TA Chapter 16 Concern
Bantu Continent, Millitary Base East of Mazi City.
16th Blue, 2043. 7:04AM
Ril Milena(POV)
Exhaling released a thin visible cloud of steam into the chilly foggy morning air. I could feel the cold through the thin dark piece of fabric beneath my clothes, yet, it wasn't to the point where i was shivering, or about to. Apparently it had been sewn from some sort of silk collected from a spider farm in Mpologoma state. It's durability was off the charts, and it's weakness to the flames had been smothered to near non-existence.
I was standing beside the street, waiting for mother to come down while also trying to deal with the excitement coursing through my veins. I was pretty certain that even if I hadn't been wearing the skin-tight fabric beneath my clothes, my body heat as a result from my heightened emotional state would have kept the cold at bay.
Almost a meter beside me stood Dan Mpologoma, his face wreathed in dark clouds, as if something important was bothering him. The enthusiastic man I had gotten to know was nowhere to be found, with my greeting upon arrival ignored entirely. I didn't blame him because I was certain that he hadn't even noticed my existence, with his awareness buried deep within himself.
He was wearing a plus-sized brown shirt, beneath of which, a pair of baggy grey shorts with the dark skin tight suit creeping out to cover the rest all the way into his short stockings.
Someone inhaling loudly attracted my attention, and in turning around, I caught sight of a figure stepping out of the heavy mist with spread arms and a vibrant expression plastered across his face. A dark band of fabric covering his forehead was exposed as his crimson long hair had been bundled up into a long ponytail that vanished down his back.
"Good morning, Ril! This is a good day, don't you think so?"
My blood ran cold for a moment before turning into a furnace of heat even as my excitement gave way to rage, with a scoff leaving my lips before I pointedly turned away from the stupid baffoon to gaze beyond the pavement.
The city had woken up long before us. Through the fog, I could barely make out a man on the other side of the street, a roll of tobacco dangling from the side of his lips, and a large black coat with a briefcase in one hand, moving with purpose, no doubt to his job.
A little boy wearing a shirt with suspenders looping around his shoulders, a white shirt with a badge, and a small bag on his back, skipping his way to school.
I even heard the tune he was humming, all the way here, though faint. Cars and motorbikes hadn't yet woken up this morning, something that I deeply appreciated as it allowed me to simply enjoy the quiet morning in peace... Well, except for the idiot with the maddening grin on his features, doing stretches beside me.
"Get away from my girl, boy!" a voice came from behind, one which caused relief to sprout within me. Being in close proximity to David was akin to being in a cave with a bear gazing at you ravenously. It was both chilling and tiring. Why tiring? Because you had to always be on constant alert in case the bear attacked!
"We will have more time to chat, dear Ril." David whispered, his voice making my skin break out in goosebumps.
"We won't!" I hissed back without giving him the satisfaction of looking into my eyes and capturing the worry no doubt brimming within.
"And you! Didn't I tell you to choose something long?"
A sigh almost escaped my lips, but I held it in as I turned to face my mother, whose dark expression with a hint of lightning, said it all.
"Why? This skin-tight body suit reaches all the way to my ankles."
"Oh! So, you want to show off your curves? To whom?" she asked her eyes curiously lingering onto any face as if trying to read it like a book.
I felt heat rising up my cheeks at the accusation, which was true, but maintained eye contact with her. If I shunned her gaze, it would be an admission that would lead to a multitude of questions I didn't want to answer.
"Ravena! Just the woman I wanted to see! There are some concerns that I would like your enlightenment upon." interjected Dan Mpologoma, shifting the weight of mom's gaze from me. The withheld sigh became one of relief, making me feel as if a burden had been liberated from my shoulders.
"And what might those concerns be, Dan?" asked mother, whose expression had shifted from playful at the beginning, to a more serious one when her gaze fell onto his dark brooding expression.
"Our mutual friend, Luthor. He's acting a familiar kind of strange. He's like a gambler who has gotten convinced that he has the winning hand, throwing all caution to the wind." he explained.
I felt a tightness in my chest. The signs had been there during the meeting... Actually, they had been there ever since the moving pictures had ended. A strange excitement had gripped the man. It had been in the way he spoke, the way he walked, and most of all, the glitter in his eyes, coupled with the joyful smile tugging at his lips.
All those signs alone wouldn't have been enough to consign such a damning verdict but if added together with his headstrong decision to step onto Kisol, without even first scouting out the place, then he was deep into the thick if it.
"I saw. But what do you want me to do!" asked mom. It was a question I already knew what the answer to, would be.
Before the conversation could go anywhere, the loud sound of an engine from the right side drew our attention. And when my gaze finally moved away from both mother and Dan, I found that the others were all here except for Luthor, or anyone from Dugavu for that matter.
In a matter of seconds, a dark green Millitary bus stopped just before us. Through the window of the passenger seat infront, I spotted a man in the spotted green and brown Millitary uniform, next to the driver, who was also clad in the same.
When the door opened, we entered, and I chose to sit by a window, even pushing open the glass to let in the cold morning air. The smell of uncombusted fuel was heavy within the vehicle, a problem that had already started to twist my stomach in knots.
"I want you to speak with him." Dan said the moment he settled just behind my mom, who was just next to me to the left. His head was close to the point that his breath was tickling the back of my exposed neck. It was uncomfortable, and rude. But speaking out at this time would have been impolite.
It made me wonder why the height of the backrest only stopped in the middle of my back.
"You want me to try and put a stop to the man's long cherished desire? That wouldn't bode well for our future partnerships with Dugavu state. Surely, you wouldn't mean to put me in such a position, right?" pressed mother without turning her head to look at the man.
"I only want you to try and atleast get him to see reason. To send out some scouting planes first." Dan explained.
"The man's mental faculties don't have any problems. It would be better if you don't interfere in what's to come." an unwelcome and unwanted voice butted in from opposite our column of seats.
"This is a private conversation, Lutalo. You should mind your own business, brainless gorilla!" Dan shouted.
"What did you say, pudgy idiot?!" snarled Chief Lutalo, glaring directly at Dan Mpologoma.
I rubbed between my brows, feeling an exhaustion that shouldn't be there. We're these two going to enter a shouting match all the way to the base?
"What my father is trying to convey, is that you shouldn't look down on your fellow leader. He isn't as naive as he looks." David stepped in.
"Really! That's the card you are playing, Lutalo? You and I both know such signs. The man is clearly not in his right mind!" growled Dan.
"As far as I can see, he is in the right state of mind for this expedition. If the two of you, through your yapping mouths, halt the expedition, there will be consequences!" Chief Lutalo threatened, even releasing an aura that turned my blood cold, with a shiver traveling down the length of my spine. And I hadn't even been gazing at the man!
"Are you threatening us, Lutalo? Would you really be prepared to face the two of us in a war? Think well before the next words leave your damn mouth. We aren't soft persimmon that can be squeezed for juice whenever you like." spat back my mom, her tone cold enough to freeze souls.