"You wanted to meet me?" Zhya took a seat opposite Wally. "Why?"
"What do you mean, why?" Wally argued, "We’re siblings."
"Maybe for you, I might be one." Zhya grabbed the nearby jug of tea, poured a glass for herself and took a sip, commenting upon the taste, "Where did you learn this from?"
"Inala taught me the recipe." Wally said, "I like this taste the best, so I..."
"I created it," Zhya commented, took a few more sips and pushed the cup aside. She eyed Wally and asked, "So, what do you seek from me?"
"There are some things," Wally nodded, "But we’ll get to it later."
He revealed a casual smile, "I want to talk to you first."
"Talk?" For absolutely no reason at all, seeing Wally’s casual smile caused her irritation to spike up, "You think I don’t have responsibilities or what? Find someone else to chat with you."
"Oh, come on." Wally grumbled upon seeing Zhya get up and turn around to leave, "Don’t be a drama queen."
Zhya spun around to glare at Wally, causing the latter to change his wording, "Or drama king, whichever works your way."
’I want to beat him up!’ Zhya thought, snorted once and began to leave.
"You know, sister..." Wally slowly spoke as he twirled an empty teacup around his index finger. Faint ripples formed on the pond, merging and rippling further to cause small geysers that reached a few centimetres in height, "If you don’t have the time to spend talking to me, I can ensure you’ll grasp for some soon."
"Are you threatening me?" Zhya growled and almost released her presence.
"It’ll only be a threat if I come here representing the Cooter Clan, and not myself," Wally said cooly. However, his stance was clear. He would make a threat if need be.
"The Quip Clan has more than enough strength to destroy the Cooter Clan three times over." Zhya snorted, "Even if you wanted to, you cannot threaten us."
"Hahaha!" Wally burst out laughing, "That’s pretty funny, sis."
"Don’t call me that!" Zhya roared, "You’re my replacement! We never were and never are meant to be siblings."
"See," Wally smiled, "Now you’re actually talking. Why don’t you let go of all the other identities for a few minutes and just engage in an honest conversation with me."
"Darn, you’re annoying." Zhya slumped on her chair and glared at Wally, "So, what does the all so mighty replacement want to talk about?"
"I am not your replacement," Wally frowned, "I never was."
"Our parents...they...." Wally said with a sombre tone, "They were desperate and sought hope. And with their condition, stress is extremely life-threatening."
"I wasn’t dead!" Zhya snapped and shattered the table between them, "I had merely lost my Spirit Container back then. Instead of trying to find a solution, which actually wasn’t that hard, since I managed it pretty quickly, they went..."
Zhya clutched her neck and acted like she was choking, shouting dramatically, "Oh, pity us, what can we doooooo! We can only create a replacement for our sonnnn!"
"They never thought like that!" Wally cursed in anger.
"If they didn’t, they could have come visited me." Zhya raised her voice, "Instead, you know what they did? They sent an Information Slip that I was no longer needed, and that they have a new Perfect Snapper to lead the Cooter Clan into a glorious future."
"Glorious future, my ass." Zhya snorted, "They simply got on Brangara’s nerves, and once he became the Celestial Boar, he came for lunch."
"You know..." Zhya said, as her tone turned into a mild sob, "Brangara helped me regain my Spirit Container. He was even willing to shoulder the blame of killing me from the Cooter Clan just because I promised to challenge him in the future."
"He wasn’t an unreasonable guy. I had plenty of opportunities to interact with him in the Brimgan Empire." Zhya continued, "If you guys simply tried to think of a solution, you could have prevented the Dralh Sea’s branch from getting wiped out."
"There was no solution," Wally retorted, "If there was one, I would have desperately sought that. But no, we didn’t even have time to prepare ourselves. He came, he attacked, and then he started munching on our brethren."
"That’s what you should have offered." Zhya snorted, "You should have promised you’ll supply limbs of the Empyrean Snappers for Brangara’s consumption, as long as he refrains from killing you guys. That way, he would have his fill and left the place."
"Sure, it would have been humiliating for your guys, but no Empyrean Snapper would have died that day." Zhya said, "Brangara rarely deals with others, but he has enough pride to not go back on a deal."
"Sister..." Wally smiled as he made eye contact with Zhya, "You should shut up if you don’t know what you’re talking about."
"I guess it was my fault to expect you to retain your grace as a Deity, even if you’ve become part of another race." Wally sighed in disappointment as he got up and turned around to leave, commenting as he landed on the pond, "You’re merely a filthy merchant now."
"I guess, to make a profit, you can go to any extent, even cuddling your absolute enemy..." Wally hadn’t finished his statement when a shockwave slammed into him. It stopped a few metres away from him and dispersed.
"A filthy merchant?" Zhya roared, "I offered a solution. But fine, if death is what you prefer over your brethren’s survival, go ahead and die for all I care."
"Pride is important, sister." Wally said, mildly calming down, "Oftentimes, pride clouds us from certain solutions. And on Sumatra, survival is given priority."
"But you see," Wally smiled wryly, "We are Deities. We represent the pinnacle of Sumatra where we no longer have to worry about survival but can instead thrive. That is who we are,"
He patted his chest, "Whether good or bad, we represent hope for all Pranic Beast races, to look up and strive towards the goal of one day becoming Deities like us."
"That is why we fight." He argued, "Whether we are an Empyrean Tusk or an Empyrean Snapper, we fight with a certain level of dignity, even if that method isn’t the best for the situation and could even get us killed."
"If even peak existences have to slither about in fear, then no Pranic Beast would ever hope to grow stronger."
"No matter what you are, under the Mystic Grade, you are not worth it." Zhya got up and walked away, "I didn’t come here to futilely argue with you. If you need something, contact someone else from the Quip Clan. As long as you can afford the price, you can buy anything from our catalogue."
"Brangara did lose quite a few bodies to Gold Grade existences." Wally commented a few seconds later.
"So what?" Zhya snorted without stopping, "He merely underestimated in these instances. If he truly were giving his all, he wouldn’t have lost a single body..."
"Maybe in the past he did, but when he fought us in the Dralh Sea," Wally shook his head, "He wasn’t underestimating us. He even came completely prepared to face us."
"Anyway, I understand we cannot see eye to eye. We have different priorities." Wally shrugged in annoyance and then changed topics, "Let’s just get on with what I came here for."
"I need the Quip Clan to find me some things."
"My subordinate will comply with your wishes." Zhya said and walked out of the pond.
"Too bad," Wally sighed as he played around with a teacup, ’You are indeed my sister. Even though we have never met before this, I can easily recognise it.’
’You lie just like me.’ His eyes turned a tad moist in response. He groaned and slumped on his chair, dangling to and fro like a pendulum. ’You didn’t want me to gain any leverage over the Quip Clan and hence, you put on a show of emotional outburst and used that chance to storm out. Your acting was perfect. Anyone else would have been fooled.’
"However, it’s like looking at a mirror." That was how Wally saw through Zhya’s ploy. He then raised his voice a tad to ask the Zinger Guard sent to communicate with him for business, "What’s your name?"
"Ronzar," The Zinger Guard stated respectfully.
"Do you know who your leader is to me?" Wally asked.
"I am aware." Ronzar nodded.
"Then," Wally asked, expressing a hypothetical situation, "If I were to kill you, will Zhya return to face me?"
"No, she won’t." Ronzar shook his head, "Our Leader has to manage the entire Quip Clan’s affairs. She won’t take action unless there is an absolute necessity."
"Then, think of this," Wally asked next, "What if I specifically target and kill the Gold Grade Quip Clansmen? How many do you think I have to take out before she decides to seriously come after me?"
"I am pretty sure you’re aware of our Zinger Prince’s State of Harmony." Ronzar said casually, "Based on what our terrified Zinger Aristocrats had to say about their conversation with you, I can say you are pretty knowledgeable about the Quip Clan."
"Seeing as you can even manipulate sound to unleash a Zinger Shriek, the Quip Clan cannot keep any secrets from you unless we encrypt all our messages," Ronzar spoke as he used a Honing Satellite to create a table out of pond water.
"Did you figure it out? Or did my sister tell you?" Wally asked in interest.
"I found traces of your presence in the Quip Towers. From there, I figured out the rest." Ronzar nodded, "As a Zinger Guard, I am sensitive to everything regarding our Quip Towers."
"Man, you must be pretty high up in the Quip Clan’s chain of command if you are this capable," Wally said and motioned for Ronzar to take a seat.
"I am second in line among the Zinger Guards," Ronzar took his seat and asked, "Now, can I know what you wish to purchase from the Quip Clan?"