104 The Talk (1/2)

As the sun rose up the next morning, Oli was already up and feeling a bit anxious. He left his tent to find that Netra was also up bright and early.

But the surprising thing wasn't that she was awake. It was surprising that she was awake and helping his mother prepare breakfast.

Curious about their conversation, Oli decided to walk toward the fire and offer his help. ”Can I do anything to help?”

”Just sit, and help Netra explain this to me,” stated Ania with a strange look on her face.

”What do you--”

”I asked your mother about us being partners.”

”Huh?!” Oli had no clue what to say in response to that. ”You… I…”

”Come on, Oli. If you agreed to it, then man up and talk about it,” stated Ania. ”Did you really agree to be her partner?”

”I…” The young ape sighed and scratched his tired head. ”Yeah, I agreed. If she were a gorilla I probably would've asked her already and you would've begged me to do it, right?”

”...Yeah, you're not wrong about that… But still, do you realize what you two mean by all of this?”

Both Oli and Netra glanced at each other, not fully certain what Ania meant.

”Fine, I'll explain it since we're alone and neither of you fully grasp just how difficult your proposal actually is,” continued Ania. ”If it were possible to be together, are you two really willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen?”

”Yes.” Netra didn't hesitate, immediately responding.

Oli said nothing but he nodded, waiting for his mother's explanation.

”Then you should know that you two being together is possible and that it is possible for you both to have children together.” Netra smiled but Ania still continued, ”However, for that to happen you both need to enter the king plane.”

”The king plane?!”

While Oli replied in a muffled shout, Netra's smile shrunk as she started to ponder the significance of that statement.

”Yes, you'll both need to enter the king plane. And, you'll both have to have created a human form if you want to have kids,” explained Ania. ”I have no clue what your children would be like, but the bloodline you'd create would be either perennial grade or king grade, so I will admit that it's not an entirely bad idea to get together.”

”But now you know… It's not as simple as you two just being together.”

”So I need to enter the king plane and you'd be okay with me being your son's partner?” asked Netra, unfazed.

Ania sighed, ”Yes, I'd be more than happy for you to be my son's wife and to be my daughter-in-law in that case. But the question is, what are you two going to do until then? Do you realize how long it will take you both to enter the king plane?”

”So long as it's possible, I don't see why we can't try,” replied Netra, even more determined now that she knew there was a chance.

”And what about your mom, Netra? What are you going to say to her?” reasoned Ania. ”Do you think she would let you wait that long to get married? I myself wonder if I'd let Oli wait that long if there were other gorillas to choose from. You get that, right?”

”Still, I won't just be partners with anyone. I don't like the other foxes and none of them are as kind as Oli. And Oli's stronger than all of them with just one essence, using half his strength,” stated Netra.

To that, Ania shook her head. ”But can you blame the other foxes for that? Oli's a very special case. You may not know the full truth, but…”

At that moment, Ania sent out a gentle wave of essence into the surrounding area. When she felt that no one was around and that everyone was sound asleep, she turned to Oli. ”If you want and you really feel like you can trust her, I don't mind you telling her the truth.”

”I--”

”He doesn't have to tell me the truth about why he's like that,” interjected Netra. ”What's important is that his dark essence is as strong as the strongest foxes, not how that came to be. And I already know that Oli is kind and helpful, so I don't see why we can't be together, especially if the bloodline would become perennial grade.”

”Actually, it would most likely become a king grade bloodline,” stated Oli. ”I have a mutated bloodline, a mix of Iron-body Gorilla and Toxic-shadow Dragon, and it's already king grade if I'm not mistaken.”