"Is this ...your home?" The captain asked, arching an eyebrow as he gazed into the thick forest with suspicion.
It only took them a single night to sail across the ocean, as the distance between the Katshin Empire and the Indun Empire was only about a hundred miles. Before the duo was an island, marked with tall, thick trees and an almost impermeable layer of fog. To the average person, it looked nothing like an empire—but something more average and unassuming.
Felonious, clad in his white robes, looked back at the captain and nodded his head. "Indeed, I've lived here all my life."
His tail flicked back and forth as a portion of the ship's wooden hull unfolded into a bridge leading to the rocky shores. Felonious crossed this bridge with an almost refined air, his hands neatly clasped at his sides. The captain set his novella on a nearby table and sighed as he watched the figure depart.
The white-haired man with fox-like appendages glanced back one more time at the captain, offering him a small, refined smile. He wasn't one to smile much, but inscrutable acts of kindness like that couldn't help but make his stomach bubble. As he watched the ship slowly depart from the shore, Felonious finally turned away, facing the dense forest before him.
Being a political representative for the Indun Empire, Felonious found himself leaving his home more and more often. On the other hand, his friend hadn't seen his home in years; he had been serving as Emperor Katsuki's butler for what seemed like forever. Letting out a heavy sigh, Felonious began to move forward, stepping through the rocks until they gradually faded into deep, lush grass and dirt.
The air around him shifted from salty to naturalistic, with countless aromas of trees, leaves, bushes, wild berries, and flowers filling his sensitive nose. Being a member of the Vulpur sub-species, his nose was highly sensitive, often sending an overstimulating amount of scents through his system. To counter this, Felonious took a deep breath in as he reached into a hidden pocket of his robes, taking out a silk sash.
He wrapped it around the lower half of his face, tying a knot in the back of his head. After doing this, he finally continued walking forward.
The forest around him was slightly foggy, obscuring the higher portions of the trees and the ground. But he was adept at seeing in insufficient conditions, so the walk through the forest wasn't much of an issue. At this moment, Felonious stopped in front of a tree with slightly orange bark. The moss of the tree crept downwards towards the grass, slithering in between the small blades and digging into the moist soil.
"It's harvesting season already?" A voice sounded behind him.
Felonious jumped slightly, but he quickly regained his control and turned around. A woman, also with fox ears and a tail, was clad in a slightly revealing outfit made of cotton and silk. The garments were a greenish-blue color, much like a lake under a thin layer of mist and algae. Her long blue hair was tied above her head, adorned with countless sticks, leaves, and flowers.
He cleared his throat with a smile. "I was simply stopping to admire the trees; I haven't been back in months."
Felonious's paw-like hands slowly moved across the contours of the bark, feeling the rigid surfaces under his fingertips. This orange tree wasn't that tall, only a few meters above Felonious's head. At the top of the tree were larger branches that spread, adorned with colorful berries and leaves. The berries were the size of apples, filled to the brim with a sweet-tasting paste that leaked through the bottom.
The woman continued smiling as she approached the tree, also running her hands along the bark. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply and breathing out. As she did this, the wind around them seemed to match this pattern, shifting the grass and bushes with every inhale and exhale.
"Praise Mother Nature."
Suddenly, she leapt up into the tree, coiling her tail around a branch to ensure she wouldn't fall. She moved with precision, grabbing the berries from the trees and nestling them under her arm. She didn't seem to care if she got her outfit dirty whilst doing so, as her smile and giggling was evident of her current enjoyment.
After collecting a large armful of berries, she leapt down and extended her claws, digging into the orange bark of the tree so she wouldn't slip on the way down. As she landed, she rolled back onto her feet and presented the berries to Felonious.
"Velomeia ...I-I..."
Felonious quickly flustered, a faint blush coating what could be seen of his cheeks through the sash he was wearing over his face. The female Vulpur sighed softly, grabbing one of the large berries and taking a hearty bite. The thick paste within the berry reminded Felonious of the banquets that Emperor Izuku would sometimes hold, where delicacies such as jam would be sold, imported from the southern based markets.
Though, due to the current situations regarding the financial and agricultural world, Felonious hadn't tasted any sort of jam in the past few months; the mere thought was enough to get him drooling like an idiot. Without saying much more, Felonious lowered his sash, ignoring the scents of the forest, and grabbed one of the apple-sized berries, taking a hearty bite.
The delicate substance within the berry was enough to have him moaning under his breath. The shell of the berry was soft and sweet, a clear indication that it was ripe. The paste was somewhat chunky in texture, tasting like a mixture between a strawberry and a blueberry. He had also tried those back in the Katshin Empire, but he didn't like them individually.
Felonious caught sight of the two objects lodged within Velomeia's nostrils, they were small buds of moss that had been coiled taut. This was most likely how she was able to roam around with facial protection.
With a mouth full of the succulent berry paste, Velomeia spoke. "We've waited for what seems like ages for you to come back; we even prepared a feast and everything."
"A-a ...feast?" Hearing this, Felonious's heart couldn't help but sink.
He remembered walking through the streets of the Katshin Empire, seeing the malnourished children and families, the half-empty markets and piling snow. Within his quarters, he would be treated like royalty, but what happened outside made him feel all the more guilty. His gaze drifted to the half-eaten berry in his hands, his expression softening.
"I wish humans could ...eat these. The only reason we can is because we're half Vulpur to begin with."
The berry he was holding was a Raddican Berry, which produced special pheromones that deterred humans with a nauseating smell. If they tried to eat them, the paste would scorch their mouths and throat. The shell of the berry was almost impenetrable to regular human hands, meaning they'd need tools and weapons to pry open the fruit.
Over time, due to the union of the Vulpur Foxes and human race, the berries also had genetically evolved over the years and generations, birthing a semi-soft shell that both claws and fingers would pry open. Even with this, the paste was still poisonous to humans and would still scorch their throat. Felonious wanted to help the people by giving them these berries, but the consequences of doing so would be too big for him to properly shoulder.
He felt immensely guilty upon hearing the concept of a feast. While the people and empire he had fought to preserve were on the brink of starvation, and the only broker in this situation slowly facing agricultural hardship, he and his own people were laughing and feasting. They too cared for Seraphis Kingdom and the Katshin Empire, but most of them were either too scared or too lazy to do anything.
He had been the only person to step up and help, alongside his friend, Demetruis.
"I-I ...have to decline; I have more important things to tend to."
Felonious's reply made Velomeia scoff, placing her hands on her hips. "Really? This feast is in your honor."
"I-I can't. The people I'm fighting for need me!"
He turned from the tree, making his way from the orange bark and large berries. Velomeia watched him leave as she furrowed her brows.
"Our children will be there, everyone will be there."
These words hung in the mist, acting as an impenetrable barrier that made Felonious pause in his tracks. He clenched his toes, the claws of his feet sinking into the soil and moss of the forest beneath him. He clenched his fists, and his tail twitched back and forth, stifling the impulse to fully wag with palpable frustration.
"I still have to decline, Velomeia. I know our children miss me, but everyday people miss their own families away from here. They have their parents, some do not."
He turned back towards the woman, his ears twitching as he continued to speak. "Sometimes, the betterment of all is better than the betterment of oneself."
Felonious tucked his hands into the pockets of his robe, walking through the forest. In the fog, he spotted a creature with glowing eyes, making soft clicking sounds. He didn't fret, not even reacting in the slightest. He watched with an impassive expression as a massive insect with clear, translucent wings approached him.
The creature let out tiny clicking sounds as Felonious walked over to it, running a claw along the contours of its hard abdominal shell. He then leapt onto the creature's back, balancing himself with his tail as the wings of the bug unfolded, propelling him upwards. As the bug flew over the trees, Felonious caught sight of the tops of the trees.
Most of them were multicolored, with reds, oranges, greens, and blues shining in the dim sunlight filtering through the clouds. More and more bugs, all large in size, emerged from the covering of the forest, joining their friend in its voyage. Eventually, something came into view, nestled among the branches of the trees.
Houses, an entire city among the branches.
Felonious knew he was home.