I continue looking through her stats, my eyebrows rising in surprise.
“Why hasn’t your stamina increased similarly, though – it’s increased, but not even as much as double.”
No need. My stamina is sufficient. Mana was not. Health was not. I’d thought that my eyebrows had risen as high as they could, but hearing the female voice in my mind proved me wrong.
“Bastet?” I ask, though I don’t need her confirmation to know that it’s her. “You’re talking?” It’s inane, and stating the obvious, but I’d otherwise be speechless. I was kind of expecting her to start talking after evolving, but not right after.
Yes. I nod absently, still trying to take in the surprises. I hadn’t known what to expect from this evolution, but so far it hasn’t disappointed. Heck, actually being able to hear Bastet talk to me would have been enough. Although our communication has improved over our time together, I won’t deny that there haven’t been times when her being able to tell me something in words wouldn’t have been far easier.
Though I also sense that she’s still not really using words. Not on her side of things. There’s a blurred edge to her words which I recognise from my experience with Kalanthia. It means that she’s still sending directed thoughts at me rather than forming her thoughts into words and then sending them to me as River does. And she seems to prefer short phrases over long sentences if that little discourse was anything to judge by.
But the point is that she’s talking.
After marvelling over that fact for a moment, I think over her actual words and notice something.
“Wait, you said that your stamina is sufficient but that your mana wasn’t?”
Yes.
“But you don’t use mana for anything…do you?” Maybe her stealth used magic? That would make sense…
Not before. Now, yes. Before I can ask her what she means by that, she leaps forward, moving with greater speed and lightness than she’d demonstrated before. Pausing at the edge of the plateau, she rears back onto her back legs, and her wings beat forwards.
I wonder for a moment if she’s trying to fly – if she’s now going to use mana to overcome the fact that her wings are still far too small for her body – but then realise that the angle isn’t right for that. She’s not beating towards the ground, but towards the air in front of her.
And then she breathes out and a billow of flame emerges from her muzzle into the air ahead of her, visible because she’s angled herself so that we can see it but also not be in danger. The fire is propelled forwards, licking at the air perhaps a metre or so in front of her body. My mouth drops open. A flame-throwing raptorcat?
Bastet’s status screen is still open in front of me and I see her pools of mana and stamina start to empty, their rate of use increasing as the seconds tick by. By the time Bastet stops breathing out, instead gasping in some air, and drops back to all four paws with her wings tucked on her back again, she’s used almost half her mana pool and a good quarter of her stamina.
“That attack guzzles mana as badly as a nineteen fifties car,” I murmur quietly, my eyes still wide.
Yes, she agrees, trotting back towards us, her expression very much the cat who’s got the cream. Mana was insufficient.
“I’ll say,” I agree fervently. Fortunately, I can already see her mana start to tick up slowly. She probably won’t be able to get more than two of those attacks per fight, but hopefully she’ll be able to regenerate mana enough to then use at least one in the next fight.
Darting a look around at the rest of the audience, I see – and feel – a number of different reactions. Kalanthia is thoughtful, Lathani impressed. The other cubs also looked impressed but are already starting to squabble amongst themselves over a leaf, the lack of continuing action losing their attention.
River is surprised, though I don’t get much more from his expression or what I feel over the Bond. Sirocco, surprisingly enough, is a mixture of fearful and envious. As for Fenrir, he doesn’t seem to have understood exactly what has just gone on, but recognises that everyone else appears to feel it’s good. Like someone who doesn’t actually get the joke and just laughs because everyone else is laughing, his reaction is a little delayed.
I can’t help the amusement from tugging the corner of my mouth into a grin.
“So,” I say, turning back to Bastet, “Did you choose to be able to do that, or did it just…happen?” A sense of a shrug comes across the Bond.
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I wanted another attack. One that could help us against our enemies. This is what happened. When I knew what the attack was, I knew my mana was not sufficient. And I knew before that my health was not sufficient. I could not improve everything at once.
Interesting. I wonder whether fire became part of the attack because she saw me using it against the vine-stranglers, the enemy which, arguably, was the only one recently which she couldn’t do a lot against. Or whether it was the salamander which had inspired it. Or…another possibility comes to mind.
Kalanthia mentioned that the Energy-Hearts are fire-aspected, I remind myself pensively. All of us have been using them, and suddenly I’m able to ‘feel the fire’ and Bastet gains a fire-breath attack upon her evolution. Is it a coincidence, or is there a pattern here? It’s hard to say. Perhaps if the next of my Bound gets some sort of fire attack on their evolution after heavily using the fire-aspected Hearts from the cavern, it will offer more evidence of my theory.
Though, with that being River at fifty-seven percent progress, it’s going to be a while off yet. Then again, we’ve still got a good month before the quest means we have to go back to the cavern; it might happen shortly before then if he keeps hunting and using Energy-Hearts.
“So what else has changed?” I ask Bastet curiously. She eyes me and for a moment I think she’s just going to let me stew in my own curiosity; wait until I see the changes in action. Then she seems to make her mind up to actually throw me a bone. Perhaps because she realises that revealing things in the middle of a fight probably isn’t the best idea.
Faster. A little stronger. Bigger…younger. So, nothing I hadn’t already noticed. Well, not the stronger bit, but the other aspects, yes. Though that doesn’t give me any idea of how much faster and stronger that she’s become.
Then an idea occurs to me and I look between her and my other Bound. Perhaps there’s a way of killing two birds with one stone. Or not killing per se, and I’m not sure if Sirocco will want to be involved but…
“How do all of you feel about…sparring?” Silent confusion meets my question.
Sparring…play? River asks at the same time as Bastet makes a suggestion.
Mock battles of cubs?
“Kind of,” I answer both of them. “Basically, fighting, but for the purposes of practice rather than killing or injuring the opponent. So not ripping out each other’s throats, for example. Do you understand?”
I get a mixture of responses, but they seem to get the idea. If all three of them only seem to understand by remembering times when they were younger and playing with their siblings before they were able to start hunting for themselves, I’m not going to complain.
Why do this? Bastet asks bluntly. We are not cubs.
“No, but you’ve just evolved and have increased capabilities. You probably need to get used to using them in a battle and the rest of us need to get used to them too. As an extra benefit, I need to work on improving my use of Flesh-Shaping, and small injuries from sparring would probably be pretty good practice for that.”
OK, Bastet answered with the feeling of an unconvinced shrug, and Fenrir and River sent their agreement too. I turn my head to look at Sirocco, still sitting on my shoulder.
“Do you want to take part in this too?” She sends an uncertain feeling at me. I get the distinct feeling that she’s not exactly against the idea, just not sure what part she can play. “Well, I would suggest that we start with one on one pairings, just to get used to it. Then we can try team sparring and a group of us ganging up against one.” I’m musing out loud more than talking to them, but probably just as well give them an idea of what I’m thinking. “Maybe River and Bastet first, then Fenrir and Sirocco? Just remember, small injuries are fine, large injuries no.”
This should be a good opportunity for me to test out different things when it comes to Flesh shaping. I want to get involved in the sparring too, but figure that it would be better for me to be an observer at first, so if the action starts getting more heated than appropriate for a sparring match, I can quickly call a halt to it.
Without needing more instruction than that, the two opponents face each other. Though, River does have a question for me, it appears.
Should I use a spear or just my natural weapons? I consider it.
“Perhaps your spear this time. You can go without in some other matches, but if Bastet’s improved as much as it seems, you’re probably going to need it now.”
Then may I fetch it? I quickly wave at him, a little frustrated that he’s asking permission for such a small thing. He darts away, returning with the flint-tipped spear I gave him a while ago.
Now prepared, the two square up to each other. For a moment, neither move, and then when they do, it’s almost too quick to follow.
Bastet wasn’t kidding when she said she’d become faster – she leaps forwards and lands an attack on River before he can react. Although she’s clearly pulling her strike, she still leaves two three-clawed stripes down his chest that start to bleed sluggishly. Before River can react, she’s pushed off his chest and is already a few paces away, crouching ready to attack again.
River, to judge by the feelings coming through the Bond, is more embarrassed at being so taken off guard than hurt, so I don’t call the match there. He seems determined not to be so easily attacked again, his grip tightening on his spear.
This time when Bastet leaps at him, she has to abort her attack as a flint-tipped spear suddenly appears right in her path. I have to admit that my heart was in my mouth for a moment there – I was worried that she wouldn’t react in time and that I wouldn’t be able to fix a spear through her heart. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea – I don’t want Bastet’s first day after Evolution to become her last….
Then again, my worries came to naught, and we do need practice. If only because we can’t expect to become some powerful fighting force if the only practice we have is in the middle of battle – we’re too busy just trying to survive at that point to work on or test out technique.
Suddenly, I find myself eager for my own turn to come around – I can’t believe that I never thought of this before!