Dawn is almost near. The darkness has started to retreat. I should probably wake up the two siblings.
“Hey wake up meow…”
“Meow, wake up…”
“Hehehe… I might have to pet their head to wake them up…”
So I carefully went near them. Felix and Mia were sleeping with their faces away from each other. Their tails are curled and twisted together, like kittens that are scared of their surroundings.
Hehehe… They are close enough together that I can pat their heads or better yet scratch their ears. Hehehe…
Stealthy reaching my paws over their heads, I found my paws sinking into soft fluffy fur. Mia’s hair was as smooth and silky fur as a cat with an undercoat. So silky smooth, ehehe… It was such a nice experience.
Felix’s hair was a little less smooth but extra fluffy. Is this fur or a cloud? So fwuffy. Stroking both their heads, I hear a quiet purr…
No! It’s too cute. I’ll try to give both ears a light scratch, ehehe… Oh, they are purring louder. Their tails are now swishing like marsh grass swaying with the wind. Ehehehe… More purring, more swishy tails.
“Mmm… Papa… You’re back.” (Mia)
“Welcome back… Father.” (Felix)
Like cold water was poured over me. I froze for a bit.
During our conversation, they told me they are orphans like me. Their parents were both adventurers but their mother passed early in their childhood. They have very few memories of their mother, but their father did his best to raise them.
He sounded similar to Father Raphael if all the drill-sergeant-ness had been squeezed out of him. The other difference is that Father Raphael might still be alive while theirs died protecting them from monsters that attacked their village.
I stroked their head and whispered.
“You both did well, I’m proud of you… Meow.”
I think that’s enough for me. It’s time to wake both of them up.
“Felix! Mia! Time to wake up, meow!”
Soon both of them stirred and stretched as they woke their minds and body.
“Good morning Sir Victor.” (Mia)
“Good morning. Oh, Sir Victor, you should have woken us up for our shift.” (Felix)
“It’s fine meow. You both looked like you needed it and it wasn’t really hard to do night watch now that there’s barely any monster around. There’s the bread and dried meat in the bag.”
“Thank you, Sir Victor. Let us instead refill your canteen.” (Felix)
“Haha. I kind of lost a lot of my stuff, meow.”
“Oh! No worries Sir Victor. Take mine, I'll share my brother’s. Here brother.” (Mia)
“Didn’t you say you can’t use magic, meow?”
“Mia can only use [Body Reinforce] and [Acceleration] with her amount of mana, but I can only use low level [Life Magic].” (Felix)
“Meow? You have higher mana, Felix?”
“Yes sir. Male beastkin usually have higher mana capacity than females. But it’s still less than other races. Though, there are some beastkin with superior mana capacity they usually came from [Habagat].” (Felix)
“Meow see.”
“Mia holds the canteen properly so the water doesn’t spill.” (Felix)
I watched Felix as Mia readied the canteen. After I got the skill [Mana Detection] and [Mana Control] I can see the movement of mana whenever I use [Appraisal]. I think appraisal uses a trace amount of mana to scan the target.
I have been able to make the thread of mana move slower or faster. I can even move it around obstacles but only one to two strides away. As a result, I can appraise objects that are obstructed from view. Soon with enough practice, I can appraise objects that are much farther. Anyway, I’m here to learn some [Life Magic] spells.
Felix placed his palm a short distance above the mouth of the canteen. Then he chanted,
“Water comes forth, quenches this parched traveler. [Spring Water]!” (Felix)
Then a ball of water condenses near Felix’s palm before flowing towards the mouth of the canteen. Once the first canteen was full, the water flowed to the second canteen. Once the canteen is full the water remaining outside the canteen stopped and turned to mist.
That was what can be physically seen. But the movement of mana showed me what had actually happened. A significant amount of Felix’s mana concentrated on his palm, then the ball of mana condensed the water from the air. Then it controlled the ball of water under his palms. It was fascinating how all of it happened in a minute or two.
“Here’s some water Sir Victor.” (Mia)
“Thank you, meow.”
I am not sure if I can use it by just repeating what Felix did. But the idea of learning magic is quite exciting.
“My thirst is quenched. Thank you meow.”
“You’re welcome Sir Victor.” (Mia)
“I was the one who filled it with water, you know.” (Felix)
An angry flush went up Mia’s face. Haha. They are really close.
“Brother there’s a bug on your face.” (Mia)
“What bu---Bufoo!” (Felix)
Felix’s body flew for a second before landing on his tail. Cat Beastkin aren’t like cats, they don’t always land on their feet.
“Both, you siblings are a quite close meow. We should start our journey and head to your village meow.”
““Yes!”” (Mia & Felix)
In another place,
A slumbering existence finally stirred after years of quiet dreaming.
“Hmmm… A foreign soul… Interesting…” (Slumbering Creature)
This creature is an ancient soul that has been known by ancient people to cause great upheavals. An uncontrollable force of nature, a creature of chaos, the bringer of change, the one that every person in Gaia ought to fear and worship should they know of his presence.
Their very existence could very well be known as “The Great Destroyer”, “Storm Bringer”, “Maelstrom”, these are some of the names this creature is known.
“...it has... been awhile…” (Slumbering Creature)
A/N: So the presence of an ancient creature. Check.
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