During the therapy session, Keira brought up the incident where she experienced flashbacks concerning her mother with Kenon.
“It’s normal for someone who experienced something of that magnitude to have some sort of breakdown. I’d probably say that it’s a miracle it didn’t happen too soon. However, it is undeniable how your attachment to your mother is not something that’s easy to set aside. Yes, in the following days or even months, there will be times where you may not even think of her once but that connection with her will never go away. It will hurt you every single time. And that’s fine,” Kenon assured her. He adjusted his glasses and wrote down something on his notebook.
“Thank you,” Keira replied.
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Two months have passed and Keira still hasn't seen the village outside. Her life has been a constant cycle of talking to the therapist, waiting for Anaia and Uncle Windham to get back, then sleep. It seems as if the progress she was making looks like an unstable heartbeat on a graphing chart. However, Kenon still treated her with the same enthusiasm, same energy, same empathy, and same questions. More importantly, Anaia's energy never faded throughout those moments. She's one consistent girl, I'll say that, Keira thought. She was seated on her bed, waiting for Kenon. When the session started, Kenon already went for the main question:
“Who are you and what do you want?” Kenon asked.
“We’ve been going on and on for two months and I still have a hard time figuring it out,” Keira groaned. She buried her hands on her face momentarily. “I’m so sorry if I’m making your job a lot harder than it should be. You complimented me on the first day but I don’t think I can live up to those expectations anymore.”
“Let’s do a little review here. Reports from Anaia and Windham told me that when you first got here, you barely said a word every day. And now, you just constructed three sentences! You’re finally letting out those thoughts that you bottle up so much. You’re doing much better than you think,” Kenon comforted her.
Keira blushed. Yeah, I’ve been getting more talkative lately, huh? She thought before saying, “But that doesn’t change the fact that I still can’t answer your question.”
Kenon shook his head. “Didn’t I tell you that I could stay for years if I had to? I’m not as old as you think! Just a healthy 43 years old, I’m just a little bit over halfway there,” Kenon giggled. Keira flashed a smile. She was beginning to warm up to the therapist. After all, he’s one of the only three creatures she could get to talk to.
Kenon stood up and said, “Our session’s over. You’re doing great. I’ll give you a little hint. Sometimes, finding out your identity isn’t about thinking about who you are. Sometimes, you need to think of something that you fear doing, and then you do it. I’ll see you next time.”
Huh? I’m not really sure what he meant by that. If I’m not going to think about who I am, how am I going to answer the question? Keira stood up after Kenon had left. I wonder what the creatures will think of me when I get out? Surely they saw Asher carrying my unconscious body when she got to this village. Will they judge me because I was in here for too long or will they even care? I don’t plan on going outside, though. She suddenly felt an anxiety within her.
Anaia got home earlier than usual. “Kei! You won’t believe what happened today. Big sister Elysia visited us in our combat training and she easily beat Frydrick! He’s like, one of the best that we have. He got so mad, and I was like, now he understands what I feel for losing over and over!” Anaia said. “Then, big sister Elysia and I talked about our lives and like, I brought you up. You know what she said? She’s interested to meet you!”
Oh, great. Looks like I have my answer. What Kenon meant by his last sentence was suddenly clear to Keira. But do I have what it takes? Might as well.
Keira slightly coughed. “Hey, Anaia?”
“Yeah?”
“I want to learn more about the Meoons, about us. Will you show me around the village?” Keira asked. Her hands were sweating and she appeared to have a flinched expression on her face. Meanwhile, Anaia’s eyes were the widest they’d ever been, coupled with an ear-to-ear grin. She held Keira’s hand and shouted:
“Of course!” She then jumped and tightly hugged Keira. This honestly feels nice. Keira hugged Anaia back.
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The blinding sun touched Keira’s soft skin. It was the first ray that Keira has felt in months. While tiny specks of light enter through their window and slight cracks in the house, this was the first time she bathed in sunlight. This feels warmer than I remember, she thought. And as she looked around, there was a familiar yet distinct scene. Children Meoons are playing with each other, there were elderly sitting on rocking chairs and smiling at their surroundings, and men and women were transporting what looks to be materials for construction, among many others. The smell of the village was earthy unlike the atmosphere within her old mansion with her mother. However, she noticed that there were fewer farmlands than the village in Etherclipse Bay.
“This feels oddly nostalgic,” Keira stated.
“I’m glad you feel that. Now, shall we go to combat training? Big sister Elysia will be there earlier, she said. She could also teach you about Meoon magic because she’s an expert!” Anaia took Keira’s hand and they sprinted to a small academy in the middle of the village. Unlike the huts, the academy also had stone walls, not just the roof. It had a pyramid-like roof with an L-shape perimeter. There were four doors and they entered through the main one in front.
So many, Keira thought in shock. She was met with stares from different Meoons inside the academy. There were some who were sparring, some talking and laughing, and there were pieces of equipment unfamiliar to Keira. All of which included a label as to what it’s called - spinning dummies, climbing walls, a mini pond, and a sand field among many others. Have I seen that teacher before? She asked herself as she looked at the teacher. The person seemed all too familiar but she couldn’t properly see the face.
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“Teacher Kenon!” Anaia shouted with almost like a sonic boom. So loud! Keira thought. But she noticed that she was the only one who was startled. The others continued with their business like nothing happened. It seems like it’s normal for these creatures to hear Anaia’s loud voice. But most importantly, Kenon?!
The two of them walked towards the teacher. “Hello there, Keira, it’s nice to meet you again. I’m teacher Kenon, one of the heads of this academy,” Kenon greeted casually before bowing his head. He was wearing a more casual outfit. A loose white t-shirt and blue floral shorts.
“Nice to meet you, er- Sir,” Keira said before bowing back.
“Hey teacher, have you seen big sister Elysia? “ Anaia asked. “She’s actually one of the reasons we got here. She said she wanted to meet Keira.”
“You just need to look around better,” Kenon suggested with a slight giggle.
What does he mean? Keira asked herself. Confused by the situation, she turns around and sees a tall woman with a long ponytail. She was wearing a brown tank top with black trousers. And she was on the chubby side of body composition.
“I’ve been here all along, Anaia. This is the 312th time you didn’t spot me!” the woman declared.
“Aw, you’re always hiding from me, big sis Elysia! Why can’t you just show up normally?” Anaia asked before pouting her lips. There was a slight pause then they both laughed and hugged each other. They seem very close, Keira thought.
“So, this is Keira, huh? She looks very pretty,” Elysia complimented her. Keira flushed red. She was used to taking compliments from her mother but that’s the only person she ever heard it from. She’s not sure how to handle these types of situations. “Hi, my name is Elysia, I hope we become friends!” Elysia reached out her right hand. Keira shook it.
“My name is Keira. I’m sorry if I’m being awkward,” Keira quavered and turned to the ground.
“No, no, I don’t mind. After all, this academy is pretty crowded at the moment. Why don’t we go outside? I could show you a thing or two,” Elysia invited her. Keira looked at Anaia and they nodded at each other.
They got outside and went to a somewhat peaceful forest. It was relatively near the borders of the village.
“It’s tough finding a quiet place here since it’s the center but I guess this will do-” Elysia concluded before dashing to her side. A man with a slenderly muscular build had his face planted on the ground. “Frydrick, you’re really bad at playing assassin. I could hear your pulse as you were following us.”
Huh? Where did he come from? Keira thought with surprise.
“There’s really no other way for me to become an Elite if you’re not gone. I can’t just attack the older ones, that’s like, assault on the elderly. I’m not that low,” the man - Frydrick deadpanned as he stood up. He wiped the dust off his green loose shirt and his brown cargo shorts.
“Hey, why are you here?” Anaia questioned. “You’re not invited, didn't you know? Plus you’re always mean, I wouldn’t want you around especially when I’m with Keira,” Anaia demanded.
“Same old annoying reprimands from the student who can’t win against anyone,” Frydrick quipped. Anaia frowned at her.
“Who is he?” Keira asked. He turned to her and looked with expressionless eyes.
“Don’t mind him, you’ll know him soon enough. His name is Frydrick, he’s one of the best students at the academy. He badly wants to be an Elite. That’s his single biggest goal,” Elysia sighed. “It’s quite impossible for that to happen, though.”
“Why not?” Keira asked.
“The Elites are chosen at birth by the Guardian. He meets the requirement of having a vast mana pool. 1/10th of the Guardian’s to be exact. But the Elite choosing cycle mostly happens every 80 years because that’s how long Meoons usually live. Every time there’s a new Guardian, there’s new Elites. When the Guardian passes on, the Elites come with it.”
“I-I see,” Keira stammered. Truthfully, she barely has any idea what’s going on. She has heard some stories about this “Guardian” but all she could think of is that they’re referring to a God. Which is not far from the truth but a God present in a world was a foreign concept to her.
“If you don’t even know what the elites, let alone the duties of the Guardian, why are you even here in Celestia Raeon? Shouldn’t you be somewhere at Etherclipse?” Frydrick asked. Keira was stunned and couldn’t think of a response.
“Because she’s a family member of mine!” Anaia shouted and went up to Frydrick. “Why are you questioning her like you’ve met before? You’re always a jerk to anybody, no wonder you don’t have that many friends.”
“Family member, huh? Then I hope you don’t get the genes of Ms. Zero wins over here for combat,” Frydrick teased.
“Frydrick, that’s enough,” Elysia asserted. “Go back to your lectures with teacher Kenon.” Frydrick clicked his tongue but obeyed Elysia. He walked back to the academy. ”I’m so sorry about Frydrick’s behavior, he can be a bit of a killjoy sometimes but don’t mind him.” Keira nodded. “As long as you’re with me, you have nothing to worry about. Say, Keira, maybe we could do a little sparring? I could teach you a lot about combat!” Elysia suggested. Keira’s eyes were filled with fear.
“Big sis, no, she just got out of the house, remember? I don’t think she’s particularly in a fighting mood,” Anaia explained.
“There’s really nothing for us to do here. Maybe, we can introduce her to the other Meoons later,” Elysia replied. “Speaking of Meoons, what type of feline are you?”
“Excuse me?” Keira asked. What type of feline? Maybe, they’re referring to their cat forms and I… don’t think I have any? Or maybe I don’t know?
“Looks like you’re quite unfamiliar with it, huh? Well, here, let me show you.”
“Big sis is gonna transform! Keira, we should back up for a bit. She’s pretty strong so the wind might go wild.”
Keira and Anaia took a step back. Elysia closed her eyes and feet, straightened her back, spread her arms like wings, and took a deep breath. She brought her arms on opposite shoulders and opened them. Her body turned into a silhouette of light. Slowly, a figure was hunching and lowering to the ground. After some sort of ritual, a clouded leopard appeared before them. An intricate pattern of pale colors with dots of black all over its body. It was rather medium-sized compared to lions and tigers. Impressively enough, its tail was as long as its body.
“What do you think?” The clouded leopard - Elysia casually asked.
Keira was stunned by the creature. To think that this was what everybody in the village will turn into; that this is what she will turn into. It was a weird yet mesmerizing feeling. So majestic. What do I look like when I turn into one of them, I wonder?
“Looks like Keira is speechless. That was exactly my reaction when I first saw big sis’ feline form! I’m so excited to see Keira’s form!” Anaia cheered.
“Wait, how about you Anaia? Can’t you turn into your, er- feline form as well?” Keira asked.
“No, we can only transform when moonlight shines. Our mana pool is even determined by the phase of the moon but it’s all too complicated for me to even explain. Dad did his best to tell me about it but all I’m thinking of is that we’re all cats and we’re cute. That’s about it,” Anaia smiled.
“But how can Elysia transform?”
“That’s simple,” Elysia declared. “I’m one of the Elites.”