Stevenson

We are going to stay in the forest for a while, a while that Adron called short but I know how different our definition of short can be. He said this place is best for training without catching someone's attention, which he thought would be worrisome as of now knowing how weak we were, and that I could get hands on combat training here easily, can't doubt that there are lots of beasts around.

Anyways, it is the first day of my training today and the agenda for today is:

"So?" I could talk telepathically with Adron but it's been about a week since I last saw my family, any other human for that matter, so I felt good when I actually uttered the words. It made me feel more human like.

[For physical training you'll hunt those annoying flying squirrels.]

[Hunt a glider? How in the world does one hunt-]

[Do it.] He simply cut me off, I could sense the lack of emotions from my partner. At first I just thought he was pissed by them as they flew left and right, squealing, as we walked deeper in the forest but his tone suggested he was actually serious. Guess it has to be done then. He kind of severed our connection after that, probably his way of telling he wasn't going to help in the slightest.

Finding the glider wasn't much of a problem, these things were everywhere so I thought catching one won’t be a problem.

Thought.

After an hour or so, I realized why their pelts were so expensive, these things just don't stay still! And their senses were very strong. Though they didn't seem to be worried about flying right in front of my face, they immediately created a distance the moment I so much as flicked my hand. Didn't take me long to figure out why Adron asked me to hunt these which of course I'll pretend I knew all along.

Another hour passed and I still didn't have the slightest idea how am I going to catch one of these or how these things were so quick to act. These gliders were beasts that resembled squirrels, muscular hind legs, furry tail and sharp teeth, except that they had bat-like wing membranes which emerged from their flanks and were attached to their front limbs. They were too quick for me to catch up to but what pissed me most was the way they squealed as if mocking me while roosting upside down on trees nearby.

Dang it! What's with these things? I even tried hiding on tree branches and pounced on one when it was nibbling a fruit but it was gone even before I could focus my eyes towards it's location. Before I could so much as graze a glider, five hours passed. I was infuriated, I wanted to continue but my body said otherwise.

Adron Athav

I guess the five hours I had decided on were much less, the kid could handle more. But that's something for later what I need to do right now is:

[You don't need me to remind that you are a fool right?]

"Ye..yeah" He huffed. He seemed genuinely annoyed by his failure but he still was a fool no less, there was something I wanted him to notice which he normally would have if he weren't thinking that I asked him to hunt these on just a whim.

[Sit down kid, that tree seems fine.] I said softly, I wasn't angry at the boy and I knew he was sad but I wanted him to understand, to start using his brain. I understand how he would think of me as a whimsical maniac but I wanted him to know that getting him stronger is one of the things I am dead serious about.

The boy teetered to the tree as his legs were cramped and landed gently, his back supported by the tree, and said "I am sorry. Earlier, I just didn't take you seriously."

[I know and well I don't care.] I said apathetically but I have taken a mental note to make this brat revere me soon. [Now answer this: Whom do you think these "gliders", as you call them, originate from?]

"How does that mat-"

[You know it or not?]

"No I don't. I don't know who does gliders, howlers or any beast race originate for that matter."

[Now these beasts, they were once just normal animals. I don't know about the howlers since I haven't seen one but these Gliders originated from the squirrels you have in your world.]

The boy's jaw slackened and eyes went wide but after a few moments he was again skeptical, probably thinking how someone as arrogant as me, who don't get full of praising himself, was so confidently telling him something he never imagined but then his expression got more calm, more collected. Seems like he has started to get what I exactly am.

"But then what about the wings? How do you explain the differences?" He said.

[Look, I don't know how many, if any, people know it but the Beo Noctis thing you talked about doesn't only affect humans.] His mouth snapped open but closed again just as soon, calm and quiet he rolled his eyes as if trying to find me somewhere in his view. [I am actually amazed why you haven't thought about it? Why do you think a higher power will choose only you humans? Apparently the power behind this fortuna asteroid, it's bigger than you, you all. And to it, all of you are lessers without exception. It won't bother selecting worthy among you, which clearly you humans are not, so the beasts are just as likely affected as your so called blests.]

His eyes went dull contrary to the genuine curiosity I had imagined, probably he was thinking right now how even these beasts were deemed more worthy by the skies than him but I didn’t care. It's something he should know, knowledge is power as they say.

[Which brings me to- Why do you think the gliders were given the ability to fly?]

Stevenson

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I didn't want to hear him. His words, if true, which I somehow knew they were, meant that I was abandoned by the world itself. Fortuna recognized even these little beasts, gliders and yet it didn't acknowledge me…

[Answer me brat!] Adron chided loudly.

"I don't know" I mumbled. I know he wanted me to think but hearing what he said, I couldn't bring myself to focus on anything except my pathetic life. "How would I know what a squirrel may have desired?"

[You fool! That's what I want you to realize.] Adron barked even louder than before, I could feel his anger through our link. He wanted me to infer something important but I really didn't understand why gliders were given powers.

[This blessing thing, it's more of a survival advantage than a wish granted to the worthy as you think... in case of less intelligent beings at least.] He said.

Survival Advantage? I sat dumbfounded, eyes widened. All of a sudden his words made sense. These glider's ability to fly was the only reason why I couldn't catch them,thus, the only reason why they were alive. I was amazed but then felt truly dumb as I had never even imagined it as a possibility. Beo Noctis was something ethereal, beyond logic for me. I never thought about it rationally because of the prejudices, solidified in me by the world, that true desire and only true desire can make you shine for the sky to notice.

[So? Under what circumstances do you think a squirrel may have been given the ability to fly?] He asked, genuinely excited this time like a teacher, sparking my curiosity. Now that I think about it, it must have been…

"When it was getting preyed upon by another beast!" I said fervently as if I had just made a huge discovery, which it was, but it was Adron who did the actual discovery. Wings to gliders, long claws to howlers, it all made sense. These were all things that increased their chances of survival tremendously. Powers were granted impartially to all beings on Earth! But then there's something strange about it, if the Beo Noctis impartially affects all life forms then…

[Correct. Now, anything else you inferred yet?] He asked expectantly.

"But it doesn't make sense." I said.

[Neither does my being inside your body, to your nut sized brain. Be rational.] He rebuked. After looking at my blank face for a while, he continued. [What do you make of the fact that these animals can pass their powers onto their next generation but humans can't?]

I stayed silent having understood what he was getting at.

[Don't ignore me brat!] His roar snapped me back. I was somehow reminded of his true form I saw, which he mentioned was a severely weakened one, and suddenly felt forced to answer.

"Because the powers... aren't crucial for our survival unlike the beasts?" I stuttered.

[Yeah. So, you get it now?] He said. Though his tone was impassive, I knew he was trying to help me. [You are too hung up about not being a blest. You are not one because you don't need to be one. Same goes for all other "unblests". You all can have lives even without any special strengths which is what makes you a little more intelligent than these beasts, for whom strength means life.]

Adron Athav

Ahh, this brat! How can he be so foolish to be in a state of denial even when I laid out the facts up front. Well, I guess it is something he has been wanting since his childhood but then again, I don't have time for his pity party.

There's even more that he should know. He was technically blind in the last five hours, not even paying attention to his surroundings, this brat really thinks of becoming a warrior?

Rejoice kid, yours truly is by your side to lift you above these lessers. I wish I could think that way, it'd have been way easier training this fool.

[Hey also-]

"Why were they not flying away from Argen?!"

So he noticed huh? But there's no point if you figure out the enemy's weakness after you have been stabbed through. The phoenix had satiated itself with a few plump ones among these squirrels without so much as squeal from them while the boy stomped around for the past five hours.

[Think kid, think.] I said.

I was again annoyed seeing the boy mulling over fruitlessly. When he first gave me an idea of human life span, I was worried he'd die too soon for me to find a way to get back but now I am worried how will I bear him for that long... How convenient it would have been if he had an angel's brain.

[Listen. I won't repeat it again. Look at that phoenix. what do you see?] I asked.

"A cheeky winged lizard." He groused.

He was probably jealous of the bird since it leisurely ate it's spoils while the kid was starved and frustrated over his incompetence. It's because of this kid's feeble body that I too am feeling "hungry". To think even I would succumb to the flaws of these bugs, pathetic. What added to my anger was this boy's sheer stupidity.

[What you feel from it, the phoenix, is a desire to cherish it, it makes you want to protect it. You know why that is?] I asked, making the boy curious.

His eyes widened as if my words saw through him. Sure the boy thought this little phoenix was impudent and smug but he didn't feel anything malicious towards the bird since we first met. He often caressed the phoenix's feathers which perched on his shoulder and jabbed his cheek.

"Is it because of your holy auras? Because you both are connected to heavens, the beasts are forced to submit to your will?" He said.

This brat really frets a lot about what he doesn't have. He's too focused on our differences, which can never change, to observe the reality of things. It's not like just being from heaven will make all entities submit so much so, as to give up their life thoughtlessly, though it may be true in my case but not for the bird at least.

[No kid. You see, the bird, it doesn't have any ill intent towards the squirrels. It simply killed them because it had to in order to survive, to eat but it didn't kill them out of annoyance or hate.] I said. Darn everyday I am sounding more like that old coot One.

The kid was confused. Still not catching up!? But then there was a little hint of understanding in his mind, at least he isn't as dumb as the cattle they rear.

[Kid, I have killed countless demons and sometimes angels too. I have fought in wars, many times leveling the whole battlefields. But know this, never once have I killed a being out of rage, frustration or malice. I just did what I had to.] I explained in an authoritative tone, acknowledging the seriousness of the situation.

The kid swallowed a lump in his parched throat as he was starting to comprehend the scale of my words.

[The beasts didn't resist the bird because they felt safe with it. Even when the phoenix fed on one of their kind, they still felt this sense of familiarity. All this time, you were annoyed at these beasts for not being able to catch them, you were furious but you forgot the very reason why you were doing this or better put, you didn't bother finding it out.] I sighed (if that could be counted as one).

The reason for asking him to catch these squirrels was to make him learn something even the most primal predators have, control over their thoughts.

[They didn't deserve to die, just because their abilities were an inconvenience to someone, and they didn't. This is the very survival advantage they were blessed with, to put it on your terms. Had you acted without any ill will, you may very well have caught them. Control your emotions Stevenson.]