‘Ves, you mentioned blessings before. Then there was the man who said he was a malachite. Could you explain?’ 

“Sure, I guess, bear in mind I’m no priest. Not sure I’ll do a good job.”

Shifting one of the wolves on her shoulders to get a better grip, she continued. “The Blessings are some magical thing maintained by the Pantheon of Vaal.”

‘Vaal?’

“I’m not really sure the details, but according to the temple in the ancient past, our entire world was in peril from some calamity. The Pantheon are the ones who saved us and took our world under their stewardship. Goddess Perithia is the one specifically in charge of this world and the one most people worship. I think Vaal is the leader, can’t say I’ve attended any sermons, so not clear on the details.”

‘Still doesn’t tell me what exactly the blessings do. Before you mentioned that it taught people language.’

“Sorry, there is a simple blessing everyone gets as a child that teaches them to speak the common tongue as well as guides them to the nearest temple. That first visit, I hear, is a rite of passage where parents take their children to the temple. Not something I ever experienced myself. As adults, you can revisit the temple for a second blessing, one that teaches the basics of soul cultivation”.

‘Cultivation?’

“Yeah, the most important blessings teach the basics. I don’t have one myself, but I know a few people with them. They grant you knowledge on techniques to strengthen one's soul. Like, make you stronger, live longer. Even use magic. Although it's only spoken of in old stories, supposedly, if you cultivate your soul long enough, you can step into the realm of the divine and be recruited into the pantheon. Serving Vaal from the heavens.”

‘Why don’t you have one?’  Nell questioned, sounding a bit skeptical. 

“I’m a branded, remember? I was never allowed to get one. Also, while the temple offers them to everyone, they do require a significant donation. As well as it takes a lot of time and effort to see any tangible results.”

‘So are they only for the rich?’

“They are not so expensive that you need to be rich, but they are enough to give commoners pause. That said, there are other ways to get them. For example, some organizations will often sponsor promising recruits. Joining the city guard or army is also an easy way to get one.”

‘What about when he said Malachite and Body?’

“That’s rank and type. There are six soul ranks that are named after gemstones. Malachite being the second lowest. The order is Amber, Malachite, Quartz, Emerald, Ruby, then Diamond with each broken down into three sub-ranks, unrefined, cut, and polished. Bear in mind, even being a higher-ranked amber would still give someone a significant advantage over anyone who isn’t a cultivator. Then body is the type. Body, mind, and Soul. I think there’s a fourth, but I can’t really remember what it’s called. Body is obvious; it allows one to strengthen their body beyond its natural limits. Mind and Soul are related to magic, but I don’t really get the difference myself.”

‘If Malachite is the second lowest, why did it seem he was saying it as a threat?’

“Even if it’s the second lowest, it still makes him faster and stronger than the average person by a notable amount. Each rank is also much harder to achieve than the last. Malachite is where most people who put in a decent amount of effort cap out. Luck and talent can push some people into the third rank. Anything beyond that, though, is only for those who dedicate their life to cultivation. And again, most people, especially commoners, don’t cultivate at all. They are too busy just trying to keep food on the table.”

Ves could tell Nell was nearing an information overload. While this was common knowledge to most, it was a lot to take in at one time. Honestly, she only knew as much as she did from stories from the woman who raised her through her adolescent years. She was an accomplished cultivator and one of the very few people in Kohdessia Ves would miss.

After several hours, they made it back to the alcove along the cliff wall and the place they decided to call home. Confident as she may have started, several hours of walking, hauling several hundred pounds of wolf meat, left her limbs feeling like jelly. 

More than anything, though, it was finally time to eat, or at least after she checked on Yujiro. Crawling up into the alcove, Ves found he was fast asleep, and best as she could tell, his fever had even gone down a bit. Likely for the best, considering her current state, covered in wounds and blood, on top of being naked. Deciding it was best to let him rest, she climbed back down, looking over her spoils. She debated whether she should try to start a fire, but the raw meat hadn’t made her sick last time. Let alone how good it tasted. Tossing caution to the wind, she grabbed one of the wolves and tore off a leg. Only to be reminded that life would never go her way.

As soon as she bit into the wonderful, warm, juicy flesh… a tooth fell out.

‘Told you, you were getting new ones.’ Nell snickered.

“Gods dammit…”

Feeling around with her tongue, she could tell a few others were loose. She could also feel the new tooth growing in place of the one she lost, a sharp one. At least the rest of the meal went uninterrupted. 

Stomach bulging from her hearty meal, she waddled down to the stream to clean herself up. Now that the wounds were clean, she could see her own bleeding had stopped. While the wounds still looked raw, they had sealed. Her arm honestly looked as bad as Yujiro’s wound. It once again went to show her how amazing Nell was, and the only reason she was still alive.

‘Ves, before you get any false ideas, I can seal the wound to prevent us from bleeding out. But repairing the bone and muscle still takes time. I would go easy on that arm for a few days yet. I don’t want you to think we can shrug off any and all injuries with a simple night's rest’. Ves had, in fact, been starting to think that. Perhaps she had been a bit too reckless in the fight against the wolves. Still, what’s done is done, so she took her time finishing up her bath in the stream.

Feeling refreshed, she returned to the wolves. “Now, what to do with these? That’s a lot of meat, and gluttonous as we are, a lot will still spoil before we can eat it.” 

‘We?’ Nell questioned.

Stopping to ponder for a moment, a bit surprised by her own words, “Hard as it was to accept, I have. I understand we are in this together, possibly for the rest of our lives. Goddess knows I’d be dead several times over without you, Nell.”

Looking down at her claw, “Adding in all the changes, and I can’t just consider this body mine anymore. Or well, just mine. It’s ours.”

‘Thank you, Ves.’  Nell’s voice felt relieved. 

“You're welcome.”

‘In light of this acceptance, mind if I try something. I haven’t brought it up before as I didn’t want to upset you.’

With a laugh, Ves held up their claw. “I’ve been running around the woods naked, with a claw for a hand. Living off raw wolf meat that I somehow find delicious. So delicious in fact, that I can’t stop eating until my stomach is so swollen I look ready to pop.”

With a shake of her head, Ves added, “After all that, I’m not sure anything else will freak me out at this point”.

‘Fair enough, well then relax your, umm, I suppose, OUR left arm.’

Ves did as asked, and after a pause, her left arm began to move. Unsteadily but slowly, it moved until it was held up in front of her face as the fingers went through a range of motion. 

None of this was of her own doing.

“Ok, that is pretty freaky”. On reflex, Ves tried to move the arm before it began to spasm for a brief moment before stopping. 

“I thought you couldn’t take control?” Ves asked a bit worried, despite having just told Nell she had accepted her. 

‘What I meant before was that I couldn’t steal control. In this case, it looks like we can both control our body. But if we try to use the same muscles simultaneously, it causes a spasm as our body can’t handle the conflicting instructions. We have equal control.’

After a moment, Ves could feel Nell release control of the arm back to her.

‘I’m not sure how useful it will be, but nevertheless, I feel we should practice that from time to time. For now, though, I have no issue letting you keep the reins. I would say it’s more relaxing for me that way, but I still feel sore and fatigued regardless of who is in control.’

Ves felt a shiver down her spine, “Yeah, not gonna lie, that was really off-putting… But you’re right, we should practice from time to time.”

“Well, back to today’s problems. What to do with this meat, worried it will spoil, and it's not like Yujiro can eat it raw. Guess we can try cooking it?” 

‘Worth a try.’ Nell mentally shrugged. 

The first thing she needed was a fire. How hard could it be? While gathering the wood, she learned how useful their new claw was. She could make short work of any branches and shrubs. To her amusement, no matter how much she used them, they never seemed to dull. She knew she needed dry wood and grasses, as she had helped gather them in the past. The issue was how to light it. She had seen the cooks start a fire before by striking some stones. Maybe she could do the same. Gathering some rocks, she began to try, try, and fail.

“What the in the void! The cooks made this look so easy!”

‘Ves, are you sure you’re doing this right? You have been at it for a while.’

“I think so, I swear they just struck the stones together, and it made sparks.” Ves tried one more time, only to miss and smash her own thumb, “Fuck!” she shouted as she tossed away the stones.

“Dare I ask?” a muffled voice called from above.

“Yujiro! You're awake!”

“Hard not to be with all the noise you’ve been making,” he shouted in response, though it sounded strained. Shouting was likely hard for him. Abandoning her failed attempt at starting a fire, she climbed up to check on the man. Thankfully, it looked like some color was returning to his face, actually a lot of color, almost as if he was blushing.

“Oh come on, how are you even more naked now!” he cried out as he shut his eyes and turned his head away.

Ves sighed, “Long story short, I was attacked and lost the last of my clothing”.

“You were attacked!” Yujiro’s eyes snapped open as he looked back at Ves. This time, he saw her left arm.

“Shit! We need to get that treated! There should still be enough string left to close that up.” Panicked Ves could see him digging through the bag next to him for the supplies.

“It's fine! I’m ok!”

“Don’t act tough! That bite looks nasty. I’m surprised you were even able to climb up here.”

“I’m not acting tough, I really am fine,” Ves replied as she held her arm closer for him to see.

“Bullsh-”, Yujiro’s voice trailed off as he got a good look at the wound. It would take a normal person at least a week to heal as much as she had in an afternoon.

“How?” he asked as he reached out and poked the wound without thinking, and with a wince, Ves yanked her arm back.

“Sorry, still tender.”

Yujiro just stared at Ves. She could see in his eyes his thoughts racing as his eyes darted between her wounded left arm and her terrifying new right.

“Ves, what are you?” It was Ves's turn to break eye contact at the question. She honestly had no idea what she was herself. How in the world could she answer him?

 “I was human, but now?” All Ves could do was give him a weak shrug.