Vath relaxed for the rest of the class. His fights were over, and while there were plenty of whispers and muttered comments, no one said anything to him directly, so he ignored it all. He watched Kaser completely overwhelm a boy who used ice projectiles that moved too slowly to hit someone at Kaser’s speed, and then lose to a girl who used air or something akin to it to lift Kaser completely off the ground and hold him there. Neither fight had any of the animosity present in Vath’s second, though. The boy looked annoyed at his loss, but was polite to his brother; and the girl had joked good naturedly at Kaser’s hanging predicament, getting a laugh in response. Apart from the obvious, it had been a pretty good day. Both brothers had proven solid improvement to their teachers, classmates, and, most importantly, themselves; and both had clear flaws pointed out so they knew at least some of where to work on.

The class ended not long after the final students had their second fights, and they all filed out of the arena to head home, or wherever other disciples went. Right outside, Vath and Kaser were surprised to find Wald standing there waiting for them. They’d paid attention when the older disciples had first shown up, but they hadn’t seen him. “When’d you get here?” Kaser asked.

“I’ve been here the whole time,” Wald replied, “I’m quite good at avoiding notice when I want to. You both did well, though Vath’s second fight was more of a… spectacle… than I expected.”

“He was a jackass.” Vath cut in hotly, “Arrogant bastard had the gall to turn his back and give a speech after one hit without confirming the win. Deserved what he got.”

Wald raised his hand in a conciliatory manner, “I’m not casting judgment. He was undoubtedly rude and careless. But as little as he is liked here, he does have backing. No one here will shed a tear over his injuries, the healers will handle them fine, but there may be trouble eventually if he holds onto this grudge. Which seems likely.”

“Backing?” Vath asked with a frown.

Wald nodded, “He’s the son of an Elder from another sect of the Empire. The sects send students to each other relatively often to foster ties, and to get their hands on any knowledge that they can find. Most look forward to making the most of such an exchange, but every once in a while you get someone like that boy. He likely held status in his sect from birth because of his father, and never learned an ounce of humility or hard work. You’ve already proven you can handle him; what I’m concerned about is his father or other allies. The sect master and my mother won’t let them pull any nonsense here, but you won’t be in the sect forever. In fact, I came here to talk to you about going outside the sect on missions. If the father or others take this poorly, and have agents catch you outside… Well, I’m worried, is all.”

Vath’s frown deepened, but Kaser’s eyes lit up as he excitedly responded, “Missions? You told us we weren’t doing those.” Wald had insisted they actually rest and relax on their rest days, as time to recuperate was an important part of growth, but the day normally for missions they had been told to either cultivate or relax more instead.

“You weren’t ready for them. I know you lived in the wilds for years, but in that time you fought exactly one Beast, and it nearly killed both of you. The only missions you’re interested in involve hunting them directly, so I told you to wait. After what I saw today, I think it’s time. You both still have a long way to go, and I still wouldn’t put you against more than the weakest stage Beasts, but I think you can start, at least.” Wald answered.

Kaser grinned, “That might be the most backhanded compliment I’ve ever received, Wald.”

“The caveats are for you, Kaser. Your brother has a somewhat sensible head on his shoulders. I’m not worried about him getting cocky and doing something reckless because I praised him without being clear on his limits.” Wald told him with a flat look.

“Reckless? Me?” Kaser said, his grin unmoved.

Wald rolled his eyes, “The first time I praised your technique progress, you demanded we spar to test it before you could properly control it, and promptly fell flat on your face at high speed before even reaching me.”

“But imagine if it had worked!” Kaser said with a laugh.

Vath shook his head at the exchange and promised he’d keep an eye on his brother like usual if they were allowed to go, which he very much wanted to. Wald said he was still leaning towards allowing it, but the Elder’s son made him wary enough he wanted to talk to his mother about it. They could get an answer in a few hours when they showed up for their evening void practice.

The afternoon was spent on their usual schedule. They unwound with a bit of food and casual chatting, and then settled in to cultivate for the remaining time before they had to meet Wald.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

When they arrived, they were called into the same courtyard as before, Elder Lita sitting in the same place like she hadn’t moved for weeks. She told them she was happy with their progress, annoyed at the hassle of dealing with another Elder, gave them each a device they could use to signal for help in an emergency, made it clear in no uncertain terms that if they died she would find a way to resurrect them so she could kill them again herself, and then gave her blessing for them to hunt low level Beasts or other missions. So pretty much par for the course with Elder Lita based on their experiences and Wald’s wry smile through the whole tirade.

Their time with Wald for the night was spent going over the day’s fights in more detail, to cement where they had done well, and where they could improve. For both, more training would obviously help, but at this point, they needed more techniques to cover their weaknesses, or, better yet, a domain. But they were both still working on mastering just one technique, and domains were a stage and change away. In short, they just needed to continue as they were, and keep these experiences in mind when they went to chart their paths in the future. Before they left, Wald made them promise to look for people they could trust to watch their backs out on missions for his own peace of mind. The brother’s looked at each other, and Kaser remarked that they might have two in mind.

At home, they confirmed that they would talk to the companions they had in mind tomorrow. They had a whole rest day to handle it before mission day.

The next morning after breakfast Kaser was so excited he rushed off to invite their guests to join them for lunch and put in a large order at the closest kitchen. Vath decided to use his rest day to, well, rest, and spent the morning luxuriating in a bath kept just warm enough to soothe, before moving to the couch to enjoy a book he’d picked up in the library. He was as driven to progress as anyone, more than most, really; but private time to relax was both good for him, and not something he wanted to squander, rare as it was.

Kaser only came home a short time before lunch despite the relative ease of his errands. He’d likely spent the morning with some of the many acquaintances that he somehow collected wherever he went. Vath didn’t pretend to understand it, but his brother was happy, so that was good enough.

They’d barely received the food and moved it into the back courtyard when a chime announced the expected arrivals. Their front door opened to reveal Emara, smiling widely, and Dornah, looking curious and hungry. A quick welcome and walk to the back later, and all attempts at discussion were interrupted by Dornah insisting that food was first. The brothers had ordered more than double what they usually ate just in case, and Dornah almost immediately made them worried they hadn’t gotten enough. The four devoured dish after dish until it was all gone; Dornah thankfully leaned back and sighed in contentment when there was no more.

“So,” he began, “Why have you called us here, besides the delicious food?”

Emara started almost bouncing in her seat, “Yes! What do you have planned? Kaser wouldn’t say, but he didn’t say very loudly.”

Kaser affected nonchalance, “Oh, it’s really nothing. We’ve been allowed to start Beast hunting, and were wondering if you’d want to come with. Probably dreadfully boring, but company would make it bearable, you know?”

Dornah grinned wolfishly, or perhaps bearishly, and Emara all but shouted, “YES! We’d love to!”

Vath frowned at his brother. He knew he was just having fun, but there were other concerns, and they’d already discussed how they were going to approach this. Kaser never could follow a script. “There’s something else you should know.” Vath said, and laid out the situation with the Elder and his son. They had both agreed they wouldn’t put friends in danger without warning them of the possibility first.

The other two were no longer smiling, but they looked no less determined. Dornah just simply said, “We will come.” as if that was the end of it.

Emara had a bit more to add to the same sentiment, “Of course we will. That story made the rounds. That jerk deserved a few good smacks. If there’s problems, we’re not gonna just watch you handle them alone. That’s what friends are for.” Dornah punctuated this with a sharp nod.

Vath didn’t know how to feel. Kaser looked happy, but he was of two minds. He was moved that they wanted to help even knowing the danger; he’d never had that before except for Kaser, and Wald now, he guessed. But he didn’t want his first real friends to be in danger because of his problems. Then again, he had no problem with Kaser coming, and they knew the risks. They were allowed to make their own choices. He’d just have to protect them the same as his brother, and trust them to return the favor just like Kaser did.

The talk turned to idle chatter after that, the four just enjoying each other’s company. It didn’t take long though before Emara turned to Kaser and asked to have a tour of the house, and the two walked inside, with faces that could not look more suspicious.

Vath looked over at Dornah and flatly asked, “Do they think we don’t know? Or do they just not care to tell us?”

Dornah just laughed before responding, “Perhaps both? They know we know, or at least suspect, and this does not bother them, but if they keep up the pretense, they do not have to discuss it?”

Vath just grunted and shook his head. “The food has settled enough that I was about to suggest dessert. What a shame that they are preoccupied and will miss it.”

Dornah smirked in response. “What a terrible shame, indeed.” he said with mock sincerity.