With a grumble I finished pouring a bit of water from the pitcher into the bowl on the nightstand, grabbed a cloth from the side, soaked it, squeezed most of the liquid out, and carefully wiped the now damp cloth across my face to banish the vestiges of sleep that lingered on.

When I was done, I left the cloth spread out to one side and turned to my luggage for the appropriate change of clothes.

As if sensing the call of a siren my eyes slid to the side to catch a glimpse of the bed I had been occupying moments before and I felt the longing to dive into its sheets and sleep for a few more hours, at least.

I shook my head to clear it of the urge and focus on what I had to do this morning.

I let out a sigh of annoyance as I changed into clothes more suitable for going out.

All in all, last night ended better than I had hoped.

Ria was a very effusive woman. From the moment I'd stepped into her house and sat down at the table she'd done everything she could to make sure I was comfortable; and satisfied, I can't forget that— Mistress of the Sessions, I don't remember being so stuffed with food since I was a small child.

Just the thought of the gazpacho soup we had for supper made my appetite whet again despite last night's feast.

After dinner, the couple led me to a guest room where my belongings were already settled in a corner and after wishing me good night and with my stomach overflowing, I had no choice but to get ready and go to bed.

It was lying in a peaceful place where all the exertion of the day's journey and the mental stress of chatting with Andre finally took its toll in the form of exhaustion and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

Only to find my sleep cut short in fits and starts throughout the night!

Breathing out another sigh I tugged at the bandages I had wrapped around my feet and hands to see that they were neither too tight nor too loose, moving each finger and joint to see that my mobility was not affected or that my blood was being cut off before I hopped in place and nodded satisfied to myself.

I then left the room and set off towards the main entrance of the cabin.

"Going somewhere, sweetheart?" I heard from my side as I was walking past a doorway and turning around, I saw that Ria was in some sort of pantry and moving several jars from the shelves to a box in the middle.

"Good morning, ma'am. I was going to—" I started to reply but was cut off by her.

"Tut-tut. What did I say about calling me ma'am?" said Ria with a look of mild reproach that made me feel bad.

"Ah, uh, Aunty Ria..." I said with an uncertain tone, to which she smiled radiantly and nodded.

"That's more like it. So, you were saying?" Ria asked and kept moving jars around while keeping a watchful eye and ear on me.

"Uh, nothing. Just that I was going to go outside and get some exercise." I replied.

Ria turned her head in my direction. "At this time in the morning?" And gave me an up and down look. "And so lightly dressed?" She finished with a raised eyebrow in a disapproving tone that reminded me of my mother when she thought I was being silly.

Ignoring the pang of nostalgia in my chest I put my fists on my waist and sent her my best winning smile.

"That's the good thing about having my own coat, the cold bothers me a lot less than the rest! This is more than enough for me to be outside." I declared pointing to my shirt and short trousers.

"Mm. If you say so." Ria replied still in a doubtful tone, but didn't insist. "Don't stay out too long, in a few hours we're going to have breakfast, alright?"

I nodded and glanced at the box with jars. "Ma’— Aunty Ria," I started and immediately changed when she shot me a look, "Do you need help with that?"

"Oh? Thank you, sweetheart," She said with a smile before lifting the box that must have been at least half a metre long and was overflowing with jars filled with liquids of various colours effortlessly, "but no, thank you. I can handle it myself so don't worry. Go and have fun."

I stared at her for a moment, a little incredulous at how she treated the load as if it weighed nothing, and nodded slowly.

"Um... Alright then... Erm, see you later!" I said and resumed my walk at a more hurried pace, listening to the sound of her giggling behind me before I left the cabin.

Outside, in front of the entrance, I took a moment to think about what I had seen and came to the conclusion that I didn't want to be on Ria's bad side.

With strength like that I could only imagine how powerful her throwing arm was and how lethal her Chancla was. It also made me raise my respect for Amos. You had to be pretty tough and brave to be on the other side of the flying slipper and carry on like it was nothing.

Putting that aside, I glanced around.

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The Glade was in a dim darkness, shrouded by a soft mist creeping in from the forest, and a glance up into the treetops was enough to see that, although morning had arrived, the sunlight was finding it hard to filter through the towering trees surrounding the hamlet; though I could see that it was only a matter of the dawn sun rising a little higher for the day to officially begin.

A gentle breeze ruffled my fur and I smiled contentedly as I felt no chill from the morning cold.

For a couple of minutes, I proceeded to do a series of stretches and warm-ups to wake up and prepare my body, after which I started jogging towards the edge of the glade.

I didn't know exactly how big the place was; I mean, I could easily see that it was huge considering that the huts that were there, and which included space for some farming, were spaced well apart from each other. So, I intended to do at least a couple of laps around the whole hamlet before looking for a more secluded place to train.

During my run around the Glade, I found myself crossing paths and glances with some residents getting up for the day and mostly guards on leisurely patrol; and to all I sent greetings and good mornings in my friendliest tone as it cost me nothing to be polite.

These were the people I was going to be interacting with from now on for the foreseeable future, so it was normal to try to have a cordial relationship with everyone if possible.

By the time I decided I had had enough jogging I turned around and, following the stream that crossed the Glade, headed into the forest.

Was what I was doing a bit reckless? Perhaps, but I felt that the immediate vicinity of the Glade should not be so dangerous; besides, I did not intend to go too far into it.

That's why I only went forward for a while before I stopped.

Panting a little, I glanced at my surroundings while my ears swivelled back and forth in search of sounds that would alert me to the presence of something or someone, but beyond the rustling of the leaves of the giant pines and the soft murmur of the water running by I found nothing.

Satisfied, I checked that the bandages were still firm and assumed my attempt at a martial stance.

In my childhood, during my first life, part of the school curriculum included Taekwondo classes. That practice generated in me an interest in the martial arts that, while it did not develop into actual practice, was enough for me to seek out written information, videos and so on that had to do with its practice.

And, after years of adult life, which were then followed by years as a Bunyar, I could say that I had already forgotten the vast majority of the things I learned. Katas? I remembered absolutely none.

What I did remember was basic things like how to punch or how to kick and the odd piece of vague knowledge.

If that was all I had to help me? So be it.

From the moment I was able to talk and find out information from my parents about the world outside the burrow-town I started training— once I relearned how to walk without falling, that is.

At the time I wasn't sure if the tales of my parents, or the rest of my people, were exaggerated; but with all the stories I'd read in my past life my imagination had no shortage of material to conjure up grim scenarios.

And even if reality was calmer than fiction, the truth was that it didn't hurt to be prepared.

So it was that morning after morning, day after day, I trained on my own in an attempt to achieve mastery, even if it was in the simplest of strokes.

After all, as a great master once said, 'I fear not the man who has practised 10,000 kicks once, but the man who has practised one kick 10,000 times.'

Words I fervently followed every time I practised my attacks or experimented with my forms in an attempt to develop something that would be useful in keeping not only myself, but my family and friends safe.

So much good it did me in the end.

I shook my head to push the depressing thought aside, took a deep breath to centre myself and started moving.

Left punch. Block. Right punch. Block. Sweeping kick. Jump. I quickly got into a rhythm, my movements fluid from years of practice in the backyard of the family warren.

At this point the movements were so ingrained that I had little to no need to concentrate on what I wanted to do, just let my body carry itself with minimal input if I wanted to change or adjust anything.

At that moment it was like entering an almost meditative state where my conscious mind simply became clear, where I could leave my worries behind and just live in the moment. Just me and the next step as if it were a dance— I jumped backwards, my body somersaulting through the air to fall a few feet from where I had been with knees bent and arms raised in a fighting stance as my eyes and ears flew in all directions after hearing the sound of a branch snapping.

I remained silent, muscles tense as my senses tried to find the source of the noise; but everywhere I looked I was greeted only by the soothing sounds of the forest.

After several long, gruelling seconds without anything happening I let my shoulders slowly slump along with my arms as my brow furrowed.

"Could it have been my imagination?" I commented aloud to myself and after allowing another moment to pass I shrugged my shoulders and took a step.

One of my ears twitched and I crouched down, lowering my ears to my sides and letting the object coming in my direction fly past my head until it fell to the ground.

"A pinecone?" I said in disbelief as I saw the 'scaly' looking wooden cone near me.

My inspection fell short as my ears perked up at the sound of a giggle coming from the forest.

"Who's there?" I demanded standing upright with a frown.

In response several more pinecones came flying from different parts of the forest in my direction.

I narrowed my eyes, got back into position and moved from side to side, dodging as many of the flying cones as I could; and those I couldn't, blocking them.

Still, a few passed through my guard and hit me; fortunately, they were not causing me any harm rather than being a nuisance.

After a moment, the rain of arboreal projectiles stopped as quickly as it had started, leaving me with slightly worn clothes and a spent mood.

"That's it?" I exclaimed with annoyance and a finger pointed towards the forest. "Why don't you come out here and show your face!"

I heard a splash behind me and I turned around with my hands up, ready to fight, and my eyes widened like saucers when instead of a person I got a really big fish in the face.

"Ugh!" I groaned, stepping back and taking the animal in my hands, which was frantically moving back and forth.

To my ears came the sound of giggling again, this time drifting away until it soon disappeared.

"Argh! When I catch you, whoever you are, you'll see..." I grumbled through my teeth and glanced at the fish in my hands that was opening and closing its mouth. "We'd better get you back in the water." And with a few steps I approached the stream and deposited the fish back into it, which soon drifted away and was lost from my sight in the current.

I took a breath and sighed, "And everything was going so well..." I said ruefully as a smell hit me that made me wrinkle my nose. Sniffing a little the results made me frown and clench my fists in annoyance. " Just what I needed, to have my coat smell like fish!" I growled through my teeth and set off back towards the Glade as I pondered how I was going to get my revenge.

One does not simply mess up my fur without facing the consequences!

With that new determination I followed the line of the stream back to the Glade.

The sun had finally risen high enough to illuminate the rest of the hamlet and, as the Major had remarked the night before, the visible beams of light crossing the thin layer of mist that still covered the settlement gave the place a serene and mystical appearance that made me smile in appreciation and improved my mood a bit.

I took a few seconds just to enjoy the scenery before continuing on my way in the direction of the D'nzar house.

"I have to ask Ria or Amos where I can bathe." I muttered to myself as I opened the front door of the cabin and shook out my feet before stepping inside. "Mm, I hope it's not too hard to get the smell off." I continued, but fell silent as my ears perked up at the sound of Amos's voice coming from the next room.

"-lde, I'm sure he must be-Oh, speaking of him, Noah! Welcome back! There's someone who wants to meet you!" Amos said as I entered the living room, but only a portion of my attention registered his words, the rest was focused on the other person present who turned in my direction upon noticing my entrance.

Tall. It was the first word that came to mind considering how I had to crane my neck to look her in the eye. More than I usually had to with other people.

The other would be Big with how brawny she looked. Despite wearing loose-fitting clothes, they couldn't hide the shape of the powerful muscles underneath— I was sure she'd have no trouble folding me over like a pretzel —nor her curves.

My eyes went up to meet her serious green-eyed face with long, fiery red hair in a braid that hung to one side, noting the pair of horns sticking out of her sides, and the fact that her legs ended in hooves with a clump of red fur, made me realise that she must be a half-minotaur.

"Wow, so pretty..."

She and I blinked at the same time as we realised what uttered my awestruck mouth without conscious input and I felt my stomach flip.

Ah heck! Not again!