Of Yen

Chapter one

He knew better to stay away from home for too long. He knew it would make it more difficult to hide the fact that he wasn't perfect. He had a perfect life, perfect status, perfect staff. Yet, Ethereal was far from perfect himself.

Yes, data changes. There are variables bound to rear their ugly heads to ruin perfectly good results. That was life. His life, and Ethereal wasn't having it. So, he had locked himself in the master cabin of his luxury ship in thought.

He had come to this well-sized continent in search of more resources for a future project. Completely expecting untouched land, rich with materials and minerals ripe for the taking. But was met with wide, curious eyes of beasts dressed in garments and spoke in a complete language that was, at the time, unknown. Almost human.

Too human.

They had a government, a monarchy. A pack of lions that dressed fashionably but humbly as to set an example for the rest below their castle, Pride rock.

Too human.

Flocks of birds worked and lived in small communities, farming. Elephants logging and constructing. Giraffes stealing and pranking. All kinds of animals making bonds of friendship and families, communicating and thriving.

All too human.

Ethereal saw this as an opportunity. Seeing if they acted uncomfortably similar to humans, then they would've thought similar to humans. He knew how the human mind worked. What to add to the equation to get the results he wants.

Now he was in too deep. He had simply planned to get them to trust him so they could get the resources, the iron under Pride Rock. But now he was stuck pacing his room of gold and ivory, trying to get his mind to stop thinking. "You are better than this, stop it!" Ethereal hissed to the air as he threw his gloves on the vanity, staring into the mirror. "Just stop."

Ethereal continued to pace. Something was bothering him, but he could not place his finger on it. Funds? No, he had more than enough. More than he knew what to do with. Appearance? Absolutely not, He was perfect. Down to the very threads that made up his suit. Food? Of course not, not that he ate a lot anyway. He wasn't a fan of removing his helmet, not even to sleep.

Then what? What was causing Ethereal to pace across his room for more than an hour, picking at the hems of his jacket.

"Great, now I have a reason for a new suit." Ethereal hummed as he threw his jacket onto the bed. The maid will come along later to clean and take it away.

So why was he restless? Why was his mind blanking when he spoke to Scar, a member of the lion monarchy who seized the throne through cruel but efficient means. Scar wasn't like the other members of the royal family; he didn't have the raw power. He was lean and healthy, but not a power unit like his older brother he had killed. He didn't have the brightly colored hair like his niece or nephew, but dark locks that made it near impossible to blend in with their savanna. The way he spoke was one with no intention of failure. Ethereal could admit he was interesting. Any time the two found each other in a room alone discussing their next plans, The screen inside his helmet flashed him a warning of his increased heart rate.

"Sir." A voice from outside his door echoed, pulling Ethereal from his mind, pausing in his step. "Scar requests an audience with you at Pride Rock. Should I gather the guard?"

Ethereal chuckled as he smoothed down the under shirt before grabbing the armored jacket from the bed. He didn't really need the armor that was so well hidden within the layers of his clothes, he had a specially trained squad he picked himself, armed with the best weapons that