“So, how exactly are we going to get our hands on these banners?” Leo asked, scratching his head.

Without a word, Zander In an instant, he split into five identical clones. “Go forth, my clones,” he commanded. “Find where they’re keeping the ornaments.”

The clones nodded in perfect unison before darting off in different directions, vanishing into the bustling city.

“While they’re searching for ornaments, I’ll go find some banners for Leon,” Zander said, turning back to Leo.

Leo said “And what about me?”

“Oh, right!” Zander replied. “Aster asked for some musicians. Go find a good performer for the event.”

Leo shrugged, a confident smirk spreading across his face. “Sounds like an easy enough task.”

“For sure,” Zander said, his grin widening. Floating off the ground, he gave a quick wave. “See you later, buddy!”

With that, Zander took flight scanning the city below as Leo set off on foot.

With that, Zander soared high into the sky, his voice echoing over the city as he let out a shrill call in search of banners. Meanwhile, Leo stayed on the ground, weaving through the crowded streets, ears perked for the sound of music. His search for a talented performer had just begun.

Zander hovered high above the city, scanning in all cardinal directions. His sharp eyes darted over the rooftops and bustling streets below. Suddenly, something caught his attention—a flash of color in the distance.

There, sitting comfortably on a red carpet, was an anthropomorphized hare. The creature was surrounded by a pile of uncolored banners. its long ears twitching as it sorted through them. The hare wore two ornate necklaces around its neck, each shimmering in the sunlight, and two golden bracelets that clinked softly with its every movement. It was dressed in a loose, flowing tunic with wide sleeves that fluttered in the gentle breeze.

Zander’s eyes narrowed. “That has to be one of the banner suppliers,” he thought. With a quick burst of speed, he dove down toward the hare.

As Zander descended, he noticed something odd—the hare was quietly weeping, its tears dripping onto the uncolored banners scattered around. Puzzled, Zander landed softly beside the red carpet.

“Are you okay?” Zander asked.

The hare looked up, wiping away its tears with a paw. “You must be that gray-skinned boy... Zander, right?” It sniffled, trying to regain its composure. “Oh, I’m not doing the best, to be honest.”

Zander said “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

The hare replied “ I... I was tasked with creating these banners for the festival, but I lost the colors I needed to finish them. And without them, I can’t complete my work in time.”

“Well, what’s your name?” he asked gently.

“Mrs. Ifeoma,” she replied while straightened up a little.

Zander gave a small nod. “Mrs. Ifeoma, do you remember the last time you saw the colors? Where were they?”

Mrs. Ifeoma explained and said . “I remember vaguely... There were five youngsters—fennec foxes, to be exact. They came by and asked me to make banners for them. Each one wanted a specific color: red, blue, green, brown, and yellow. I went inside my shop to grab more banners because I’d run out. When I came back out... the paint was gone.”

Zander responded “Okay. What were the paints kept in?”

“Ceramic jars,” she said. “Beautiful, sturdy ones with patterns etched into them. They should be easy to spot if you look hard enough.”

Zander nodded and said “Got it. I’ll track those foxes down and get your paint back.”

Mrs. Ifeoma smiled weakly. “Thank you, Zander. You’re my only hope.”

With a determined leap, Zander took to the skies again, scanning the city for any sign of five mischievous fennec foxes—or their colorful jars.

Zander wandered through the bustling city, asking countless people about the five mischievous fennec foxes. But no one seemed to know where they were. Frustration and doubt began to creep in—until he stumbled upon a sand cat lounging near a sunlit wall.

“A fennec fox?” the sand cat mused, “I’ve seen one with green eyes wearing a green cape. He’s inside that medicine shop over there.”

Zander’s face lit up. “Thank you so much!”

He transforms into a sand cat and walks to the shop.

The original sand cat watched in amazement, muttering under its breath, “He can transform?”

The fennec fox with green eyes exited the medicine shop, carrying several bottles of medicine and pills in a small bag slung over his shoulder. He stepped onto the crowded street, glancing around cautiously before setting off at a brisk pace.

Zander, still in his sand cat form, followed silently from a safe distance. His sharp eyes stayed fixed on the fox's every move, careful not to draw attention or frighten him.

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"I could grab him now," Zander thought. "He might know where the others are. But it’s smarter to wait—he could lead me straight to them."

Keeping his steps steady and quiet, he followed the fox for two minutes until it stopped and slipped into an alleyway. There, a fennec fox with red eyes and a red cape was waiting.

The red-eyed fox spoke, “You got the stuff?”

The green-eyed fox opened a bag filled with bottles of medicine and pills. “Yeah, I got it.”

“Great. Let’s move. Don’t want to look suspicious.”

The green-eyed fox and the red-eyed fox walked together down the streets, their movements quick and deliberate.

Zander crouched on top of a roof.He muttered to himself, "There's another one. But where are they heading?"

He followed them for another two minutes, keeping to the rooftops, until they finally stopped at a secluded spot where no one could see them. In front of them was a passageway leading underground, its entrance partially hidden by debris and shadows. Without hesitation, the two foxes descended into it.

"A passageway?" Zander muttered, narrowing his eyes. Staying quiet and quick, he slipped down after them, careful not to make a sound.

Inside the underground chamber, Zander saw a gathering of foxes. The space was vast, dimly lit by flickering lanterns hung along the walls. Standing in the center were three other foxes: one with piercing blue eyes and a matching blue cape, another with warm brown eyes and a brown cape, and a third with glowing yellow eyes and a vibrant yellow cape.

The green-eyed fox and the red-eyed fox approached them, nodding in greeting.

Zander quietly transformed into a small mouse, his gray fur blending with the shadows of the chamber. He scurried closer, slipping unseen among the cracks in the stone floor, until he was near enough to hear the conversation clearly.

“Seems like we’re all here,” said the green-eyed fox, his voice low but steady. He stood tall, glancing at each of the other foxes in turn. “Let me greet you all properly. It’s an honor to meet you, the Blue Demon of the West King.” He inclined his head toward the blue-eyed fox.

“An honor to meet you, the Brown Demon of the South King,” he continued, nodding at the brown-eyed fox.

“And an honor to meet you, the Yellow Demon of the North King,” he finished, bowing slightly to the yellow-eyed fox.

Zander’s small heart raced as he processed the titles. Demons? Kings? What kind of meeting is this?

“It is an honor to meet you, Green Demon King—and finally, you as well, Red Demon King,” said the yellow-eyed fox.

As they spoke, each figure reverted to their true forms: towering monstrosities clad in ornate armor, each wielding formidable weapons, their skin being the same color of their names.

Zander muttered “What the-there demons?”

“All right, does everybody know the plan? Or do we need a run down again.” said the Red Demon King.

The Yellow Demon of the North King said “ I would like another run down of the plan. Make sure it stays in my mind.”

The Red Demon King explained, “We have a grand plan, everyone. The goal is to kill that ruler, Havasu. He possesses unimaginable wealth, but more importantly, we want his city. Each of us already has a kingdom, but capturing this city will grant us immense power. To achieve this, I’ve devised a plan to poison that bastard.”

The Green Demon King frowned. “How exactly are we supposed to do that?”

“You have several bottles of medicine and pills, don’t you? And the paint? I’ll mix the medicine and pills into the paint to create a poison potent enough to kill the ruler for good,” the Red Demon King replied confidently.

The Brown Demon of the South interjected skeptically, “But won’t he notice the poison? After all, it’ll look like paint. Nobody drinks paint.”

“You see, my Brown friend,” the Red Demon King said with a sly grin. He summoned a ceramic jar and opened it, revealing it was filled with blue paint. Turning to the Green Demon King, he commanded, “Hand me one of the pills.”

The Green Demon King complied, passing over a pill, which the Red Demon King promptly dropped into the blue paint. Then, he began to chant, “Hixivixivxisiq.”

Before their eyes, the blue paint transformed, bubbling and swirling until it became alcohol.

All the kings stared in amazement at the miraculous transformation.

“This,” declared the Red Demon King, holding up the jar, “will be our ticket.” He continued with a smirk, “The feast is tonight. We’ll shift back into foxes and wait until the right moment.”

As the kings processed the plan, the Yellow Demon King of the North began to speak—but his words were abruptly cut short by a sharp pain in his back. He looked down in horror to see the tip of a large sword protruding through his chest.

“I don’t think you’ll be killing the ruler,” said Zander, his voice cold. With a swift motion, he sliced the Yellow Demon King of the North clean in half, the demon’s soul descending to the underworld.

“That gray skinned boy killed the Yellow Demon King of the North!” cried the Green Demon King, his voice full of fury.

Zander smirked. "Yeah, and your soul will be the next ticket to the underworld."

The remaining kings were enraged. One by one, they drew their weapons: the Green Demon King brandished a massive axe, the Red Demon King hefted a spiked mace, the Brown Demon of the South wielded two heavy war hammers, and the Blue Demon King of the West unsheathed a falcon sword, its blade glinting menacingly.

Zander’s grin widened, his anticipation growing as the battle was about to begin.

Leo discovered a group of five performers creating music together. One played a vielle, another strummed a lute, a third plucked the strings of a psaltery, while the fourth skillfully played a shawm, and the final performer handled a sackbut. Despite their harmonious effort, their music echoed unnoticed—no one in the crowd paid them any attention.

Leo walked up to the performers and asked, “You must be the music performers co—”

Before he could finish, the one holding the lute suddenly grabbed him, desperation in his tear-filled eyes. “PLEASE LISTEN TO OUR MUSIC!” he cried.

Before things escalated further, the lute player was smacked on the head with a vielle by one of the others.

“Harp! Stop grabbing that man!” scolded the vielle player.

Harp winced, rubbing his head. “Ow! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry, Chord!”

Chord, the vielle player, crossed his arms. “Don’t apologize to me—apologize to that big tiger.”

Realizing his mistake, Harp quickly bowed to Leo and began repeating his apologies. “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!”

“Chord… We’re not getting any audience with our music,” said the performer with the shawm, her voice heavy with frustration.

“Melody, I know,” Chord replied “But it’s so hard to get an audience when no one cares to listen.”

Leo, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke up. “You all must be the music performers.”

Chord sighed “Yeah, we are. We’re the Immortal Symphony, trying to gain an audience with our passion, but it feels hopeless.”