I deserved it.
The pack, especially Lion, kept apologizing for having to put a magical cuff around my ankle that lets him know whenever I'm outside the castle.
I told them I didn't mind, as I understood their intension. What I did was stupid and reckless on my part.
Sly gave me a look before telling me that the cuff this time cannot be removed by whatever I used a long time ago to remove the magical cuff they had placed on my ankle back then.
Hahaha!
He still remembered.
I sweetly smiled at him and told him that I wasn't planning to repeat the same mistakes again.
He wasn't convinced for a while, but then he gave a sigh and continued to nuzzle me all over my neck.
We are all currently sitting on the bed having a conversation, just after I woke up from a nap following the bath the pack gave me.
Lion is lying down on my lap, clearly in distress at the sight of the cuff he placed on my ankle.
I caressed his hair as he snuggled towards me while Sly embraced me tightly, nuzzling me all over my neck and shoulders.
Alpha was lying near us, lost in thought, while Orm was also lying there, staring at the ceiling.
As for Ghost, he is sitting down on the edge of the bed, murmuring about how barbaric it was of them to do something like that to me and how they were no different from Maelsa.
Uh, Ghost? I really don't mind, as it's the consequence of my stupidity.
To cheer everyone up, I told them about some of the plans I had made for the territory.
It took a few moments before they all lit up, with interested looks on their faces as they kept asking me all sorts of questions.
I told them about the sports and events that I'm planning to hold, as well as the future sports training centers and...
At this point, everyone became highly enthusiastic and started to change into their clothes.
After wearing his clothes, Lion changed me into one of the dresses he made for me while Sly braided my hair.
Alpha and Ghost are busy packing all sorts of stuff while Orm is telling them what else they should bring.
It turns out that Dad is giving us a break after seeing the effects the dispersal had on my body.
To be honest, Dad was just busy playing Poker and Mahjong with Leon and Aagon again.
As for Ten, he is busy in the garden, trying to finish the conservatory.
Khamsin is currently in his room, sulking and depressed about what the pack did to me.
After everything was ready, Lion carried me in his arms as we exited the room and stopped by Khamsin's room as Ghost and Alpha entered it.
We waited for several moments, hearing all sorts of excited voices and movements as Sly grinned at me, thanking me for organizing his room and the surprises.
Orm gave me a soft kiss before thanking me, saying he also liked what I did and the new stuff I had placed on his bed.
Lion, not to be upstaged, looked smug as he snapped his fingers, making the silly scarf I made for him appear. He then nuzzled my ear, telling me to wrap it around his neck.
Now the other two want one too!
At that moment, the three exited the room, looking excited, as Khamsin asked me where we were planning to go.
Uh... Why is he asking me? I'm not yet familiar with some of the places in this territory, even though I've lived here for a long time.
Since I had no idea where to go, I just told them that we were going to the palace courtyard as that was one of the places I was familiar with.
They looked at me with such confusion that I immediately assured them we were going to have fun and no, we are not doing exercises or training this time.
Relief flooded their faces as they gave me a happy smile while walking towards the castle door.
But as we were about to leave, we could hear Dad's voice asking us where we were planning to go.
Uh-oh.
After a bit of explanation on my part, he looked interested, saying that it's alright for us to go as it's clearly for work.
Work?
He really thinks it's work?
You know what? Let him think what he wants as long as he allows us to go.
....
Dad, Aagon, Leon and Ten went with us.
At first, I was annoyed with the elderlies joining us, but after pondering for a bit, I realized the more, the merrier, as I'm planning to introduce them to sports.
I don't mind Ten coming with us, since he knows everything about the plans and will assist me in making the equipment.
By the time we all arrived at the palace courtyard, Leon and Ghost shooed the creatures and beings loitering around the area while Lion and Sly were checking the safety of the place.
Of course, Alpha had to give Aagon and Dad a little tour around the palace while I was busy with Ten making all sorts of sports equipment ready.
Orm was so engrossed in placing a safety spell around the area that he didn't notice me stripping down until it was too late.
He gave a cry of surprise before rushing towards me but I managed to change into my Apollo form just in time.
Thankfully, he just chuckled before mumbling that I gave him a fright, thinking I was too comfortable not wearing any clothes, not that he minded, as long as I did it inside his...
I immediately covered his mouth, hissing that some things shouldn't be said out loud.
Of course, he was amused at my reaction, giving my fingers a quick lick.
That Orm!!!
Finally, I was done putting on my pants and tying up my hair when he asked me why I wasn't wearing a shirt at all.
I told him that the games would make us very sweaty and..
A look of realization crossed his face as he understood why I transformed into another male form.
He and Ten listened attentively as I told them the sports I was going to teach them.
Archery was the only sport that interested Orm, but he said he would like it if I made him the referee, assuring me I would not regret it.
He offered to help with recording the scores and keeping the peace.
Okay! That's quite helpful!
So while we waited for the others, Ten continued making the rest of the equipment, while I taught Orm the rules of all the sports.
He took note of everything, writing so meticulously on parchments that I suddenly had a feeling he was a stickler for the rules.
Finally, he was done writing everything and was busy examining each rule while checking for any loopholes.
The others seem done with their tasks and are approaching us, while Lion is looking at me with a mixed reaction on his face, asking me why I changed into a male form.
As for Sly, he had a strange look on his face when I grinned at him.
He is still not over his trauma!
Hahaha!
I'm feeling a bit sorry about the punishment I gave him back then. It was too harsh.
Ghost kept asking me if my new form has bigger...
Sly, at this point, punched Ghost, yelling at him to stop asking unnecessary stuff.
They had a bit of a scuffle before Lion used a lightning spell on them to break up the fight.
Ah! Now everyone is energized!
I gave a little cough before telling everyone to remove their shirts and shoes.
As for Dad, he said he was going to monitor the place, and..
Stop making excuses, Dad!
Ten handed me two of the disgusting potions he made me drink the other day, which I drank reluctantly, nearly puking my stomach out, while Lion examined the contents of the potion suspiciously.
I just wiped the smudge off my mouth with my arm before transforming Dad into a new form.
Oohh.. he looks like...
An emo, middle-aged guy with long hair.
He doesn't look bad!
As for Ten, I've transformed him into his Hermes form.
Whew...
All that work.. nearly drained me!
Give me some more of those vile-tasting potions!
Seeing the look I gave him, Ten hurriedly handed me three more, which I downed in one gulp while holding my breath.
Now the rest of the pack is examining the potion that I drank, while Lion tasted a single drop before puking his guts out.
He demanded to know why I drank the whole thing when it tasted like straight vomit.
Seeing Lion puke made the rest of the pack gag, while Khamsin's face turned a lovely shade of green.
As for Aagon and Leon, they simply chuckled, murmuring that the others were too weak when it came to drinking the good stuff.
Then, after what seemed like a long time of removing their shirts and shoes, everyone was finally ready.
Let's play tug-of-war first for a warm-up!
.....
So we divided ourselves into two teams.
Team 1
Captain: Dad
Members:
Lion
Khamsin
Alpha
Sly
Team 2
Captain: Me
Um.. Why am I the captain?
Aagon just grinned at me while Leon chuckled, saying they trusted my judgement and wits.
No! They were pressuring me!
Members:
Aagon
Leon
Ten
Ghost
Why the heck are both my father-in-laws with me?
Orm cleared his throat before mentioning the rules and punishment for cheating.
That stickler!
Also, the losers have to treat the winners at the tavern.
Tavern this time because they wanted me to rest, despite craving for the liquor I made for them.
This.. is rest for them?
I'm stressing my brains out!
The other side is huddling around Dad while taunting us. Alpha smirks, telling me he's not giving me any mercy this time since I'm not in my regular form.
Lion and Sly seem to think this is a great idea. They give me cocky smiles, saying that if I were in my regular form, they would be 'gentle' instead.
Ah.
Now they are making me fire up!
Khamsin looked doubtful about the interaction before Dad jabbed him on the side, telling him not to be fooled by me.
Ah whatever...
Let's do this.
Aagon is the heaviest among us, so I placed him at the very back. I told him to wrap the rope around his back or side for a secure hold, as he is the anchor of the team.
He didn't argue and simply obeyed me.
After a bit of comparison, I placed Ghost in the front to set the pace and control the direction.
He cracked his knuckles while grinning confidently at our opponents, telling Sly that he hadn't yet gotten his revenge for the punch Sly gave him earlier.
Okay then...
Now, since Leon is a bit heavier than Ten and me, I placed him in front of Aagon so that we could have a better anchor, while I'm behind Ghost and Ten is in the middle.
And with that, we are ready for the game to begin.
....
There are proper stances and techniques when playing tug of war.
For instance, you should keep the rope low, near hip level, to create a better angle for pulling.
In body positioning, you should lean backward, keeping your back straight to prevent any injury.
You must spread your feet, one in front of the other, to create a stable, wide base.
Most importantly, the team MUST pull in unison, rather than in individual jerks.
After Leon activated the giant crystals and the magic circle that prevented everyone from self-restoration or using any magical abilities, skills or powers, we all positioned ourselves and Orm gave the signal to start.
PULL!
PULL SOME MORE!
KEEP IT TIGHT! DON'T LET UP!
And... HEAVE!!!
THEY ARE BREAKING! PULL!
DON'T STOP! KEEP MOVING!
ONE BIG PULL!!!
FOR THE LOVE OF FREE LIQUOR, LET'S WIN THIS!!!
YEAHHH!! WE WON!!!
HAHAHAHA!!!
We yelled with glee, giving each other fist bumps while looking at our opponents with smug grins.
Poor them.
Hahahahaha!
They all bickered against each other while lying and panting on the ground, blaming each other, as my team casually mentioned the stuff we are planning to order...
At a very expensive, well-known tavern that sold our liquor.
While Leon and Aagon were busy making plans to introduce the game to their warriors, Orm cleared his throat before unleashing an ice blast towards Dad's team. This made them yell, but Orm simply tut-tutted at them, mocking them for cheating and eventual loss.
Cheating?!
THEY TRIED TO CHEAT?!
WHO THE HECK THINKS THAT IT'S A GREAT IDEA TO CHEAT?!!!
Dad and his team simply averted their eyes, refusing to look at me while Ghost chortled before saying that he knows who but won't tell me or he'll end up getting murdered in his sleep.
Oh, I'll do more than that!
When they least expect it..
Hehehe...
....
While we were resting, we suddenly heard many females let out high-pitched screams of delight, and...
Ugh!
Of course, the males I'm with are extremely eye-catching and desirable and..
Uh... Why are they waving at me?
Seeing that I glanced towards them, they all screamed at the top of their lungs, to the point that I'm a bit concerned.
What's amusing is that a lot of the screamers were the very ones who were hostile and horrible to me when I was in my female form.
I tried to ignore them when one of them approached me, giving me a bottle of cold juice before scurrying away and hiding behind a pillar.
Huh...
I didn't know what to say...
But since being polite was a must, I simply smiled at her and mouthed 'thanks' when..
Uh.. I seemed to make the situation worse than before...
They kept on screaming until some of them fainted.
Oh, great...
I tried not to look at the pack as I felt my face turning red while drinking the cold...
Oh.. this tastes quite good, actually..
Refreshing!
Because I was so thirsty, I drank the juice in such a hurry that some liquid dripped onto the corner of my mouth.
Forgetting where I was, I slowly licked the corners of my mouth and my fingers while...
Oh heck..
Uh-oh...
Now my eardrums are about to burst because of the screaming.
The pack's and Khamsin's reactions towards me are unreadable, while Dad looks at me with amusement.
Leon and Aagon guffawed for a long time while Ten murmured that I was like a magnet no matter what form I transformed into.
Ah, whatever.
....
Now the edges of the palace courtyard are surrounded by spectators, some of whom are floating, flying or riding on ords to get a better view.
Of course, the rest of my companions have fans too, but every female ended up cheering for me, much to my embarrassment.
This.. is... so.. weird...
The next game we are playing is wrestling, much to the female spectators' intense delight.
Of course, I didn't end up winning as expected, but I got second place!
The one who won this time is Ghost.
But the female spectators didn't really mind who won, as the way Ghost and I wrestled may have been an inspiration to all closeted BL lovers, much to the rest of the pack and Khamsin's horror.
Of course, Ghost and I just did it for the spectators' enjoyment, but I get the feeling that he liked the way we wrestled a little too much.
Not to mention that he was almost tempted to lick my neck in the middle of an intense move.
The look in his eyes didn't hide what he was feeling, though.
....
The one who won the steed riding is...
Ten!
Much to our surprise.
We didn't expect him to win, but he deserved it. While the rest of us were taunting each other, he simply moved quietly.
Kind of like the race between the tortoise and the hare.
The others were punished for cheating, except for me.
I don't know why they liked cheating way so much.
....
I want to die of exhaustion!
But I won the track and field.
I didn't expect to win at all, but Orm decided to make the event more exciting. He copied what Leon used to do to them during the training.
Because of that, I ran as I didn't want to get hit by his ice magic and get frozen.
Unfortunately for Leon, he was hit by Orm's ice magic and got frozen, as Orm decided to let the fastest three runners run free while hitting the rest with his ice magic maniacally.
It's Dad, Khamsin and I ended up racing against each other while the others got frozen, distracted by trying to taunt each other.
If it weren't for the fact that Khamsin stuck his tongue out behind Dad's back, I wouldn't have won at all.
Of course, that distracted Dad, so I took advantage of it, ran with all my might and won the race.
At the cost of my energy.
Ha...
I'm sooo exhausted!
....
The next game was archery and I swapped with Orm because he looked determined to win.
He was so pumped up, that the rest of the group wanted to back out until I gave them a glare.
And as expected, he won.
.....
Since I'm still exhausted, the next game I decided for everyone to play is...
Volleyball!
It is only an informal game, though, as there are only ten players. Leon doesn't want to invite other creatures for the moment, as he wants to learn the game first.
To prevent them from bickering, I decided to randomly pull names to make teams.
Team 1
Captain: Lion
Members:
Ten
Ghost
Orm
Alpha
Team 2
Captain: Aagon
Members:
Sly
Leon
Dad
Khamsin
It was a close fight.
Sly is a monster in volleyball while Lion is clearly his rival, who is also not to be underestimated.
At one point, the two of them were passing the ball to and fro for so long that the rest of their teammates ended up sitting on the ground, just enjoying watching their enthusiasm.
I don't know... they looked like they were being possessed..
It's just a figure of speech! Just to clarify...
Anyway, the game ended with Aagon's team winning, but the score was close.
....
Since we were all exhausted, we decided to return to the castle and resume the rest of the games the next day, much to the spectators' dismay.
After Leon and the pack shooed them away, telling them that we would resume playing the following day, they lit up and willingly left the area, but not before saying that they would return to watch the rest of it.
Sigh..
I want a massage...
Ew! I smelled sweaty!
But I'm starving as well!
Not only me, but the others too, so we decided to visit a fancy restaurant, Aagon's treat, of course. He enjoyed the games we played a little too much. If it weren't for the fact that the rest of us were too exhausted to play, he would have insisted we keep playing...
Until we faint.
Despite being weirded out by my current form, Lion gave a sigh and allowed me to rest my head on his shoulder. I dozed for a while until I smelled our food being placed on the table.
It's okay...
Of course, we were too hungry to complain, so we just ate until we all felt sleepy.
Surprisingly, despite Dad and Ten both being liches, they told us they were feeling a bit strange and needed a break for a while...
Ah..
They were feeling tired as well, since they were not in their lich forms and had forgotten how it feels. Of course, they didn't recognize the feeling.
So after Aagon paid for everything, Dad cast a spell that made us return to the castle in a blink.
After restoring Dad and Ten to their original forms, I felt a 'poof' and completely drained of energy, I returned to my regular form and fainted from exhaustion.
The last thing I remembered was feeling Lion catch me in his arms.