitation and mild bewilderment, he started reading it. It was explained to him that he was responsible for taking care of Mot for the time being, and it included a rundown of the snake's favourite foods, which included chocolates, pizzas, and a substantial amount of ice cream. The letter also cautioned that in the event that Mot did not receive adequate nourishment, he might resort to eating other people or expensive stuff.
It also included a very important piece of advice, which was: Mot's eye colour provided insight into his state of mind: green eyes indicated that he was content, yellow eyes indicated that he was hungry, and red eyes indicated that he was angry. At the end of the letter was a stern reminder that was written in all capital letters: "No matter what, don't let his eyes get red."
Kyn couldn't help but laugh out loud at the absurdity of the circumstance. He addressed the snake by name and said, "Well, Mot," as he continued, "it appears that the two of us are going to have quite the adventure together. Let's make sure that colour doesn't leave those eyes, shall we?" He said, pulling out a piece of chocolate from the room's fridge.
After saying that, Kyn carefully picked up Mot and started to think about how he would incorporate this unanticipated addition into his daily routine. Now he had to stock up on chocolates, pizzas, and ice cream for his unusual new friend and also the said self-appointed princess.