“Wahhh, that’s so much better!! You really are such a refined cook, June!!” Neomyra took small bites of the fish with both hands, savoring the meal as best they could since the splendid taste was really the only good it did for them. For spirits who didn’t need human sustenance, if a meal tasted bad, they had no reason to force it down, which meant it was a great compliment for a spirit to praise June’s meal so fervently. But that was normal, June was indeed a fantabulous cook. No, the weird thing here was that Neomyra had shifted forms once again into something that was rather unsettling to the human mind, with the bottom half of a long-haired blond cat with fur that was as soft as a newborn bird’s downy and the top half of a human with a messy blond mane and short golden fur taking over their skin. They weren’t wearing any clothes and there was a set of large wings on their back that grew with their size, Neomyra’s lavender irises taking up their entire eye as the tiny black slits they had for pupils narrowed in on the fish bones they were gnawing at. Truly an unusual sight even among spirits.  

“Hehe, I’m so glad you like it, Neomyra. I’ll cook for you anytime,” June flashed them a thumbs up that was ignored while he grinned despite all the strangeness, Joyce and Isabelle watching this creature with great concern. Though the reason June was doing all this and handing out such grand hospitality was really just to keep the being in a good mood, Joyce was not blind to that fact. His childhood friend had always had a knack for people and was skilled at making them feel at ease and as if they were the best of friends after only meeting once. Sometimes he failed to read the room and just blurted whatever came to his mind without a filter, but when it came down to it, June was a caretaker who knew how to make others feel comfortable, and with unpredictable spirits like Neomyra who were just as sporadic as they were strong, it was an irreplaceable skill.

And there truly was no doubt that this spirit was powerful. The feat of modifying an evil spirit capture weapon to such a degree was already terrifying, but the most horrifying part was how many forms Neomyra seemed to have. After all, the more human a spirit looked or the more human features they possessed, the stronger they were going to be. All the current S-Rank spirit hunters had bonds with such entities, but even so, the greater spirits among them who were stronger still were the ones who had multiple forms, and among those of that caliber, it was unheard of for a spirit to have more than three. But Neomyra was shifting themselves however they liked as if their form was entirely fluid, and while they didn’t have enough proof yet to be certain of it, it was almost like they were witnessing the rare shapeshifter class that only one spirit had ever been known to wield in Eora’s history… the hybrid spirit of lore.  

“So, ah… Neomyra,” Isabelle tried to speak up, having not forgotten her lucky reading and Lucy’s prediction that they would have incredible chances in befriending this spirit. “You said you were going to give Joyce’s sword back, right? That’s wonderful, and I’m really thankful you’re willing to give it back to us, but I just can’t help but wonder why you wanted it in the first place. As I’m sure you know, all the swords inside that room you snuck into are faulty and unusable… we followed you here because we were worried about the sword interacting negatively with the barrier, so honestly, I guess what I’m really trying to ask here is what your intentions are,” she swallowed her nerves and asked the spirit boldly, Neomyra finally pausing in the way they were licking their lips to turn narrowed eyes in her direction.

“My intentions aren’t complicated, and they shouldn’t endanger anyone. It is not in my interest to cause harm to humans,” Neomyra eventually relented before turning away again, shifting their human-shaped torso down to lick at the large paw of a lion, sliding their tongue around sharp claws that were sure to cut anything that touched them.

It seemed as if they were getting ready to speak further and to explain the truth behind their actions, merely taking their time to first groom themselves after finishing their meal, but Joyce’s paranoia was unmatched. He’d met kind spirits and he’d met cruel ones. He’d met those that had saved his life and those that had tried to kill him. He’d met those that had helped to protect his friends and those that had killed and devoured his parents in chase of him… and he could not rest until he received solid proof of which category Neomyra fell under. So before the spirit could finish their words that were spoken in a lazy and careless drawl, their attention was caught by Joyce’s venomous glare as they watched the man raise his head and take a domineering step forward.

“Are you after my spirituality?” he demanded with a cold voice, Neomyra stopping completely in their grooming to raise their neck and stare at him without an emotion to be traced. “When you were hiding yourself from Isabelle and June, you talked to me about my swords, and how you’d figured out the reason I’d made so many. So what is it then, did you just steal one of them to siphon off it? Is that all you wanted? Do I really smell that delectable to you?” he continued to sneer, Joyce’s glare frozen over while his words were deeply accusing, Isebelle and June turning to him in horror. It was one thing to want to get to the bottom of things and to learn of this spirit’s true intentions, but being so rude and direct was never bound to end well no matter what kind of spirit you were dealing with! They were a species that demanded respect and that could manipulate a person’s karma depending on how they felt they were treated, so it was a horrid idea to treat them this way!

“Ahaha… Neomyra, he didn’t mean it the way it sounded, he’s just been attacked by a lot of evil spirits in the past… it’s made him a bit jaded, so please forgive him,” June went to inject himself, rubbing his hands together as he attempted to smooth over Neomyra’s mood in the case they ended up being volatile and offended by Joyce’s statements. Though contrary to his expectations, the spirit remained calm and unbothered, tail flicking back and forth as they met Joyce’s golden gaze with ease.

“What is there to forgive him for? I wouldn’t call it delectable, as I would never want to devour something so rare and precious, but his spirituality is attractive. It’s no wonder he’s been targeted so often. He has every right to be paranoid,” Neomyra answered honestly, Joyce’s brows furrowing as he bit down on his jaw with suppressed aggression.

“So are you after my spirituality or not?!” he bit through his teeth, Neomyra’s neutral expression unchanging as June fretted between them.

“I’m not sure. Though I do take your spirituality to be a clue.”

“Huh? Just what do you think you’re talking about… if I’m your target, then just say so.”

“But you’re not my target,” Neomyra insisted, their expression finally turning a bit pitying as they gave Joyce a solemn look. “You misunderstand me. I say that your spirituality is attractive because it is something I would want to protect and ensure lives on. After all, the reason evil spirits attack you is because it threatens them. They are scared of the power you could wield if you learned how to use that excess spirituality of yours. I don’t know who told you this, but you’re not delectable to them at all. You have the potential to become their greatest threat, so to them, they have no other choice but to purge you before that happens,” Neomyra told him seriously, Joyce’s glare finally breaking as his chin instinctively lowered, the human taking a step back as he stared at the floorboards at the spirit’s feet.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“Of course you don’t. It seems that this world’s current era doesn’t know what you are anymore, so they are incapable of making use of you or teaching you how to use your talents. But that’s fine, I can just be the one to teach you. So long as you do something for me in exchange first,” Neomyra stated calmly, still staring at him with that same unnerving blankness as Joyce flinched at the mention of an exchange he couldn’t help but be paranoid over.

“What do you—?!”

“What kind of power are you talking about?” Isabelle suddenly interrupted her cousin, immediately lowering herself to the ground and tucking her legs underneath her to be beneath Neomyra in level, referring to the spirit with great respect as Joyce and June both gaped at her. And when she pressed both her hands to the ground with her fingers taking the shape of a triangle in front of her, she bowed her head to meet them before requesting guidance from the wise and knowledgeable spirit in front of her. “No one has ever been able to explain Joyce’s spiritual condition, or even slightly know what it is. And despite how unusual it may be and how much power you think it’d give him, everyone has deemed it useless and even a hindrance. But my luck reading for this mission had Luce, Lucy, and Lucinda erupt with good fortune across all three realms, and I trust that meeting you must be what they were foreseeing. So I beg of you for your guidance, great spirit. Please name your price, and help my cousin unlock the power that he deserves.”