I'm trotting around the mountain, looking like my weak ass -- come get, bitches! -- while thinking about how much eating Qi might have affected my development. I've been consuming essence forever! What impact did the flowers have besides messing with my silk? And I ate a ton of people, physically, but I don't poop. How am I processing everything? Like, owls puke up pellets. I don't cough up anything but silk. I ate orbs that should have killed me or horribly skewed my development. Orbs that... Eat... Essence. Oh. Gods.

I sit, head bowed, as I finally realize what Shimmering Steel meant with the "no duh" on me eating things. Like, I was doing essence shit before the orbs, but what was my cultivation doing after? 'Cause I was in my early years, my formative years, stuff that I probably had -- karma for everything, Qi for everything, -- so that the tutorial wouldn't be so impossible if I knew about it. Or maybe my special ability is miasma immunity and everything else was whipped cream on top of the icing and fruit syrup on the cake. Maybe with more fruit and fruit syrup on top of the whipped cream...

So I'm mutating, adapting, possibly naturally, and I kept encountering stuff that most people probably aren't running into, and it became a part of me. So what was I getting from the emperor? He was doing massive Qi dumps to the point where my space was his space. What about years of trash binging, "dead" or alive? I'm practically a radioactive blackhole.

What do my wings do during the day though? 'Cause my scales are under the scales. I get stained glass effects from any light level, but I'm on a fookin' mountain right now, so what that rainbow do? I raise my head, remind myself not to open my wings all the way, -- that just leads to all kinds of nonsense, or it used to, -- and hope for an aurora. What I get is more like a laser light show during the day, and I think my whatever this projection is is playing off the essence infused in the area. My head. So much information. Aah~!

I stop the light show, realizing that I'd been neglecting my wings for a minute, focusing on my silk. No one wants to do the windows. What confuses me is that I pull out a packet, a square of cloth wrapped around three dumplings, in the fold of one of my wings. Okay. What the shit? I'm like a pet that drops random --. My head fucking explodes. I'm a treasure pet. Literally I make treasures and "find" them. Fuck me. My anchors. Are they still where I dropped them? Am I randomly yoinking shit from people who pass by my old anchors? 'Cause I notice how sometimes I can damn near just walk near a place I'd set up anchor too many times and get into my void. Aren't I like a powerful demon someone's trying to use as a tool and now I'm just a treasure pet?

I get tackled while I'm building up a good head of steam to rant on how I'm a side character in my own Gods Blasted life, screaming as the edge of one of my wings is clamped by a vice and then something just starts tenderizing my abdomen. There's a giant gold tick on me, trying to kick me away from my wing because the colors are like the stones they feed me, and when I eat them I get faster and stronger and I'm the most dominant hare in the high grasses.

Excuse me? I'm a fucking bug. I try to do a quick kick, to flip us around with the momentum they're drumming against me and the fucking Heavenly Hare rolls with me, releasing my wing and using its mouth to tear out a huge chunk of my silk. The silk comes away so easily, so painlessly, that I know this is one of those shock things, and it's going to hurt and bleed a lot later. My now exposed scales feel real flaky when they're exposed to the air, the hare squealing and sending me sailing before assaulting the air with a flurry of kicks. I fly -- look ma! No wings! -- way too far. I fly so far I literally have time to realize I'm still in the air and I can move, so I position myself for the landing, and actually nail it. That is way too much involuntary air time. And a long ass walk back. Fack! Maybe it left something behind I can use as proof that I encountered it even if I didn't catch it.

By the time I get back to hear what looks like its fully intact body sizzling, there are other hunters there for the light show. I run up to the corpse, -- the thing's lying on it's side sounding like bacon frying, pretty sure it died -- and bank it to a chorus of pissed off shouts. 'Cause of course everyone's preparing traps to try and catch the thing and I run up and --. What do they think I did? Scared it off and it fucking teleported with sheer speed? That'd actually be pretty nice if they thought that's what happened. Means no one's going to shake me down for the body. Holy shit, I might actually win the hunt! I zen, check the event board, and see that I missed some time. The event ends in six hours.

Someone hits me with a net. I think they literally used a net gun on me. Did someone really just rage net me? I flop, hearing more sizzling and it occurs to me that maybe whatever killed the hare had nothing to do with me and I'm next. I scream, thrashing, trying to get away from the sound, and then notice I'm surrounded by glitter. And where the glitter lands, there's hissing. Are those my fucking scales? Oh~! Foofoo exposed them, probably breathe this shit in, and got rekt! At least it was quick. Still need to do a Suckening to make sure its dead. Or just to learn. Iono, still feeling nightmare fuel-y. Might need to find a way to save the soul later for when I've freed up space. And lost metaphysical limbs. Through digestion. I don't like that I have to qualify all of this.

There's cursing and muttering as someone comes to collect me. They take me out of the net, -- without tangling me in it or anything, very impressive, -- handling me, but not roughly or gently. Competently. He's handling me competently. He's a hunter that knows that the intact living catch is more impressive. So he's holding me in the palm of one hand, not tucked into his side, loosely folding the net and tucking it under his arm while looking me over. For my part I'm trying to use my core strength to not fall and get fumbled.

"What is this?" the guy asks loudly, clearly, projecting his voice without just jumpscaring the shit outta everyone yelling randomly. This guy's handling skill level is on par with my silk production.

The man turns and I flail reflexively. I'm still balanced, he compensated for the turn, and I nearly fucked it up for everyone, so my wings go out as I try to catch myself and not fall, the sunlight and essence responding favorably considering I still haven't finished cleaning off what looked like dried scale shed off my wings. This poor, generous soul sees the condition my wings are in, and -- what's killing me and making me tense as I watch this train wreck is I know he's doing this for my own good. For my sake. He's helping me out. -- pulls free the loose wing cover that I neglected, revealing more wing scales. Which come loose. And his hand starts melting. I know it's miasma mutation, but it just looks like it's bubbling and melting. He screams, still doesn't drop me, so I hop off and move away.

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I don't know how to fix this. Silent Howl knew some counters, but I don't know how to find and check the herb with my buggy senses. Something might smell like cinammon to a hunan and taste like garlic to a hunan, but I thought they were juicy fruit berries that tasted like sweet, tart berries. He stands there, panting, holding a knife while I try to remember if there's a way I pulled miasma from someone. I remember Persephone dumping some into me but --. Where's his hand? Oh. The knife. He'd cut his hand off while I was panicking and feeling like a piece of shit. I've regrown limbs before. Gods know I've got the karma. But do I have the Will? Didn't that knock me out before?

-*I'm sorry,*- my breath runs faster. I'll anchor, hide out, and eat shiver thorn jelly. -*I'll compensate you after the hunt. I'm not safe to touch when I'm alarmed.*-

"Are you with the little lord?" It takes me a minute but I finally realize he's talking to me. Like he takes me talking just in stride.

-*If you mean the person who paid to change the hunt, no, but I do plan on ruining his hunt.*- Aren't I supposed to stop telling on myself?

Thought I made that a resolution. Pretty sure I also said I was gonna eat people who bothered me... And I suck souls now. ... I'm a hypocrite amongst liars. Situation normal.

"How do you mean," he says slowly, and I feel his energy pulling back. No... Condensing.

-*I'm going to try to win the hunt,*- I admit, peeling the shed off of my wings.

They go from stained glass to colored light, the scales shards of condensed essence bound to my wings. Not sure why opening them triggers it. Does it take energy to fully extend my wings? I can get the light show --. Ooh! What's it look like now? I open my wings, mostly, and the Qi shifts to the element corresponding to the reflected essence. Nice. I stop when people start shouting, tucking my wings in guiltily before turning back to the hunter.

-*Sorry. Was grooming. I think the rabbit thought I was a snack...*- I frown as I try to process the --. I wasn't supposed to eat any more souls.

Shit.

"Essence Fountain?"

The hunter reaches out for me again, and I scream for his sake, and try to get away. And fail. Come on! What the hell? I swear I used to be better at this. Now I'm surrounded by a cloud of various essences that hover around me like lights. But don't mix.

-*Hmm?*-

"Ah!" He nods to himself and I try to think of what an Essence Fountain is.

Sounds self-explanatory. A source of essence just spewing essence. But I'm not. It's a defense mechanism! How's he --. Essence manipulation. This is why my miasma trick isn't gonna work in the deeper area of the Empire of the Rising Sun. Fucking... I was in the back backwoods. Now I'm getting into towns, not even full cities yet, and people here "act right". Or aren't total bitches. The difference between ambient Qi and no Qi. Fack!

"Alright," he smiles, cradling me, -- dude is way too good at this. I hope he uses his powers for good. "We can work with this. We'll teach you to contain it so you don't accidentally melt yourself."

Do tell? I find myself leaning closer like he's going to tell me a secret. I don't know what it looks like to him, but he's laughing as he carries me through the crowd of people who are either loudly whispering on some bullshit about how I ruined their hunt, -- they came up to where I was, I didn't go down to them. On some bullshit!-- muttering about how dangerous an untrained multi-elemental spirit can be, -- guilty? Teehee? -- or just jealous. No one tries to make a move to take me or block the hunter, not completely, some people stand along the hunter's projected trajectory, one foot in the way, but they pivot and walk with us while asking how much he's selling me for.

I don't know if it's a good sign or a bad sign that this guy is so comfortable handling me barehanded after he just lost his hands for handling me barehanded, or that he's so upbeat about us being partners. Wait. Oh. Oh~... He thinks I chose him. I think. The whole spirit beast thing where I can talk to everyone. ... Did Silent Howl do that, too? Did he break me by keeping open communication with me but not bonding with me? It's not called bonding. Ew. Nope. Not calling it dominating. Nuh uh. Fuck off. Don't care what they call it. That's a yikes.

So, -- subject change, -- partnership? Not just enslavement or straight up servitude. Like... He doesn't have to know I can talk to everybody. In fact it might be better if I stopped talking to other people. this guy is comforting, wants to partner up, and not just for the hunt. He wants to be roomies! I get to hear him quietly, soothingly, tell me about his hunting guild. Not clan. Guild. Imma join a guild! With requests given by locals wanting assistance with this or that critter or beast. Wait. Does he work for animal control? Or is he some kinda beastmaster class?

"But first we need to finish this hunt," he says cheerfully, plopping me on a boulder.

We done walking? He was saying so many nice things I started to think he was about to drop me outside the hunting zone to disqualify me. Although... I ask for a moment to check to see if leaving during the contest will disqualify me. Yeah, I got the gold rabbit, but what that deer meat do, though? I start drooling as I check local events, back to the hunt... And it works like a weird club. As long as I paid and have proof I can come in whenever I want. What the fuck is supposed to be my proof?

-*Back,*- I say before cringing. Really, AFK, me? -*I had to pay to get in, but I didn't receive anything as proof that I paid.*-

Did I accidentally threaten the dude into not giving me my proof? I watch, flinching, cringing, and not quite sure how to tell him to use his hand when he's trying to put his missing hand in his robe top over and over again. I end up flailing anemically, and he apologizes to me for being so clumsy, and keeps trying. I sigh, lower my head, see we're in a beautiful cloud of prismatic light, realize I shed like a motherfucker, and will the cloud into my mouth, funneling the scales but not getting credit for a scale dust attack, or for feeding.

"Oh! Well done. That's so much better," he murmurs to himself, trying once more to reach into his robe top before noticing his new handicap. He laughs then switches hands, pulling out a plaque with a star burned into it and information on the Prismatic Mountain Hunt. "You should have gotten one of these as a receipt."

-*I got charged 20 spirit stones to join the hunt and I didn't get a receipt...*- I admit, going from upset about his hand and him holding the cloud of my shedding wings at bay, -- and possibly my bald spot -- to being upset that I really did get scammed despite my best efforts.