Dimi's orangey brown eyes, lightly reflecting the clear blue sky above, narrowed to the point where she appeared to be frowning as she followed Nyx, the corner of her lips slightly curled in what could easily become a smile. -"What a cunning, devious little beast. Every word or action seems to be premeditated and just now, was she manipulating the trib-"

"Words can inspire and enlighten as much as they can cripple and destroy," said Nyx, her faint, almost inaudible voice carrying on the wind, causing Dimi's steps to falter as she blinked a few times in surprise, the unsettling from earlier growing slightly. "And, just like the thoughts that can corrupt the mind, they can never be taken back."

Nyx's tone lowered, becoming somewhat deep and threatening towards the end, yet Dimi could only furrow her brows and suck in her left cheek in response.

-"Ahh, forget it." After scratching her head, Dimi took a deep, calming breath before releasing a light-hearted chuckle and increased her pace slightly, her eyes sparkling with curiosity as she continued to watch Nyx's figure. -"It's more fun this way."

Hearing Dimi's chuckle, Nyx's lips puckered, her forehead slightly wrinkling, as the sound of laughter, tears and heartfelt farewells gradually rose as she closed the distance between the small crowd.

Entering the milling groups without a moment's hesitation, Nyx started to weave between them, her head turning as she scanned each face, changing direction frequently but never walking past the same spot.

Raising a single eyebrow as she blinked slowly, watching Nyx like how a hawk would watch its prey, Dimi gradually reduced her pace as she continued to follow.

Nyx's long, confident strides became more unwilling and tentative with each step, her shoulders slumping and her once straight, proud posture collapsing in on itself as her head tilted towards the floor.

As Nyx continued to progress through the crowd, she started to flinch at loud sounds or retreat in a flustered, uncoordinated manner if anyone got to close, her lowered head continually turning as she used her teeth to nip at her bottom lip.

A light snort, followed by a slight shake of the head, erupted from Dimi as her footsteps slowed before finally coming to a halt.

After looking around and meeting the gaze of many of the family and new disciples, her white, dirty robe causing her to stand out and draw lots of attraction, Dimi clicked her tongue loudly and huffed before spinning on her heel and moving towards the front of the caravan.

As there were far fewer people there, only around fifty or so new disciples recruited out of the hundreds that had applied, Dimi passed through the crowd quickly.

Reaching the unspoken no man's land between the families, new disciples and the caravan, the massive, sturdy warhorses already hitched and impatient to be moving, Dimi spotted Timur and the two beast elders sitting at a table leisurely drinking what appeared to be tea from small, white cups.

The gaze of the three men scanned her briefly, before moving onto her surroundings before frowning slightly and returning to Dimi.

Timur took a long sip of his tea, waiting for Dimi to approach, and slumped in his chair, rotating his shoulder to get more comfortable as he turned the metal balls in his hand. "It's extremely rare for you to return first. Was she that disappointing that you left her with the others?"

Dimi's face scrunched before she snorted loudly, the weight of her footsteps increasing as she stomped towards the only empty chair and sat down. "I'm not so boorish as to ruin another's hunt. Anyway, we still have two more stops before we return to the sect; plenty of time to play before things get boring again."

Timur's greying eyebrows furrowed as his gaze scanned Jorm and Hrafn, both having straightened a little as they slightly turned their bodies towards Dimi.

"The prey?" asked Jorm, licking his lips and stretching as he pulled his legs in and placed his feet back on the floor.

Dimi shrugged her shoulders, as she ran her hand through her reddy-brown hair, straightening it out as she removed small twigs and leaves that had become tangled. "How should I know? I just saw the signs and backed off."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The table fell into silence as Dimi continued to comb her hair.

Jorm opened his mouth slightly, using his tongue to trace the inner edge of his teeth as Hrafn took a deep breath and closed his eyes, the slight bulge in his eyelids moving upwards.

As the silence continued, Timur's left eye twitched involuntarily as he folded his arms and lent forward, placing his elbows on the table.

Watching Dimi continue to fix her hair without looking up, Timur cleared his throat. "Dimi."

As if she wasn't expecting him to call her name, Dimi raised her head and revealed a small, innocent smile as she blinked her eyes a few times in mocking confusion. "Yes?"

Hrafn shook his head slowly, his eyes still closed, as Jorm couldn't help but let his head flop, hitting the back of the chair as his body slid down the chair before returning to its previously slovenly state. "Here we go again~."

Revealing a tooth-filled smile, Dimi leisurely poured herself a drink, using Jorm's empty cup as there wasn't one for her, and took a long sip as she watched the other three's expressions. After carefully placing down the cup, she burped as she scratched the back of her neck. "It's fine; this little beast is too smart to do something that would give us an excuse to act."

"Good. And your evaluation?" Timur smile lacked all humour or warmth, causing Dimi to fidget uncomfortably for a few seconds before looking away. "Predatory species, almost certainly a dark elemental royalty, excelling in movement, offence and stealth but severely lacking in defence and suitable skills. Ability to quickly adapt with a fluid, flexible mindset, however..."

Seeing Dimi hesitate, Timur's head, which had been nodding along to the key points stilled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "However?"

"She is extremely dangerous," continued Dimi as she leant back in her chair, her eyes slightly glazed. "Not only is she extremely vicious and decisive, launching lethal attacks without a shred of hesitation, any time I put significant pressure on her I could feel distortions emanating from her core. I do not doubt that if I had tried to restrain her or if she was about to lose outright, she would have rushed me and detonated."

The two beasts sucked in air through their teeth, creating a slight whistling sound, as their eyes widened, however, Timur didn't seem surprised, nodding once before revealing a smile. "The tribulation warning earlier, it was her?"

"Yes," said Dimi as she deflated in her chair slightly. "And if I am not mistaken, she was using it as a weapon."

Timur, who had been about to take another sip of his drink, froze. "What? It wasn't just a slip of the tongue?"

"I've seen her eyes and felt the pressure of her aura." Dimi gazed into the bright blue sky, her facial features slack."I've only seen a guardian once, but its something I will never forget. As much as I can't deny she is some sort of beast, she has, without a question of a doubt, a guardian's bloodline."

Dimi clicked her wrist as she took a deep breath. "Honestly, I don't know what to think about what she said, nor what part was the truth but either she used the tribulation thunder as a test, the signs being obvious if I revealed any of our conversations or-"

Dimi's eyes narrowed slightly, her teeth clenching. "She knew she wouldn't trigger the tribulation due to her bloodline but if another repeated what she said, they would. Basically, a way to silence or kill me without any real implications to herself."

"Even if the victim didn't trigger a tribulation, if word got out that they held a heavenly secret, those of the demonic path would spare no expense in hunting them down." Jorm's lips twitched as he frowned. "To think that natures laws could be abused to this extent."

However, unlike everyone else who appeared nervous, Hrafn could only scratch his chin as he gazed into his cup, a small smile on his lips. "To be able to kill with a sentence. I guess it's not just our true names that contain power."

After a few seconds, Timur shook his head, his features loosening as he smiled warmly and looked at Dimi. "While your fears are justified, and certainly a possibility, I don't think that is the case this time."

"How so?" responded Dimi quickly, as she put down the cup she was about to drink from.

"You said it felt like she would overload her core if you pushed her too hard? Why not just reveal a secret that would cause a rank three or greater tribulation and grab hold of you? If she really has the guardian bloodline, she might be resistant? Even if that wasn't the case, she could have used it to her advantage seeing as most high ranked beasts have a lingering..."

Timur's gaze flicked briefly, analysing his companions reactions before continuing. "...hesitation with tribulations."

Jorm and Hrafn nodded as Timur stretched his neck, causing popping noises to emanate. "With that in mind, I think the real intent was as a test and to reveal that she has the knowledge, and power, of heavenly secrets. With this information, it's almost certain she is a transcended soul."

"This way, she has set herself up as a strong, mysterious power which shouldn't be provoked unless we are prepared to pay the price." Timur cleared his throat before continuing. "A clearly defensive, if somewhat preemptive, move. Instead of causing me to worry, this actually a great reassurance."

"If you say so." Dimi sat still, her eyes searching Timur's before finally lightly nodding and leaning back, releasing a deep sigh as she did so. "Still, I'm not repeating what was said. Surviving one tribulation, even if it was a rank one, is more than enough for me in this lifetime."

Jorm and Hrafn were strangely quiet, their hands absentmindedly moving as they stared into the blue sky, their faces twitching from time to time.

Turning his head away from the distracted beasts and back to the bubbling crowd, Timur's eyes carefully scanned for signs of Nyx, his forehead slightly creased as he increased the rhythm in which he rotated the three metal balls in the palm of his right hand. -"Something tells me this is going to be a long trip."