Edel looked between her friend and the humans, trying to understand what he was thinking about. When he lifted his paw to stop her she thought he wanted the kill, which she didn't mind as he had as much role in defeating them as she did. When he let them retreat, her head got stuck on a loop.
Following behind him, she looked at the adventurers in annoyance and confusion. If she'd been any weaker she'd have died the moment the warrior attacked her from behind. Thankfully her friend took care of that human. She didn't even know how he did it, but she felt proud nonetheless.
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The two adventurers sure talked a lot. Which Kiel wouldn't mind that much if he could understand them! Still, they came to an understanding a few minutes later and started looking at a written map.
He remembered his father struggling with one of these and canceling their vacation after getting lost in the highway for a few hours. Fun times.
Finally they came to a decision and walked with purpose. They did look behind them every couple of seconds, but that was easily explained by their entourage... him and Edel that was.
He decided not to hide his intentions, as much as they understood them, and followed directly behind them, Edel following along.
After a while they got tired of looking behind their backs every half a second and just accepted that was how their journey was going to be. They didn't seem too worried about leading two monsters where their settlement was which made him believe that it was well guarded.
Though he guessed that being the only reason they were alive didn't hurt. They didn't feel as well about Edel, stepping away in a hurry when she got close to them a few times, but you can't fix all the world's problems in one day.
Besides, he doubted she attacked them first. She wasn't looking to hunt anything when he left her and headed further inside the zone. They just needed some time to see how cute she really was.
He'd seen her wag her tail a few times when she was excited, when she saw him getting up for the first time after his injury on his own, and when she brought back dinner.
He now knew why humans formed such a love hate relationship with wolves and later on with their more mellow descendants, dogs. It was fine really until humans started looking at dogs like they were accessories and bred them to whatever style they wanted to own.
Thinking about that only made him angry and it wasn't like he could do anything about it now, so he switched topics. He had a better one called magic, anyway.
In order to explore his new powers, he let the ether inside of him flow to the rest of his body. That was harder to do while walking, and if he had to pay attention for any dangers he wouldn't be trying in the first place, but he had a bodyguard for a reason. He could trust Edel with his life, and he knew she wouldn't disappoint. That trust was the reason why you should value your employees.
Not that he ever had any employees, nor was he paying Edel with any sort of currency but reciprocated cuddles, but it was close enough for the analogy.
Letting the energy flow through his body, he focused on the feeling it gave him; it felt like bathing in cold water. That was of course until he kicked up the faucet and the energy gained an electrifying feeling. Neither were particularly comfortable feelings, but he much preferred the cold water.
Trying to use that energy outside his body did nothing for him, but using that energy while inside of him brought a new dimension into his abilities. Literally.
First he tried focusing the energy on specific parts of his body which turned out to be easier than he thought. He noticed a moderate increase in strength but nothing else. His claws did go easier into the ground, however, though until he tested it on a harder surface that didn't mean much.
He wasn't certain how that worked.
Letting the energy inside his body run freely he continued until every part of him was feeling cold. At that point he wasn't sure if it was the fault of the spatial ether or the weather was actually getting colder.
He let it run for a while, getting used to the cold, before focusing his intent on a single desire; moving. The very next second he saw his surroundings changing, the event happening instantaneously and barely giving him the time to comprehend what he experienced.
This wasn't the first time he teleported a short distance in space, but this one was intentional and a lot more sleek than last time. If he had to put his feelings in one word it would have to be 'ecstatic'. He felt like one of the superheroes he sometimes read about in comics.
It took a lot of concentration to use it, but if he got good with it he would be nigh unstoppable in fights. Not to mention travel distances would be a thing of the past!
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And who knew what more spatial affinity could manage! He already had a skill called Spatial Rend, what was to stop him from getting a spatial storage one? If he was being honest, he would take magic over having a phone and an internet connection any day of the week.
He wasn't addicted to his phone, but not every moment was full of excitement and wonder. He sometimes missed the easy access to information and entertainment everyone had accessible on a whim. Now? Now if he ever got bored of teleporting around something had gone very wrong.
Best of all, he got a new skill the third time he managed to teleport successfully, called Spatial Shift. It started at level one but he would be damned if it wasn't level ten by the end of the week.
And of course he did all of that while following behind the two humans. They stopped getting surprised after the fifth time they passed him by only to find him reappear from a bush further ahead.
A teleporting cat couldn't be that weird in this day and age now, could it?
He was starting to get low on ether, but even then it was hard to force himself to stop teleporting.
Eventually he had to let his ether recover, much to the chagrin of the two adventurers. He was surprised by the mood of the two; having lost a friend in an accident he expected them to be more morose and down, but they seemed to be taking things in stride, pun intended.
They were strong people, perhaps not physically, but mentally. He tried to put himself in their shoes and how he would feel if Edel died at the hands of some monster or human. The thought alone brought such a feeling of hatred and bloodlust from him, his ether was released involuntarily from his body in response.
Both Edel and the humans jumped in surprise, looking back at him. Edel went back to normal, but the two adventurers started looking behind their backs again, which was both funny and annoying, though entirely his fault.
Alas they weren't meant to have an entirely peaceful journey through the forest. He didn't know if there were simply more goblin camps in the forest or if they multiplied that quickly, but they couldn't be the only ones that managed to kill attacking goblins. Especially with how aggressive they were.
Even so, the three goblins in front of them hinted at something going on.
The goblins charged the second they spotted the two adventurers. Edel didn't seem inclined to help, so before they could reach the duo, he ran in front of them.
He regretted spending most of his ether now, though if he was being honest he wouldn't have had a chance to use it. Teleporting took some time to get ready and a lot of focus, both of which were in short supply when he was being attacked.
Still, he was plenty fast to deal with the likes of goblins, maybe with the exception of an experienced warrior, but aside from the one that almost sent him to the afterlife, he hadn't seen any other ones.
He reached the first goblin long before it reached them.
Taking on the leftmost goblin, he jumped at its head. It responded by putting its hands forward in an attempt to defend but all it managed to do was delay him for a few more seconds and gain three deep gashes on its arms. Still those seconds were enough for the goblin next to it to try and catch him.
That might have worked... if he was still the weak kitten he had been when he first opened his eyes in this world. Instead he jumped down from the flailing goblin and ran towards the screaming one. Honestly, both were screaming, one in pain and the other two in rage. They would join their other friend in pitch soon enough though.
For the oncoming goblin, he attacked what was in front of him; its legs. Honestly he had no idea how his claws cut so well, but he was glad they did. This time the cut was enough to down the goblin in such a way it wouldn't be getting back up in any near future. He doubted cut bones healed just as well as broken ones. Then again, he wasn't a doctor, so what did he know?
He got ready to deal with the third goblin when a fire bolt blew its head to another dimension. The archer was only a second behind dealing with the two injured goblins with scary precision, throwing a knife at the flailing one and cutting the throat of the other with a spare knife she pulled out from her boots.
Well... now he might be the one looking behind his back. Thankfully he was a cat and they couldn't see his jaw hanging open from their point of view.
The rest of the trip passed in quiet, most of the dangerous animals they encountered choosing to not engage. It was fairly reminiscent of how wild animals acted back on Earth. They chose their prey very carefully, not targeting any random animals and were wary of large groups. That, of course, didn't go for all predators and the goblins were similar in that manner.
Well, similar so long as you took a rabid chihuahua and crossbred it with a starving crocodile.
The trip lasted about three hours with a few stops to rest in between. In the meantime he raised his new skill to level two and had gotten a lot closer with the two adventurers. At least they didn't hesitate to pet him when he sat next to them.
It wasn't as annoying as he expected it to be, but he could see why some cats loved it and others hated it. As for himself, he disliked it less and less as time passed.
After their third stop even Edel started sitting closer to the group, though it was clear she didn't let her guard down next to them.
When they met the first other adventurer on their way, the two women looked anxiously at the two of them. From this point on they would meet other adventurers more often, and he didn't need more hints as to why it would be a bad idea to continue.
He also didn't need any more directions as to where the exit to the forest was. As an added bonus, this one came with civilization. Judging this to be a good enough point, he walked away from the two of them, meowing at Edel to grab her attention.
It was time to return. He wasn't planning on living his entire life inside the forest, but they weren't close to being finished with the pests of the forest. He would have it on his conscience if he let them roam freely like that, and killing them didn't burden him like killing another animal to level up would, so there was that.
The two adventurers stopped a few meters away, looking hesitantly at the two of them. Then the mage ran back towards him, knelt down and hugged him like she wanted to squeeze the life out of him.
His complaints fell on deaf ears and even Edel didn't seem too bothered by what was happening to him! The traitor... she got too close to them, he should have seen it coming.
The girl released him a few seconds later, joining her companion and vanishing in the trees.
He felt a little numb after they left, although he couldn't understand why. Edel licked his face off, startling him awake. Right, they had a lot of walking to do before they returned home.