- Ava -

She split off from the group at the first opportunity. A free day? If they were so willing to give her so much free reign, then she'd be sure to take advantage. Those fools. She'd begun mapping the sect since she arrived, but her progress had been limited. Now, with a full day free, she could easily venture further out into the sect. It was important to have a lay of the land in any battle ground.

She came across a street vendor selling honey lamb skewers. The sweet aroma wafted into her nose, and her mouth began to salivate. A cheap ploy by the market vendor trying to steal away her hard earned contribution points. Then again, she should probably act natural. It would be good for cover to look like any other child on a day trip.

She bought a skewer and took a bite. Yes, it was delicious. What a despicable vendor. Her respect for the man grew.

She walked the streets, looking into store fronts, taking note of their wares. There were weaponsmiths, tailors, and jewelers. There were craftsmen, book salesmen, and art dealers. The economy of this sect was strong. It would make an excellent addition to the Demonic Desert Cult.

When she turned down an alley, she saw a pair of older boys torturing a puppy. The boys' faces looked ugly. Nobody should have to look at such gross faces. She activated her Yin Demon technique, and she pulled the dagger she'd kept hidden in her robes. The boys didn't even know she was there before they were bleeding out on the cobblestones. She absorbed their chi, filtering out the yin energy as they died. They were more advanced chi condensation cultivators, so it wasn't a bad haul. They were fools, but their weakness would become her strength. She heard the puppy whimper.

After cleaning her dagger, she put it away, and picked up the puppy. Its injuries weren't too serious, but it would need looking after. She couldn't afford the disruption to her mission.

The puppy licked her face. On the other hand, it might be a good cover. She sent some chi into the puppy, and was relieved to find that it was a low grade spirit beast. That was good, because it could grow stronger with her. She bought a low grade healing pill, and fed it to him. She was impressed that she didn't have to help him circulate it.

Ava reached a decision, "I'm going to call you Koa. It means 'Strong and Brave,' because that's what you will need to be." She carried the puppy while it continued cultivating the healing pill. She had wandered far enough. It was time to go back, and get dinner.

She took the puppy to her room, intending to leave him there while she got dinner for them both, but he tried to stand on his wobbly legs that hadn't healed yet. "You'll need to keep circulating chi, so you don't waste that healing pill I gave you. Stay here. I'll bring you some food." She wasn't sure if he understood her, or if he just gave up, but he laid back down with a "huff."

When she returned, food-in-hand, the puppy was dutifully cultivating. She interrupted him so he could eat the spirit food, then he went straight back to cultivating. That was a good sign. He would be easy to train.

The next morning came, and she saw the puppy sitting up to stare at her from the floor. He was a fluffy dog, with black and white fur, and he was large for a puppy. Given his proportions he was definitely a puppy. She got ready, and left for training. Koa followed her, and peed on Linda's door on the way out. She scratched his head for that. "You're really clever, aren't you?" She said.

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At the training hall, she had him sit out of the way during the lesson, but Senior Hall had other ideas. "You will train, too! There is no resting in my training hall! Get in line!" Ava watched as Koa walked over to sit next to her. Had he really understood the Senior? Perhaps she was certain he was only a low grade spirit beast. Smarter than a mortal animal, but he shouldn't have human intelligence.

The Senior resumed their training, and while Koa didn't imitate their stances exactly, he managed to adapt a four legged version which seemed to accomplish the same goal. The purpose of the stances was to direct chi through the body during a specific set of movements. A defined group of stances was a form, which allowed cultivators perform superhuman feats, when performed correctly.

Some of the other children were distracted by Koa, but their giggles were quickly stifled with a "thwack" of the Senior's stick. Ava smiled slightly, and not for the first time, she wondered if the Senior might also be a spy for the Demonic Desert Cult.

After dinner that night, she showed him the stances for the first form. It wouldn't do any good to start from the second form without knowing the first. He quickly adapted his own version and started practicing it while she cultivated. After a few hours, they went to bed, and she decided she would need to find a book about training spirit beasts. Koa was smarter than she thought he should be. If she were going to train him, she would have to understand him.

The next day at breakfast, Kyle and Sam handed her a book. "It's about training spirit animals," Kyle said. "We thought it would help with Koa," Sam said. They were finishing each other's sentences. That had to be twin cultivation. They hadn't become annoying yet, so she would hold off on killing them, but she wondered why they were giving her the book.

Perhaps it was trap, or maybe they just wanted her to owe them a favor. She wasn't sure what sort of favor it might be, but she didn't like owing favors at all. She needed the book, though, so she accepted it. Well, a favor could only be returned as long as both parties remembered it. They might forget eventually.

Reading through the book that night she found a picture that looked like Koa. A Northern Malamute, huh? It said "Malamutes are a commonly used spirit beast for beginner beast tamers, due to their high intelligence, and the ease with which they are able to cultivate. They will often self-tame, making it possible for a beginner tamer to learn how to make a spirit pact without much risk of death or disability."

"A spirit pact?" She asked the air. Koa said "awoo" back. She found the section on spirit pacts. "So I need to send my chi into you, and find your beast core. There, I can leave my mark. What does it mean by mark?" Koa said "awoowoo aroo" and rolled onto his back so she could scratch his belly. He wagged his tail.

She tried sending some chi into the puppy, and found that his chi pathways were easy to navigate. She thought it would be more challenging. Then she realized what it was. Her chi was moving around his chi like oil around water, but clinging to it like a magnet to iron. Northern Malamutes must naturally have an affinity for warm yang energy to fend off the cold climate in the North. Did this puppy have a pure yang constitution? That would explain why it was so easy for her to move her chi toward his beast core. She encountered no resistance, and entered the beast core, where she discovered he had a spirit root. Her chi was sucked into it, and she immediately threw up.

"That was too much..." she grumbled. The experience had been overwhelming, but she thought she might have formed a spirit pact with Koa. She didn't know how to tell for sure though. She felt like she had a much better understanding of the dog. She had seen through his eyes for a moment, and it was strange, because some of the dog's senses were alien, but it was like she was him, and he was her.

She wasn't sure what to make of this situation, but she would find a way to find out. After all, she was no fool.