She left the store as quickly as she came. To be honest nothing else actually happened she waited, and got handed a very high-quality durable black cloak with a hood, perfectly made to hide her ears and tail. She did not exchange any more words with either of the two tailors. However, the Old man continued to be very polite the entire way, even telling her she was welcome back at any time.
"Weirdo.." She quietly mumbled while taking a rest on one of the Villa-house's roofs. There was so much space here so she just flopped onto her back and stared at the sky. Stars were faintly twinkling in the sky and beyond the grand wall she could see the sun slowly raising, it would not raise over the wall until around midday and then only stay visible for an hour. Meaning she had plenty of darkness to find her way back home.
"Immortal.." She mumbled. The words she had been called gave her something to think about. Why did this man treat her like this? Maybe he was just stupid? Other adults would at best throw something at her and at worse kick her if they could. So this entire situation was very... weird.
Nevertheless, she had to go back home, now little more than a dark spec of shadow as she moved. The cloak was not pitch-black instead it was more like a very dark green or blue, it was far easier to slip into the darkness and go unseen with this than it would be with a pitch-black one, not that she needed it at this moment, so she made her way back to her home.
In no time at all she arrived at the roof that bordered her little spot, but she could hear a commotion from the main street all of a sudden, and then a scream, a voice she knew... Mimi? She quickly stepped forward towards the edge to see what was going on. There was a young man and a bunch of armed guards standing around him like bodyguards.
He was currently having Mimi held by two of his guards, the girl looked very distraught and not at all happy! Kou curled her nose lightly. However then something ... odd happened, Mimi tried to struggle and suddenly simply lifted the beefy guards that was holding her throwing him into his Master, with her eyes closed! Once Mimi .. still frightened clearly opened her eyes she saw... this man on top of his Master... and screamed again.
Kou remained up there slackjawed. Mimi was currently getting grabbed by 2 people but as the girl was in a fear-induced frenzy at this point both of them got flung around like ragdolls. It was unreal and the expressions of the townsfolk around were to die for. First among them was the old madam of the brothel whose golden set of dentures had fallen out at this point clicking on the ground as the frenzied Mimi was decimating anyone that tried to stop her.
What was however less funny was when the young Lord's guards pulled out spears and weapons and started to approach Mimi. Kou had half a mind to step in but then ... Mimi casually slapped one of the armed man's weapons and shattered it in her frenzy. Now that was dangerous, so in a few seconds, Kou was down there quickly grabbing Mimi her waist sash and then hopping onto a roof, holding her like a sack.
For the commoners, it looked like a black gleam had picked up the girl and vanished. Kou came to a halt on the roof when she heard murmuring.. "Immortals...Cultivators.." there was fear in the peoples' words but also greed. Again they would only see them as things.. not as people... Kou was angry, and in her anger a snowstorm was suddenly forming centering around herself, covering the entire street. Kou did not even properly notice what she did, grabbing her friend and escaping to her home.
Mimi was .. totally out of it, once Kou had grabbed her Mimi's brain had just shut off, unable to process all of the weird things that were happening, she only had grabbed Kou's arm with one of her hands. And it hurt like hell. Mimi's grasp felt like 2 massive boulders crushing down on her arms, the girl was clearly not restraining herself at all. So with a kick in the face, Mimi returned to the living "Let go already!" Kou huffed while still kicking the other, not too powerful mind you, but with enough force to leave footprints on the other's plump cheeks.
Finally being free Kou hopped away to a safe distance before turning to Mimi, the girl was confused looking around with her swollen cheeks she looked like a Hamster. "Kou? What happened? Wasn't I just in the street? I just lightly tapped that guy and then he suddenly flew off!"
Lightly tapped? Kou shook her head a few times and suppressed the shudder going down her spine, if that was only lightly tapped... what was an actual strike gonna be? "No...I ...I mean.. they...Left. I took you and.. now you can't go back." Kou struggled to explain this properly.
"Oh, you saved me? Thank youuu~" Hug... crunch. "Argh!" Kou could've avoided the hug if she wanted to but she was far too anxious right now and Mimi was no threat, right? So with the idea of quickly slipping away afterward, she wanted to allow the other the hug. However Mimi's grasp was tight, and when she tried to run she felt like she was trying to fight against an Ox.
Still, she slipped out and looked apprehensive. What now? She sat down on top of her Box while Mimi was sitting inside it. "Mimi knows.. other places to go?" The girl underneath shook her head a few times "Nope! Born and Raised right here... no idea about other places... but I agree that we gotta go... I totally can't show my face anymore! That was the young lord! The son of the city master. If they catch us we are sooo dead!"
Kou gave a faint huff before nodding that Roymont city certainly was no longer somewhere Mimi could stay as for Kou herself aside from her little home here she had very little attachment to this city - so she might as well leave with Mimi... Kou found that this idea did not feel too bad, while she had always felt a weird connection to this city making her reluctant to leave, at this point she felt it was necessary.
With her deeds, she had moved herself and Mimi on a path very different from most people, a path that would lead them into mythical and unknown paths.
4 days later.
Kou had spent the next 3 days gathering food, she was not holding back at this point anymore, simply stealing high-quality clothes and backpacks for the two of them, as well as decent rations. In turn, she left the money she had behind, it was a fair transaction.
Mimi herself had right away become accustomed to her current situation and even seemed happy. It made Kou terrified how this girl could so easily go along with things, no wonder she had worked here for so long... Still, the question was where to go. first, the hot spring was probably a good idea, she could find her friends and they could maybe move together.
But would Mimi be fine? She always lived under a roof and had a bed and such... But seeing how well she took to Kou's tiny box... she would probably be fine, no? So sitting down inside to avoid the rain they stared at Mimi slowly explaining her plan.
"We go out, have friends, big friends... can stay there for a bit.. then we find a new spot." Kou was actually proud of herself for this, and Mimi gave a bright-eyed nod "Sure! Better than anything I can come up with and aside from you I do not have any friends anyway." Mimi laughed at this but Kou felt that this was a little sad...
The next night.
Mimi was a klutz, she was so strong but she did not believe that she was capable of any of the things she could do, so instead of jumping herself which she.. could totally do! Kou had to carry her again. Not that it was very hard but it was still uncomfortable.
"Woah, you are so fast~ It feels like we are flying~ wooo~" Mimi was very excited as Kou carried her like a sack of potatoes, given the difference in size it was very hard to keep Mimi secure so her speed was not even half of what it could be.
Still it was more then enough to escape unharmed, leaving the city for the first time Mimi looked a bit lost. "You know I didn't know the city was so large... I never really went anywhere." She seemed to be in a complicated mood therefore Kou avoided saying anything dashing a good distance away from the city before discarding Mimi... by throwing her down.
"You run yourself now... Mimi will be fast.. don't worry." Kou did not feel like being Mimi's carrier or taking care of her the entire time. Being nice was fine but Mimi needed to understand her own powers now just as much as Kou does.
Giving a light grumble Mimi got up and patted down her robe before taking a deep breath. " No way I can be as fast as that..." She was still unwilling to believe in their transformation so Kou looked around... luckily they were already in the mountainous area so finding something was not very hard. A large boulder!
Pointing at it she looked to Mimi.
"Mimi come." She grabbed the other girl and dragged her over to the boulder. "Close eyes, and try to lift... use all your power, if you can't I'll carry you again, but you can't lie." Explaining so Kou took a step back from the other girl who looked very unsure.
"Eh...Lift it? Eh.." She let out a sigh "There is no way.." She grumbled, but still closed her eyes and squatted down putting her hands around the large boulder. It was about the size of an adult man, very tall but not too wide, it would probably be very heavy needing at least 4 or 5 men to lift.
Mimi looking very apprehensive was not quite sure as to why the small girl insisted that she was really strong so hard. Still she gave it her all and to her utter disbelief she easily lifted the large boulder. It felt very light to her and she lifted it over her head opening her eyes. There it was... on top of her palms, the massive boulder.
Shocked she blinked a few times to make sure she was not seeing things. Still the same. Suspicious she threw it some way away... the boulder made a large impact and shattered into many pieces. "It wasn't hallowed.. "She mumbled before looking at Kou who looked quite smugly at her.
"Kou told you. Mimi is very strong so run on her own, okay?" Mimi gave a slow nod to that. "Fine.. I'll try."
Finally, she was again free to move as she wanted, her stance was leaned forward and she would often use all four of her limbs to move around like a wild animal when she was sprinting, so having to carry Mimi was not very comfortable.
Giving a small huff kou started to run, not at her top speed but faster than normal humans could, she was going to slowly increase her speed to see how fast Mimi could go. Unsurprisingly she had no problems at all, even if her run was very messy - she seemed to be unable to control her limbs properly, and she bounced around a lot. So while running Kou would correct her posture, instructing the other girl how to properly run.
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A couple of minutes of awkward travel and she seemed to have found her stride and their tempo was now fast and comfortable, even if Kou still felt like it was rather slow. Arriving at the Hot-spring it did not take Kou a long time to find her little hut again, and next it she found the Lord of the Mountain currently relaxing in the hot spring their giant head resting on one of the rocks while the body was fully submerged.
"Arh...You return... with .. pink?" The large Tiger's eyes focused on Mimi... who froze right away with all of the color vanishing from her face. "Ah...she seems to have lost consciousness." The olrd Monkeys voice game from the side as he walked into the scene. "Li and Lu are good.. that is good..Listen.." Kou finally spoke herself glancing at her companions, in a short manner she explained what had happened to them. "So...Kou wants to leave and go somewhere else.. nice, and bring you along."
The two animals exchanged a glance, the girl wasn't very expressive but they assumed she wanted to bring them along. They had spent some short time together and both of them had already grown attached to the scruffy and quiet little girl. Apparently, it was not just one-sided affection as they were asked to come along. Moved by this realization they quickly nodded.
"Sure we will come along, nothing holds me here." The tiger said.
"I suppose in my old age I should hand the reigns to someone else." the monkey said
Kou smiled. This was just how she wanted it.
Meanwhile.
Mimi had recovered from her short blackout and much to her horror the GIANT TIGER did not disappear instead there was now a larger wild and old-looking monkey with a staff as well, and they were speaking! They were speaking with Kou! The girl showed no fear at all toward them, it was so crazy that Mimi had to rub her eyes multiple times
"Crazy, what did I get myself into?"
...
It took a little while for Mimi to return to her senses and come to terms with the situation of giant tigers and apes that can speak. However, she was Mimi after all so it took her a fraction of the time it would take your everyday normal person, so Kou was glad about Mimi's special way of dealing with the world. Not that Kou herself much different in that regard.
"We are in the Dong Province right now... which is next to the wall, it covers the northern part of the wall. Down towards the south is the Zhou Province, which covers the southern part of the wall. to the west of us are a fair few smaller provinces and then the royal capital. Beyond the capital is Immortal lands for untold distances, but I've learned that beyond the Immortal lands lies another large Empire that is separated from ours by the way of some Magical barrier, the very same that protects the wall from the Barbarians.
Lu explained idly to the 3 girls he was traveling with, the arrangement was rather simple. He Mimi and Kou were riding on the Tigers back, the creature was quite large and could traverse areas easily. While not as fast as Kou it would certainly take second place if they had a rally, followed by Mimi and at the end the Ape who was "Old and fragile" in his own words.
Still it was a comfortable ride, Kou rested on top of the Lord's head looking at the scenery while Mimi and Lu had a comfortable time riding on the broad back of the animal. All in all everyone was in comfort, even the Lord of the Mountain seemed content as she could barely feel the weight of these people. "I don't think it is a very good idea for either of us to stay in Dong or Zhou, so we should probably head towards the northwest, further into the mountains. I know that up there the weather is harsh but if we travel east further we will arrive in the flats far away from civilization in a decent time. From there we just have to find a good spot and set up, if we go south a bit we will find some villages for supplies too."
Having been part of a world-traveling troupe before he knew his stuff. Which was one of the primary reasons Kou wanted him to come too. He was wise and had smarts that she and the others did not. He could even do Math!... Terrifying.
Their primary goal was to avoid people, mostly due to Kou's aversion to people, but also because a Giant Tiger probably would not fly too well with common folk. And so they embarked on a long journey through the massive Mally Mountain Range.
...
2 Months had passed since they had set out into the mountains, things had been calm they avoided civilization as much as they could, only using some of the Money Kou had brought along to buy some more travel-fit clothes for Mimi and herself, sturdy boots pants and coats you could get even in remote mining and quarry villages after all. But they had left the area where any people would be behind for quite some time, and it was at the height of winter at this time. While Kou was fine her 3 comrades seemed to struggle the more time they spend in the mountains, the snow taking a toll on them. Of course, due to their bodies being rather tough there was no actual danger involved but they all were sick and tired of .. being cold.
Today was the day that Li snapped "I will carry you not a single step further until we have made a fire and warmed up!" The tiger rolled over and threw a tantrum like a naughty child which was quite comedic to look at. Leaving the other 3 speechless for a moment. Still, the Tiger had carried Mimi and Lu this entire time while Kou was often just running on her own. "Fine..." Kou nodded hopping onto a nearby tree to see if there was a spot for shelter nearby. They were currently high up in the mountains, surrounded by mist and snow on all sides, sparse vegetation could be found but just very few trees were hardy enough to grow up here.
After a minute or so of diligent search, Kou found a cave nearby, it was not a super deep cave but it was deep enough for them all to fit inside and not be surrounded by the elements for at least a little while, quickly tasks were delegated, Mimi who was the only one here that had any idea of cooking was put in charge of that. They had gotten a few pots and pans on the way, But the only thing they had was meat.. so .. there wasn't much of cooking going on either way. Lu was sent down to gather firewood as he was the most expert climber in their group while Kou took a sweep of the area to make sure nothing or nobody could sneak up on them.
After half an hour or so they regrouped inside the Cave, Kou had brought along a large rock to shove in front of the entrance as well, not fully sealing the area but making it less likely for them to get hit by snow and such for their rest. Just in time even as moments after they had found themselves in the cave with firewood and some meat sizzling over the fire a blizzard started to roll over the mountains making the entire mountain range unpassable for a while.
"Hu..I guess your whining saved us of finding shelter in the middle of the Blizzard good job kitty!" Lu grinned towards Li who was chewing on the leg of a deer at the moment. "Whining you say? I'd wager you would not go half the distance carrying myself and Mimi over the mountains for weeks on end you silly monkey." Li countered which made Lu laugh out loud "Certainly not.. So this is very fortuitous I'd say you are our good luck charm with your whining."
Mimi was leaning against the back wall yawning heavily while wrapped up in her coat. "Mhm, well at least we are dry and warm for a bit now.. so I am pretty happy with this."She reached over the gently pat the giant Tiger's had which got her a comfortable little growl from the animal. Mimi had no problems bonding with both of the creatures over their travel with her cheerful and bright attitude she quickly became fast friends with them.
Kou on the other hand remained stoic and quiet, walking on her own and hunting food for them to eat, she would also continue her breathing training every day whenever she could. The Golden energy had formed a small little bead inside of her that now floated in empty space and while she used the breathing technique it once more filled up the darkness very slowly.
"Oh that little bean? I got 3 of them!" Mimi had said which left Kou flabbergasted, how was Mimi so good at this?! She had already gone through the entire process 3 times? Meanwhile, Kou barely managed a single bead. Letting out a faint sigh she had chosen to try to not compare herself with Mimi in the future. She might be faster but Kou was confident that she could beat Mimi in a fight if it came to it... which softened the blow on her small ego a little.
Of course, she felt happy that her friend was growing so well and over the travel without the distance from before between them Kou and Mimi had deepened their friendship, with Mimi taking on the role of a somewhat airheaded big-sister to the young Kou. Kou found herself enjoying this intimate way of treating each other behind her stoic facade.
"Kou~ Aaaaaah~" Mimi found it very entertaining to feed the other offering her a piece of skewered meat on a stick which Kou snatched in an instant making the other giggle in happiness. Munch Munch..."Wonder.. how long the snow will last? Hopefully not too long..." Kou said while munching away, she certainly did not want to stay in this cave for too long. "I don't know probably a little while?" Lu looked outside through the crack "I can barely see anything except white out there..." Indeed the snow was very thick and there was a white mist out there that seemed to stick to the mountain no matter how much wind was there.
"Mhm...I don't care how long! I want at least 2 days of rest!" Li ordered before reaching over to curl around Mimi and Kou at the same time surrounding them in the soft Tiger fur while Lu was surrounded by the creature's tail only.. to keep him warm, making the Monkey-king scoff in amusement. "After a good meal we should sleep, we can be heroes breaching the storm another day..." Li grumbled as she closed her eyes.
Kou agreed to that. Rest was important and while she found the snow and storm rather calming she understood that she was special at this, however.. she only held still for about half an hour before one could hear a moaning from her as she wiggled her way out of the Li/Mimi hug back to freedom. Shaking her head a little she could not understand how these two liked skin-ship so much. It felt nice but after a while, it was rather draining to her and she much preferred having somewhat of a distance between herself and others.
Shaking herself for a little bit she stepped towards the entrance, slipping through the crack and entering the storm. The howling wind was loud and there was snow and ice everywhere, massive shadowy figures of snow were forming around them in the darkness. However, this harrowing scene brought nothing but serenity to Kou's mind as she sat down cross-legged on the entrance rock and started to do her breathing.
"What is this?" She was astounded as she felt energy fill her at a pace that she had not felt before, before her she could feel the snowstorm brimming with energy, the energy that was very compatible with her filling her body with every breath, and her body rejoiced with each breath she took. Until now while her body always felt good when she did the breathing technique she had not felt euphoria comparable to this, her body greedily took in the energy filling the empty void inside of her at a rapid pace.
Kou smiled a truly genuine and happy smile that none had seen, her ears were tilted down in pure relaxation as she took deep and controlled breaths, to her it almost felt like the snow was caressing her, soft and icy fingers gently combing through her hair and she felt at peace for a time.
It was not until the storm had quieted down around midnight that Kou returned to the cave, she saw her friends huddled together snoring away making her smile again as she threw some more sticks into the dimming fire to give it more strength. Her eyes wandered around as she felt not very tired, this session in the blizzard had felt very special to her, and in the time outside she had managed to form an entire second golden bead inside of her next to the one she already had.
"Maybe I should head north into the icelands..." She mumbled quietly, she understood that her body was especially connected to the cold, still, she did not think her friends would much enjoy that. At that point while she was musing about her future she suddenly noticed something in this cave, she felt a faint energy at the back of the wall, she had not before but now she felt much more sensitive to such things, placing her hand on the wall and closing her eyes.
She felt a faint flickering of energy behind the wall, and after a moment of trial and error, she managed to direct some energy from her golden beads to the energy in the wall, and suddenly the entire cave shook waking up some of her friends.
"Gnah! What is happening Are we getting attacked?!" Li growled and got up right away.
"Just five more minutes Mistress.. please..." Mimi mumbled still asleep.
Meanwhile, Lu was passed out and snored loudly the old monkey not even reacting to the loud noise.
Kou stood still her hands raised in defense but the wall just slid to the side showing a carved staircase leading further into the mountains, small crystals were embedded into the stairs illuminating the staircase. Kou exchanged a look with Li and Li gave a very slow nod and left the other two behind Kou and the tiger stepped into the pathway to figure out what was beyond.