It was pitch black in here, but not for long. My eyes adjusted more quickly than most. Even then, I didn’t need to see to know exactly what I was feeling: nothing but blankets and body heat.
I felt like a pillowcase heaped up and dropped on Reed’s shins, eminently lazy and totally comfortable. She’d shifted in the night and so had I. I’d woken up once before—maybe kicked awake, who knows—and drifted off again just as fast.
Weird as the thought was, I had to think it: I’ve made it.
I’d reached the summit of the household, fulfilled the long-or-not-so-long journey up to Reed’s inner sanctum. She had accepted me—as she always did, but as I always feared deep down that she wouldn’t.
And this was it, baby! The great culmination!! The drowsy aftermath of a late evening we’d spent musing about all the ways my cabinmates could spend approximately ten thousand gold pieces. The prelude, I hoped, to many more nights with a similar climax considered appropriate for a girl and a cat.
There was nothing else the readers wondered if Reed and I would do. Nothing else whatsoever. Especially not in a bed…those were for sleeping.
Alright, I did have to admit I had a sense that something more was to come. For me, that meant deeper conversations—instead of a glimpse into her likes and dislikes, a vista of her world. Going into the towns that studded the landscape, not just seeing them.
Speaking of seeing, the whole room was visible to me now. The slightest edge of light was coming around the edge of the curtain, painting the room in grays.
It was tantalizing. It made me impatient. Should I apologize to Reed’s sleeping form? Was it impolite to get up before her, even if you managed to keep from shaking them awake?
Well, I had no idea about the first question, and as for the second, I was pretty deft. I stood up and immediately pressed on her ankle.
A murmur sent a current of dread through me. Ugh…okay, that hadn’t woken her all the way up, but I did not like how close that came.
I stepped away, much more careful to step on clumps of blanket instead. Unfortunately, just shifting my weight elsewhere on the bed made the whole thing lean. At least Reed didn’t mumble anymore. Then I jumped to the floor, and from floor to desk, taking care not to bump into any art supplies. If that cup of pencils and brushes had fallen to the floor…ooooogh.
A gentle paw swept the curtain aside, just enough so I could see out.
I could jump from here, couldn’t I?
That’d be amazing! Had I even jumped from this high up before?! And if it was too bone-rattling, I could always Guard on my way do—
No. I couldn’t do that. I had to uphold the sanctity of Reed’s sleep. So I let the curtain go, and turned back, my gaze lingering on Reed’s face for a moment. Then I headed for the door.
It was closed…which meant I would need to Morph. Ah, that was fine. The transformation wasn’t too loud.
POOF.
Never mind. It turned out it sounded like firecrackers in a place as silent as this.
“Mnneeeh!” Reed writhed and whinnied.
Honestly, I couldn’t tell if she was awake or not! I preferred to imagine “not.” After twisting the doorknob, I opened and shut that thing as quickly as possible.
Because although I was thrilled to spent more time with Reed, I was so so anxious to train. And I was more than ready to get to the next-next day!
***
How long had it been since I last bothered with knocking ants and beetles off of trees? A month-ish, I guessed. (My perception of time felt mutilated.) But I was back again, studying a tree with a purpose.
See, one of the incidental things Reed and I discussed last night were weapon possibilities, in a bit more detail than before. A big sword of magically conductive, heat-favoring material for her, and for me, wrist blades! Or foreleg blades? Not straight-out skewers, but curves like the ends of scythes. Shapes I could flow with.
So right now, I was practicing the snakey movements I would need to avoid constantly stabbing myself.
Envisioning the shapes of the blades wasn’t actually that hard for me. Keeping them consistent and remembering they were there, that was the trouble. But the more time I spent adjusting to it, the better.
Oh, and likewise with the golden blade for my nekomata form and the brand-new, heavier-duty Intelligence cantrip now hanging around my neck. The fighting styles of both forms should be in peak condition, especially because I couldn’t use lots of Skills and stay Morphed.
A beetle squirmed out of the bark.
Sh-shishh! I whipped an imaginary blade with such ferocity and velocity that my entire body spun.
Then I wandered back into position. The beetle had not moved. I had not hit it. Or even scared it. But I was focusing hard on envisioning just where my blade had been, where that cut had been…
I’d missed! I’d gotten overexcited.
What would a Chora do in this situation? Work to stay calm, calmly focused on the target. Theoretically, it was easy to hit my mark.
I pushed away the conscious thought of you better hit your mark and went for it. With a more controlled movement this time.
My body still whipped like a live wire. I turned my head to find the image of a gash pulsing in my vision, hovering right through that beetle.
Yay! For their role in my practice session, the beetle would be rewarded with destruction.
Chewing on it reminded me that some things should stay in the past.
EXP: 11% (506/4650)
Likewise, my EXP reminded me that maybe theoretical moves training was not half as effective as beating up random people.
But you know what? Speak of the devil and assorted kind young people arrive. The front door opened, meaning others were waking up, preparing to join in.
***
As it turned out, Reed, Bayce, and Heidschi alike were fairly anxious to learn about each other’s moves, and/or beat the crap out of each other.
Reed kept advising us all to eat, but she wasn’t fooling anyone. She herself was eating light, pecking muesli out of a bag.
The moment I saw her take it out, I gave her a look. “Mrrah?”
“Oh,” she said. “This is muesli. It combines grain, nuts, and fruit in a way that will sustain humans for…wait, but you already…”
The spirit board plopped onto the ground. “NOT MUCH FOOD!”
She sighed and smiled like she’d been caught. “We’ll have a bigger lunch. Besides, I heard that if you exercise after eating, you’ll get cramps.”
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“WHO SAID THAT? I EAT BEFORE RUNNING AND FEEL OK”
“Sure,” Bayce threw in, her back to us as she sifted through her Spell library for the day, “but do you even remember what you ate yesterday?”
I thought back. We’d had greens…tea, or was that the day before…I might’ve had the last of a marmot, or was that three days ago…
Augh, I had to stop falling for these gotchas. I flailed my head around and said, “HOW DOES THAT DISPROVE MY POINT!”
Bayce turned and grinned. “Don’t worry, I’m just implying you’re an unreliable observer not to be trusted.”
“FOR THAT,” I said, feeling wily, “ILL ABSOLUTELY MURDER YOU IN TRAINING TODAY”
She dropped everything, pretty literally. Dust was all in that sack of Spells now. A fire had swept through her eyes. “Yes!” she cried. “Bring it!”
…Wait, now? Maybe Bayce should’ve been the wind or lightning person among us.
Reed backed away, and Heidschi joined her, followed by a few calm and curious sheep. The shepherd was giggling, but Reed was still cautious. Meanwhile, Bayce had already flung out that wand I’d seen her use in the castle dungeon.
“Uh, what are your terms of engagement?” Reed called out. She was a mere ten paces away, but it felt so far.
As for the question…I was still wrapping my head around the whole thing. But I made a snap decision. I Morphed so a human hand could hold up the spirit board to all spectators. “I USE NO SKILLS. BAYCE USES ONE SPELL. FIRST TO HIT OTHERS…CHEST WINS”
“What the—how did you even come up with that?!” Bayce cried.
“SEEMS LOGICAL TO ME! WE DONT WANNA WASTE TOO MANY SPELLS. UR WAND CAN CAST ONE SPELL A LOT”
Bayce snorted. “Okay, but why the rest of it?”
“CHEST IS VITALS.” Plus, it was a little easier to keep from mortally wounding someone if you went for their torso instead of, say, their neck, spine, or broader concussion zone. And besides all that, I sensed that even if she did hurt me grievously, I could take it. Maybe Bayce could take a hit too. I wouldn’t even be clawing close to her heart. There was so much flesh in the way.
“Right, right. I see this as revenge for the time I Attraction Spell’d you directly into my cleavage.”
As uncomfortable as that moment had been, it did show me her defensive powers.
On the sidelines, Reed had taken out her pompoms, plus an extra set for Heidschi. What was she doing with those things on such easy access? Well, I guessed Vencians probably had acres upon acres of Inventory space. …Ah, it looked like she was teaching Heidschi cheers, too. Man, she put a lot of effort into this.
I’d do the same! This was my first real competition against Bayce! The first one sans cheating…I hoped!
As I returned to cat form, Bayce unveiled a Spell and smacked it against the tip of her wand. It twinkled in a strange way, one not obviously like any Spell I knew, but I remembered the smell of it…
The match was on, and two cheerful voices roared, “Go everyone!”
She was flinging ice! The instant Reed and Heidschi cried out, a mere flick of the wand launched a dagger my way. A veritable ice bus stabbed into the earth. I jumped clear over it, but dang, that move was monstrous.
Her fireballs hadn’t looked like that!
I decided not to speed ahead, not to just catapult myself into her. It was only fair. Well, maybe it was more than fair, considering what she could throw at me, but we’d see about that! Instead, I stayed cautious and watched her wand.
It spiraled through the air, almost relaxed, and spawned loops and loops of ice bullets.
The hail seemed to hang motionless for a moment before barreling toward me. A few—like curveballs—arced out of the paths I expected. Even with me dancing and hurrying through the gaps, I couldn’t avoid them. Because sometimes there weren’t any gaps.
Crystals formed on my sides and back. I felt the cold eating into me, numbing my skin.
Little hits could wear you down. Obviously that was Bayce’s game here. Several bullets had aimed for my feet, no doubt trying to freeze me in place, but my feet, at least, had been agile.
And they still were! She wasn’t letting up. In fact, she laughed as she continued painting spirals in the air. Okay, that had to be wearing out her wand or something. What else would explain the sheer bullet volume?
Not only that, but she was starting to fire frost needles, and while I doubted those would end me, the idea of them digging deep into my skin was super uncomfortable.
Tempted to use a Leap, I instead jumped—straight upward, hoping to clear every single thing coming at me. I jumped, and a lot of the bullets crashed artlessly to the ground. But just as many of them chased me! Not only that, but because they’d already traveled a little ways behind me, when they re-targeted, they aimed for the closest things to them. Meaning they sailed straight into my legs and back, preserving my chest!
Hold on, that wasn’t a victory.
“Mah,” I groaned as I ended up back on my feet. The ice was really getting annoying, starting to stiffen my movements.
HP 94% (826/883) SP 99% (850/855)
Again, it wasn’t about the damage. It was about my one weak point—and getting to Bayce’s before she could get mine.
She must’ve seen the determination in my face, because she took a step back and started to hold her wand steady for a change. A chunk of ice was forming, spreading out from the tip. She was…
Not getting a chance to form a shield on my watch! Almost without thinking, I charged ahead, head down. Gua—I mean, don’t use any Skill at all!
Darnit! Well, now that I was running full-tilt, I guessed I was eating the damage.
C-crick-k! My skull jammed itself into the ice block, splintering it apart. Blood flecked my scalp, but the most painful part was the sheer reverberation in my brain. That’d keep scraping off HP for a while…
HP 85% (754/883)
I heard startled cries from the cheer zone.
“Holy crap,” Bayce muttered. “You didn’t have to go so hard.”
But I did, Bayce…pride’s at stake! I thought. Never mind the fact that my pride was pea-sized compared to whatever it had been, say, last month. Pride was still at stake!!
I learned, belatedly, that after ramming the shield apart, I’d landed on my back. Scrunching upright, I saw Bayce changing tack once more. Her wand arm was hoisted high in the air, her other palm toward me, like she was playing a game of keep-away. (As if her palm could stop me.) Though it was hard to see from here, I had no doubt the wand was forming yet another fun ice tool.
I simply jumped, right over her hand, arcing precisely toward her chest.
But she simply sliced. That wand’s ice was ready to attack far quicker than I had expected, and had been refined into a whole sword. No…a prickly club?!
In any case, it bashed me to the side, stabbing me in the stomach for good measure.
It wasn’t the chest, but it was terrifyingly close! Plus, its pain lingered. I couldn’t tell why at first, but as I got up again, it started dawning on me…
Those barbs in the weapon were still stabbing into me. They came off! Like burrs! How do you even fashion ice into burrs? Magic?!
Oh yeah, okay, that made se—
No! Now Bayce was charging for me with a ferocity I thought I’d only see in close combat experts!
“Raagh!” she war-cried. As she smashed the club against earth—and clipped my tail—I caught sight of two cheerleaders performing synchronized swishes. Bless them, but it didn’t raise my spirits at all.
Nonetheless, this was not only scary and painful. This was an opportunity. At no point had Bayce applied ice armor to her chest. She couldn’t perform scary attacks without bringing it close. It was right there!! And her heavy-looking club was right not there, grounded thanks to her latest attack.
It almost felt like a shame to end it like this. This battle had been intense and thrilling at every turn. Now it was going to flare out in an instant, and because I didn’t want massacre Bayce, it would stop not on a stab, but on a poke.
In fact, I pitied her. Bayce was cool, sometimes, when she wanted to be. She shouldn’t go out so ungloriously.
The rattle of pompoms built suspense as I performed a tiny, tiny jump and reached out.
But something ticked me in the chest.
Her hand? No, because she didn’t have the reflexes and reaction time to flick them back from holding her weapon that fast—
Oh, ow! It was cold! Distracted by the pain, my paws crumpled noncommittally against Bayce’s chest just before I fell blankly off and hit the dirt back-first.
At least I gained…what…200 EXP?
EXP: 16% (767/4650)
What a nice consolation prize from someone I could have instantly pulverized if I ever wanted to.
As I lay there on the ground, I felt numb. And not because of the ice clusters—Bayce must’ve deactivated those once the match ended, because now they were pooling all around me. Bayce shot up to her feet, stretched out her arms, and whooped with joy, reveling in victory.
Ihhh.
I came to my senses and got back on my feet before anyone else could step in. The cheerleaders did show one mercy: they were raving about how well everyone did.
“How did you do that?” Heidschi asked Bayce after the cheering finale.
“The club thing had bullets inside it.”
“Oh!”
Then I heard something crumble. “Darnit, I’m gonna need a new wand…”
Meanwhile, a hand tapped my back—softly, yet not softly enough to keep from making me shiver with discomfort. That ice had melted into patches of cold, actively evaporating water. I twitched around to look Reed in the face. She asked if I was alright, and I nodded, but not without a groan.
Then again, it was good to fight crafty enemies like Bayce, and preferably often. Not every foe out there was a standard squirrel. If I was going to go up against big viney monsters—and worse—I’d need to get familiar with real, honest-to-goodness tactics.
Reed saw the fire in my eyes. “Next time?” she asked.
Nearby, Bayce was joking and gloating. Thankfully, not in my face. Yeah, I’d teach her next time.