"Achoo!"
Hogg let out a violent sneeze, making him twitch in his wooden wheelchair.
He must have tugged at his wound, because he grimaced in pain.
The sight surprised His Highness Khufu, who was walking beside Hogg. The Gnoll Civilization Hall they were in had precise temperature controls, so there shouldn't have been any chance of catching a chill.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it. I just suddenly felt a chill, as if something strange were happening. I could've sworn I heard a pained wail tinged with a strange sort of pleasure. Hmm, maybe I imagined it."
Hogg offered an explanation.
He pushed his wheelchair with his claws and politely declined the crown prince's offer to help.
As the visiting Prince Khufu observed him, Hogg was also keeping an eye on the prince. He didn't know what to make of the Sangheili's unusual blue skin and little tusks, but compared with gnolls, at least the Sangheili looked human.
What Hogg was really paying attention to was the prince's character and the hidden meanings in his words.
Khufu had arrived at the Gnoll Civilization Hall a day earlier, traveling directly through a teleportation platform in the Swamplands Restricted Zone. In the hours since, the Sangheili crown prince had toured the entire Land of Creation and watched several films depicting the glory of the gnoll ancestors.
Hogg had set aside time for Prince Khufu to reflect on and verify the gnolls' place in the Creator's order.
Now, both of them knew it was time to lay their cards on the table and discuss what really mattered.
"Would you like to begin now, or shall we have a meal together first?"
Hogg asked in a gentle tone:
"Of course, you may have to put up with the meager food supplies in Broken Tooth