Wait, what? Keira processed what she had just told her and tried to come up with questions. Does that mean you’re older than you look? is what Keira wanted to say but just went with, “But you look so young.”
“The youngest Elite of all time, actually. I take pride in that title, just not how it came to be,” Elysia declared but frowned towards the end of her sentence. “But don’t worry too much about it. Right now, all you need to see is the beauty of our race. Wait for the moon to rise and you’ll see what the village will look like.”
It’s so weird talking to a leopard yet I can’t seem to comprehend that this is also what I am. Looks like it’ll take quite some time to get used to my creatures. Keira sighed.
The sun had just set and almost everyone in the village was outside. Keira stood beside Anaia and Windham while Elysia was near them. There were Meoons chatting, there were some just leaning on their house wall like Frydrick, and there were a lot who looked at the night sky. Everyone had one thing in common, they anticipated the moonlight. And as soon as the moonlight struck the skin of the Meoons, they began glowing one after another. So bright, Keira covered her eyes. Anaia and Windham also glowed. Everyone was glowing except Keira.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she was met with a scenery straight out of a dream. Multiple species of feline were visible: tigers, jaguars, cheetahs, caracals, fishing cats, snow leopards, and clouded leopards. It seemed like these were all the eight that existed. Everyone except Keira took a deep breath and let out a wild roar. Echoes of the roar from other regions were also heard.
“Interesting, so, Keira doesn’t have her form yet or she can’t transform?” A fish cat beside Keira speculated.
“But I have never heard of any Meoon who cannot transform. But maybe she’s just not used to it since she’s been away from moonlight for quite a few years,” A tiger suggested with a deep voice. The tiger was also beside Keira.
“Anaia?” Keira said pointing at the fish cat. “And Uncle Windham?” she said pointing at the tiger.
“Precisely,” the tiger - Windham confirmed. “Well, Keira, you should play with Anaia and her friends for now. Us tigers have a duty to attend to!” Windham sprinted towards other tigers who were lifting housing materials.
Keira looked around and saw a lot of Meoons outside the academy sparring. Then, there were some in the forests and it looked like the trees moved unnaturally. She was hearing boulders and rocks crushing to dust. She then looks over what seemed to be a volcano near the outskirts of Celestia Raeon where some caracals were heading to. That’s weird. I haven’t been able to see that far before.
“Keira!” someone - or some-cat shouted. Keira was startled. “You didn’t transform, huh? That’s interesting. I’ve heard the Guardian talk about special Meoons who are able to not transform even under moonlight. He never specified what kind they are but maybe you’re one of them,” a clouded leopard - Elysia rambled. “I think you should meet the Guardian! He resides here in Celestia Raeon. I can introduce you to him but he’s a bit frail now. His age has been catching up to him.”
So many sentences all at once! Why does everybody have to speak so fast? Keira complained inside her head. She sighed before saying, “I’m still nervous to meet other creatures. I don’t think meeting the most important figure of my race is within my level,” she nervously laughed.
“That’s fine. Then, we should just go and see some Meoons sparring! That will be easier to explain the magic that we have,” Elysia offered. She was sat down on the ground.
“That would be great!” Anaia shouted. She was laying on her back. “Though, I can’t really show mine since I severely lack mana pool for awesome powers like the others.”
“Don’t say that, Anaia! The moon is at its waning gibbous phase. You should have access to 100% of your mana pool,” Elysia stated. She stood to all fours. “Besides, having water magic is super cool, you know? Any elemental magic is a plus for me, considering I don’t have any.”
“But I’m still weak,” Anaia faltered. She rolled over to sit and looked down. Vulnerability, huh? I’ve never seen Anaia look so down. But she looks so cute in that form. Maybe I should try cheering her up, it’s the least I could do. After all, she put up with me for how many months. Elysia moved her right paw to pat Anaia.
“Didn’t I tell you that we’re all unique in some ways? Sure, you’re not proficient in combat but I don’t think you’re really meant for that. I doubt that you think you’re meant for that,” Elysia comforted. “There’s already someone here that you helped so much! There’s two of them, actually, so cheer up, Anaia.”
Anaia nodded and smiled. “Thanks, big sis.”
“I agree," Keira took a deep breath. “You helped me a lot. I appreciate you,” Why do I sound so insincere? Gosh! “I’m sure you have cool powers to show me.”
Anaia’s cat eyes grew at least 2x larger from hearing Keira say that. She leapt on top of Keira's head. Keira was flustered but just shrugged her shoulders. Elysia smiled at the cousins. “Well, we better get going, there’s a pond just inside the forest we went to this morning. Hop in, Keira.”
What?
Before she knew it, Keira mounted Elysia and they were going fast. Swinging from tree to tree with Elysia’s long tail while Anaia was running, jumping from bark to bark. I never knew Anaia was so swift. Or maybe it has to do with the fact that she’s a cat right now.
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Keira mounted Elysia as they were running around a forest near the central village in Celestia Raeon. Suddenly, Keira felt a kick to her cheek, knocking her off Elysia. Anaia and Elysia gasped and saw a man no taller than 5 feet with a black mask and white gloves.
“Who are you?” Elysia asked angrily. The man stayed silent and tried to take Keira again, who was sitting on the ground. She was frozen in place due to the shock of the event but she threw a kick which connected to the man’s gut. Elysia pounced on him but he was able to dodge. Anaia attended to Keira’s wounds while Elysia continued the pursuit on the man. Suddenly, particles of light surrounded Elysia. Crap, she thought before enhancing her speed and ran around the man while avoiding the particles. As the light drew closer to her, she enhanced strength and roared which blew away the particles. The man’s expression didn’t change and just kept giving her a barrage of light, attempting to imprison her.
“You’re a warden, aren’t you?” Elysia asked again before she increased her speed and attempted to slash his body. The man didn’t reply and simply jumped backwards but Elysia was too fast for him. He ended up having a claw mark across his torso. He looked at it and still said nothing. Tch, it’s such a pain to deal with Witches like this. “What do you want from Keira? Why are you trying to kidnap her?”
The man still kept his silence and sent light particles toward Keira and Anaia’s direction. Elysia immediately realized the attempt but as she turned around, he grabbed her long tail and she felt some of her power drained. “Let go!” Elysia shouted as she jumped and tried to shrug the man off. Meanwhile, Keira and Anaia looked terrified as the particles of light approached them. Anaia closed her eyes, Keira held out her hand and disintegrated the particles. Elysia looked particularly curious as to what happened but couldn’t focus too much because of the Witch grabbing her tail. Finally, she was able to pull the man and kick him backwards. He fell and got his back smashed to the ground. Still, he stood up, determined to complete whatever it is that he intends. Elysia rushed and got dodged by the man despite increased speed and strength. What? The Witch retaliated with a punch to Elysia’s underbelly but she caught herself on all fours when she fell.
“For Solthor,” the man whispered. Elysia slightly heard it. Solthor? Elysia thought and dug her paws to the ground with immense force. She clenched her fangs and looked at the Witch with much contempt.
“So, that monster is also behind all this, huh?” Elysia pounced with even faster speed this time. When she got inches close to the man, a bright light enveloped both of them but Elysia just increased her strength and punched the man with her paws. The Witch tumbled down and the light died out. Elysia’s eyes were turning bloody red, foam dripped from her mouth, eager to inflict pain on the man in front of her.
“Elysia?” Keira asked. Huh? Elysia thought and snapped back to herself. The Witch made a run for it and Elysia just let him go.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“Huh? What happened?” Elysia asked as if her memories from seconds before disappeared just like that.
“You were all scary again,” Anaia shuddered. She was behind Keira's left leg. “Like from the last time. I get scared when you’re like that, big sis, because I don’t know how to calm you down.”
“I-I’m sorry,” the clouded leopard’s eyes looked regretful. “We should go now and report what had happened. Keira probably needs to stay in the village for as long as possible until she’s able to tap into her feline form. We still do not know what type of Meoon she is.”
Keira nodded but couldn’t hide the look of confusion from her face. Has she returned? I thought she was in the realm of imprisonment. Elysia looked at Keira and Anaia and gave a nod of assurance. Whatever happens, I’ll protect the two of you.
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“Good morning!” Elysia enthusiastically barged into Anaia and Keira’s house. Windham was already out for work so it was only the two cousins.
“You’re here early, big sis!” Anaia beamed. “Come in.” Keira smiled at Elysia and she smiled back.
“Kenon said that Keira is pretty much all set. You’re quite a gifted one, Keira. Not many clients were able to have a convincingly fast recovery like you."
“Kenon also said that. Though I can’t help but think that that’s only the case because I wasn’t really that ill. But he said that I shouldn’t invalidate my feelings like that so I’m doing my best to embrace it. I still have a long way to go if I’m being honest. I still haven’t answered his question yet,” Keira remarked.
“What question?” Elysia asked. Anaia offered her a glass of water.
“He asked me, ‘Who are you and what do you want?’ Until now, I can’t seem to figure out the second part and now I’m having doubts about the first part. I’m Keira, I’m a Meoon, and I was raised by my kidnapper. I said that I wanted to travel all over Isoraeon but Kenon said that I hesitated when I said that. So, I’m not really sure where I’m headed towards in my life."
Elysia drank the glass; then took one of Keira’s hands. “You know Keira, sometimes you don’t find answers to questions like that just by spending your time thinking about it.”
“What do you mean?”
“To me, I think everyone’s purpose is to connect with others. Independence is good and all but I think we find out more about ourselves when we spend time with others. When we deeply think about the creatures that we love and the creatures that we hate, we know the root causes of such emotions. And I believe it is somewhat of a reflection of who we are. While sometimes, it is not the case due to specific circumstances, I do believe it applies majority of the time,” Elysia advised. “What I’m getting at is we learn to do what we want by interacting and getting along with others. The cycle of life continues because we get along with others. We find purpose in the way we interact with others. That’s what I think.”
Keira's eyes lit. Elysia let go of her hand. “Thank you very much for that, I’ll surely keep that in mind! You’re really wise, Elysia.” Keira walked towards her drawer and got her pen and notebook. She wrote down what Elysia had said.
“Big sis always give the best advice! She’s great at calming us down whenever we’re out of control. She also sings you a lullaby when you request it from her. Unlike Frydrick, big sis will show you that she cares for you in the most intimate and direct way imaginable!” Anaia rejoiced.
“You flatter me, Anaia,” Elysia chuckled. “Though I’m not sure what Fryrdrick will feel if he finds out that you talked behind his back again. You two don’t get along too well.”
“Because he’s a jerk! Always acting so high and mighty. I’ve known him since we were babies and he still acts all cold because he wants to be an Elite. He’s indirectly wishing that someone from the Elites die to take their place,” Anaia impulsively uttered. She quickly closed her mouth with her hands.
“Now, Anaia, I don’t like Frydrick that much at all but I don’t think ill of him like that. He only wishes to be on the level of an Elite, not become one. I’m sure he’s mature enough to understand what is right and what is wrong,” Elysia sighed then continued, “You should apologize to him when you come face-to-face.”
Anaia lowered her head and whispered, "Alright."
“I have something to ask,” Keira requested after putting his pen and notebook away.
“What is it?” Elysia turned to Keira.
“About what happened last night. Have you gained information regarding the incident? I’m somewhat scared that it might happen again but even more so if I don’t know the reason. It’s like being deaf to audible danger signals. I might not know what to do the next time it happens when I’m not with you two, anymore."
“I told the other Elites about the incident. Unfortunately, it is still within the confidentiality so we can’t reveal much. But I did ask them if I could reveal some important information to you since you were directly involved in the incident,” Elysia revealed. “The man who tried to kidnap you was most likely under the command of someone we’ve encountered before. She’s an offshoot, meaning, she is neither a Meoon or a Witch, she’s most likely a hybrid.”
Just like mother, huh? Keira thought. Why is every half-breed after me? Do I possess some sort of quality that makes me stand out from the rest? Is it a matter of being special or being an unlucky target?
“There’s no telling what their next move will be but we’re going to be on guard. The Elites and other high-ranking personnels from the military will be scouting around the other four regions,” Elysia lectured. “But we’ll be making sure of the safety of our creatures. Only if the Guardian isn’t as weak as he is now.” The last line from Elysia came out like a mumble but the two were able to catch on it.
“The Guardian is weak?” Keira asked. “I thought he was some sort of God among the Meoon creatures.”
“Yes, he is, only if there aren't two that exist right now,” Elysia murmured.
“Two? I thought there can only be one?” Keira asked in a curious tenor.
“Yes, only one has access to the fullest potential of the Guardian. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still tough but he’s unable to keep up with us even if we transfer mana to him,” Elysia said. “This is because after 80 years of age, a new Guardian is born. The previous Guardian will raise the new Guardian until he/she is 100 years old. True duty starts at 20 years old for the new Guardian. But up until now, we’re not able to find and locate the new Guardian. It is said that it is the hardest to find the next in line for the throne the older they grow. And if the cycle is broken, the Meoon as a society might not be able to function well.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Keira said.
“It is what it is,” Elysia shrugged her shoulders. “The Elites are doing whatever they can with their powers to preserve the Guardian’s mana. He is the most hardworking out of everyone, constantly strategizing, giving orders and making sure order is being served to all villages.”
After a little bit more chatter, Elysia invited Keira and Anaia to take a stroll again in the forests. “I feel like having more exposure to nature will benefit you a lot Keira. After all, your mother was a pseudo-elite Jaguar and was connected to the forests even more than some of the Elites,” Elysia said.
Keira nodded. She then turned her eyes to Anaia. “Speaking of my mother, what was she like as an aunt to you, Anaia?”
“She was very cool! Her and dad were close to each other as siblings so they would always trade letters even when she decided to move to Etherclipse Bay. She was once a soldier for the Meoons until she saw the beauty of parenthood. To tell you the truth, she was even better than my dad as a soldier because of how obsessed she was with fighting back then,” Anaia answered. “When I asked the witch that brought you er-, what was her name again?”
“Asher.”
“Right, Asher. She told me that even when she was down, aunt Sylvia still refused to give in and fought with every bit of mana she could muster.”
Keira trembled and fell down to one knee. Flashbacks of the event surged through her mind. The image of Isolfar’s blood swirling around her as she slaughtered the Meoons of the village made her cover her mouth. “Be good.” And the sight of Sylvia’s head rolling over made her puke all over the ground. She was crying but felt numb. Anaia and Elysia rushed to her aid until a man appeared from above the trees. Elysia quickly looked. She stood her ground.
“Who are you?” Elysia asked. “And why do you work for Solthor?”
“I can’t answer your question,” the Warden said and pointed his palms towards Keira and Anaia. It went fast. Elysia couldn’t intercept in time yet Keira looked up and quickly pushed Anaia to the side, catching the beam of light.
“AAAAAAAHHHHH”
Screams of agony came from Keira but her body was fighting. Elysia quickly grabbed a hold of the Warden but he managed to slip out and jump away. He gave Elysia one big smirk before trailing off. Elysia clicked her tongue but immediately turned towards Keira. She was on two knees with a little bit of her hair burned off, looking towards the sky before falling down.