Lying on the ground, I looked behind me and saw Master wearing a nightgown while approaching me with a frown as she outstretched her hand toward the Direwolf.
"Frozen Impale." Said Lavender as a giant icicle formed in front of her opened hand before launching itself toward the Direwolf, who was currently busy trying to free himself from the ground.
Following the icicle, I saw it pierce right through the Direwolfs head, killing it easily, before exiting the other side and violently embedding itself into the ground beside the frightened Runebear.
"Leave unless you wish to die as well." Said Lavender as she eyed the Runebear in the distance.
"You heard, Master! Leave; otherwise, you'll become just like him!" Exclaimed Alexander as he pointed toward the Direwolf's corpse, which had a large hole in the middle of its head.
Seeing the Runebear quickly flee while whimpering in fear, I let out a sigh while making sure to avoid eye contact with Master, who was currently staring directly at me.
"Alexander, you better have an incredible reason for why you're out at night, or so help me, Goddess Eywa; not even she'll be able to protect you." Stated Lavender with a terrifying expression as she lifted Alexander from the ground using water mana while simultaneously cleaning him.
'Haa, thank goodness I actually have a good reason.' Thought Alexander as he finally gained the courage to look Lavender in the eyes, though when he noticed her expression, he quickly regretted it.
"About that Master; the reason I'm out at night is because of a dream- WAIT! At least let me explain!" Said Alexander quickly in fear when he noticed her expression shift to anger.
"Fine, since you aren't a complete child, I'll allow you to explain." Replied Lavender as she created two places to sit with her earth magic while suppressing her rage.
After that, I quickly explained to Master the nightmares I'd been having and why I came outside at night; while I felt slightly pathetic telling her about the dreams, I knew lying to her would only put me in a worse situation.
"Haa, that's everything, Master; you should know I wouldn't intentionally explore the forest at night. Even I know how dumb that is." Said Alexander in self-defense, to which Lavender just snorted and ignored.
"I'm glad you told me about those dreams; however, how come you only told me now? I would've been able to help you get over your trauma; I'm a very experienced woman, after all." Asked Lavender with a slight smile while attempting to lighten the mood, which slightly worked as Alexander lightly chuckled.
"Well, I never told you, as I felt like it was something I had to deal with myself, not to mention I didn't want you to view me as some child. Also, as a man, it feels somewhat pathetic to talk about my insecurities to someone, especially when said person is my Master." Replied Alexander while clenching his fist and also sighing in frustration.
"I understand how you feel, Alexander; I've also had my own traumas and insecurities throughout my life, and to this day, I still have one. We aren't all perfect; however, I don't want you to think you can't come to me and voice your problems; as your Master, I'll always be there for you. Understand?" Stated Lavender with a rare motherly smile as she grabbed Alexander and embraced him.
"I know, Master, thanks." Said Alexander quietly as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the pleasant feeling of being embarrassed by Lavender.
"So, how long have you been experiencing those dreams?" Asked Lavender after a few minutes of enjoying the serene atmosphere with Alexander.
"I believe it started a few months after I was born, so about the time I started to walk; since then, I would randomly experience that dream. Sometimes, I won't have that dream for several months; other times, I'll have it every night for a week straight; it's very inconsistent." Replied Alexander quietly while staring at the night sky.
"For your psyche to be forcing this dream on you, you must feel guilty about what happened to that little girl; and the only way to overcome such a trauma is to erase your guilt." Said Lavender, to which Alexander sighed at her statement.
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"Easier said than done, Master; I can't suddenly just stop feeling guilty about such a thing; I'm sure, as you know, it doesn't work like that. Nor can I somehow save that girl's life; she's already dead and in an entirely different universe." Remarked Alexander while sighing in sadness.
"While I may not exactly know what a universe is, you're not wrong; unlike my past experiences, the one you're facing is much more difficult. From what you've told me, it seems like you feel guilty about being too weak to protect that little girl, so I'd say the best way to heal this specific trauma is to get stronger. Other than that, there isn't really anything I can help with; you know that they say. Time can heal any wound." Said Lavender as she released Alexander from her embrace, much to his displeasure, before standing up and returning the ground to its original appearance.
"Now then, let us return home, your little shenanigans awakened me from my sleep, and I'd like to rest some more before dawn; I might as well take this with me; with this, we are now fully stocked on Direwolf meat." Commented Lavender while waving her hand toward the Direwolf corpse as she encased it in a water bubble, which caused it to hover above the ground right behind Lavender.
"Haa, Direwolf again, Master?" Said Alexander as he complained.
"Yes, if you have a problem with Direwolf meat, how about you go and hunt your own food? Also, just because you had a valid reason for being outside during the night doesn't mean I won't be punishing you; you'll be skinning this Direwolf in the morning. Understand?" Reprimanded Lavender, returning to her usual self as she headed towards her home.
"Haa, yes, Master." Replied Alexander as he hung his head down while following behind Lavender.
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When Master and I returned home, we went back to sleep before awakening a few hours later at the break of dawn; I felt greatly refreshed from last night's event, though my splendid mood didn't last long as I remembered my punishment. So, the next few hours were spent skinning, butchering, and cleaning the Direwolf while Master was doing something in the forest.
Once I finished processing the Direwolf, I headed toward the pond to take a quick bath, ridding myself of the blood and small bits of Direwolf scattered across my body.
"Finally, I can smell something other than blood." Muttered Alexander with a light smile as he exited the pond and wore a new set of clothes since even though he had cleaned his old pair of clothes, they still smelled like blood.
While I was walking around, letting the wind dry my hair, I saw Master exit the forest and enter the clearing, so I approached her as I was curious about what was so important that she needed to leave early in the morning.
"Master, you've returned. Did you succeed when whatever your objective was?" Asked Alexander curiously while eyeing Lavender, though he noticed nothing unusual.
"Yes, I have." Replied Lavender with a nod as she continued walking, heading in the direction of the tree house.
"What were you doing, Master? It must've been something important if you did it first thing in the morning." Said Alexander while following beside Lavender, though because of the size difference, he was forced to walk nearly twice his normal walking speed.
"With what happened last night caused me to think that the beasts in this forest might've forgotten about my presence after I've been inactive for nearly five years, so I decided to go and mark my territory again; otherwise, the beats will keep getting bolder, I can't have that happening with you around." Answered Lavender as she looked down at Alexander, though his disgusted expression slightly startled her.
"Mark your territory? Don't tell me you went around the forest and peed on the ground because if you did, I'd like a different Master." Remarked Alexander as he backed away from Lavender while carefully eyeing her.
"No, I didn't pee on the ground, Alexander, and where did you even get that idea from? I just went around scattering my mana so that beasts would avoid the clearing." Replied Lavender with a frown as she stared at Alexander.
"Ohh, sorry, it's just the beasts from my home world would pee on the ground to mark their territory, so when you said that, I instinctively thought that's what you did. Though, how does scattering your mana work as a deterrent against beats anyways?" Said Alexander awkwardly before his expression returned to normal.
"It's practically the same as how the beasts from your home world will mark their territory by peeing on the ground; the mana works the same as pee since my mana has traces of myself, but most importantly, they're able to determine the strength of a person through their residue mana." Explained Lavender as she shook her head while ignoring Alexanders' previous comment.
"Hmm, I suppose if beasts can use magic attacks, they must be able to sense mana; it would only make sense." Commented Alexander with a thoughtful expression.
"Anyways, while you can estimate an opponent's strength through their residue mana, I would highly advise against it; sure, it might be somewhat useful against mages who mostly rely on their strong magic capabilities to fight. However, against physical fighters who rarely allocate their stat points to Intelligence, it would make them seem much weaker than they truly are." Advised Lavender as she approached the tree house.
"Yep, I know, Master. I will continue practicing locating my mana; if you need me, just call me." Said Alexander with a nod while smiling as he watched Lavender's body slowly get sucked into the tree.
"Alright, just don't do something stupid again, and be careful." Stated Lavender just before her head was sucked into the tree.
'Now then, let us make some progress on my mana; I want to have located my mana within the next four days!' Thought Alexander eagerly as he set himself a goal.