"I will catch you~" Kali sang as she spun around a trunk, kicking off of it as she went and making an intentionally loud landing as she smirked at the pink bundle of giggles rush off behind another tree.
Being inside the druidic boundary of the village, only a lush layer of grass and soft undergrowth covered the ground with no thorny bushes or other annoying plants obstructing them from running around and between the trees.
Kali shot off again, her soft footfalls barely leaving a dent on the ground despite her speed propelling her past a low-flying pigeon. The bird hooted at her angrily but she left it in the dust as she dodged to the right, only stepping on a trunk as she landed and launched herself back into a dash with a quick kick.
The princess danced between the trees. Speed and supernatural agility going in hand with her lightweight to make her appear like she was flying from tree to tree.
Compared to her, Alexis was a tiny pink rocket.
It took a good hour and a half of short sprints before Lexy finally managed to push herself. The girl was still under the preconception that she was human and more importantly that she was slow. That she should be slow.
Kali, of course, didn't say it like that. She was aware how uncomfortable the girl still was about having been a human and becoming an elf in general. These were just games, and Kali — being a good friend — was helping Lexy get better at them.
Kali was moving at a snail's pace at first, her longer strides almost catching up with the girl's initial speed as she put one tiny leg after the other. With Kali having a fully developed body and around 170 levels on the girl, if she couldn't run circles around her even with her genetic advantage, she might as well cry herself to sleep.
Alexis ran in a straight line, but unlike what her small stature would suggest, with each step she launched herself forward while kicking up patches of dirt. She was more of a strength and speed runner and the occasional tree standing in her way was the only thing making her slow down.
Kali was still moving leisurely, interweaving flips and spins into jumps which, while were totally unnecessary, were a sight to behold. Still, unlike when they began, Kali could actually enjoy the exercise now as she was forced to do more than jog behind the young elf.
On her next jump, she put a bit more force into her legs as she kicked off of a tree.
Smiling wide and with her hair flapping behind her as wind blew into her face. She flew between two trunks and with another hop to break her speed a bit she was only a step behind Lexy.
She launched herself into a forward roll, wrapping her arms around Lexy midair.
With a small yelp, Lexy fell along with her, but soon her giggles joined Kali’s as they rolled along the soft ground.
“Caught you~,” Kali sang, blowing a breath of air onto the girl’s ears.
“Eeeeeeep” Lexy squealed. “Tickles.”
"You are getting much better, little rabbit~" Kali smiled as she hugged the squirming bundle of joy in her arms.
"Am not a rabbit," she pouted slightly. "You are a rabbit."
"Hmm?" Kali smirked. "Am I now?"
"You jump around and have white hair!"
"Fair enough," Kali giggled as she rolled off of the girl, laying on the soft undergrowth like a lazy starfish. "I concede to your flawless reasoning."
"Humpf," Lexy huffed, breathing heavily as her lungs worked in overtime to get enough oxygen into her body.
A weird thought pried itself into Kali's mind. I never wanted to be a mother … but I can see why it could be nice.
Still, that was but a fleeting thought. She was a fugitive with possibly two powerful nations or even three working in the shadows to capture her. That wasn't a life she'd like to bring a child into. Plus, she still had twenty years before she would even have to consider it.
Her ears perked up, noticing the by now familiar footsteps.
"You two done?" Vorgnar asked, neither gentle nor overly cold. Maybe a result of having been sent to stand guard after the first round.
Not my fault he is a killjoy. Who told him to go all out in a game of tag with a little girl.
"I think so?" Kali asked with a sideways glance. "Yep, we are."
"Awww," Lexy whined, but her breaths were coming out short.
"We can play again tomorrow," I have that practice thing with Avariel tomorrow. "Or the day after that."
"Okay," Lexy conceded.
This should be the first time she used up some of her mana. She should be beyond exhausted.
Kali felt the moment the girl's inherent magic activated. That was the moment she went from fast to a blur. Mana rushed to her legs and enhanced them beyond their physical limits. That was how Autumn Elves could run so fast.
The two girls lazily got up and walked back to their house. Long shadows crawled across the forest, rushing to escape the blue light of the moon.
The elves were mostly asleep, but some were still out and about. Kali spied a few women sitting around and weaving baskets and another group of men working on fixing up a carving.
"Could you wait a minute?" Kali glanced back at Vorgnar once they reached the small wooden dwelling. "I want to ask you something after..." she trailed off as she sent a meaningful glance at the by now drowsy Lexy, trying to keep her eyes open.
"Sure." The man nodded.
"Thanks," Kali led the girl in and after a quickly wet towel scrubbing, shoved her into the bed. The girl was snoring the moment her head touched the pillow.
"Thanks for waiting," Kali said as she popped her head back out. "Want to come in?"
"Will it take long?"
"Noo?" Kali said and stepped outside, understanding his meaning.
"Then I don't want to intrude."
"If you say so," Kali shrugged, Lexy could sleep better that way. "I was meaning to ask this for a while but," Egh, I should have thought this through. Oh well, I'll just say it. "Could you train me?"
"Train you?" Vorgnar frowned and crossed his arms. "What for?"
"To fight of course," Ah he is not convinced. Time to be convincing Kali. "I need to learn how to fight! I might know some Spells and how to run fast and stuff but that doesn't mean I know how to fight."
The man hummed as his heavy gaze bore down on Kali. "I can't teach you how to fight," he stated. "How I fight, how I've fought for centuries, doesn't fit even humans and certainly not an elven girl who weighs less than my forearm."
"But-"
"That doesn't mean I have nothing to teach you," he smiled slightly. "If we want to survive together once we leave this village, you will have to learn how to survive. I can teach you how to survive fighting someone like me."
"I- ahm, I mean-," Kali blinked, collecting er thoughts. "That's good I guess?"
"I'd be crippling you if I forced you to learn my style of fighting. You'd need someone to teach you blade-dancing."
"Ah," Kali nodded. Too bad all good blade dancers are back in the mountains, fawning over Father. "Right." She couldn't help but slouch her shoulders.
"Until then, you'll have to manage with spells and speed," he shrugged. "You are already more agile than most elves. I doubt anyone without more than a hundred levels on you could even touch you."
"Could you?" Kali asked back, a bit of her annoyance making her sound more sassy than intended.
"Maybe," he raised an eyebrow. "But only if I used tricks and forced you into a corner, my speed is still steady decreasing."
"Oh," There was that. "Can't Avariel make some potion for you or something?"
"Avariel, is it?" he stared at her dubiously. "I doubt the Archdruid wants me to even be in her village, so I doubt she'd bother with it even if she could."
"How low will it go?" Kali asked with a bit of trepidation. Her 'partner' was weakening by the day. It wasn't too reassuring.
"A dozen more levels at most," he shrugged. "I went below the first breakthrough yesterday." He grimaced. "You might overtake me at this rate."
"Will I?" Kali blinked owlishly.
"You feel around 190?" Vorgnar rubbed his chin. "Maybe more, but I know you elves have more Mana than humans at the same level."
"Yeah," Kali nodded. Didn't she get that hammered into her head by a bunch of obnoxious tutors? Not that it mattered. An elf could have ten times the mana of a human when there were a hundred humans for every single elf. And that's if I only count the Humans in the empire.
"How long do you want to stay here?"
Kali was drawn out of her brooding, "Wha- I mean, excuse me?"
"How long do you want to stay in this village?" Vorgnar repeated. "The druid might like you being here, but she most certainly doesn't like me, and I assumed there was a reason you wanted to get as far away from the Empire as possible."
"Oh, that." Kali gulped. Am I … safe here? Am I really? Would I be safer if I went as far away from Father as possible? Would Avariel really protect me when Father sniffed me out here and sent an army? Or worse, an Archmage? What if he came, himself?
"Kalitra," Vorgnar interrupted her again.
"Oh sorry," Kali said, with a slight heat rushing to her cheeks. Am I becoming an airhead? "I don't know … I want to learn what I can from Avariel and the people here … I never had the opportunity to learn some things before."
"I see," he nodded. "If you want to settle down here, tell me." He gave her a stare.
"A- Alright," Kali nodded. "I don't think I will? Just a few weeks … maybe a month or two?"
Maybe a few years? No dumb, Kali, you are thinking like an oldie.
The passing of time was different when you knew you'd live for another thousand years if someone didn't put a dagger into your heart.
"That," he looked up at the moon. "Should be alright. One month, or two at most, I can wait that long."
"Thank you," Kali smiled up at him.
"You will help me stay alive," he shook his head. "I'm just being pragmatic."
"If you say so." Kali nodded. "First training now?"
"No," he shook his head. "If we want to train, we can't do it inside this barrier. I don't want the elves to hate me more than they already do."
"Okay" Kali deflated. "Tomorrow? I'll ask Avariel if she could let us out for training?"
"Alright," he nodded. "Good night."
"Good night?" Kali blinked, but he was already turning around and walking away.
What am I supposed to do to pass the time, then?
Sleep felt like a waste. She slept just yesterday. That was the weekly rest done in her mind.
Bath.
Kali turned heels and strode back into the house, keeping in mind to stay as silent as possible as she closed the door and started filling the bathtub with water.
"This is life~" she sighed as she sunk into the warm water. With Lexy asleep, she could enjoy it much warmer than yesterday and she could stay inside for as long as she wanted.
She ended up playing around with her magic, like she used to back in the Castle. Without the fear of being ambushed tomorrow while low on mana, she could waste the precious resource to have small balls of flames twirl around her fingers and swim around in the water.
She came to like the Water Gathering Rune to most, watching as tiny drops of water floated upwards from the bath and came together to form a ball of water was somehow entrancing and Kali found herself playing around with it until the first rays of the morning sun shone through the windows.
Kali stared up to the little window in the ceiling, the soft blue light gave was to the angry orange of dawn and she barely noticed the passing of time. I thought I wasn't like them, getting so lost in whims.
She crawled out of the bath, her skin only a bit wrinkly from the hours-long soaking. She wrapped a towel around her hair as she threw on some comfy shorts and shirt combo she found in the little chest serving as the closet.
Then she sneakily headed out of the house, making her way over to the village square and got some stuff for breakfast. She wasn't much of a cook, so all she got was some oil, flatbread, eggs, and some smoked meat.
With a spring in her steps, she snuck back into the house and got to cooking. There was a small table put near the corner with a heating panel on top. Kali pushed a bit of mana into it and placed a pan on top.
Using her masterful cooking skills, she heated the oil and threw in the smoked meat after she chopped it up into tiny bites with her trusty dagger.
[Illustration:]
[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/2f462183-7b64-44c1-8052-8b74833dfb3d/dgfk86n-11534544-38e2-474c-8b63-cc46a622d08b.png/v1/fill/w_894,h_894,q_70,strp/kalitra_cooking_by_p3t1_dgfk86n-pre.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9OTAwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvMmY0NjIxODMtN2I2NC00NGMxLTgwNTItOGI3NDgzM2RmYjNkXC9kZ2ZrODZuLTExNTM0NTQ0LTM4ZTItNDc0Yy04YjYzLWNjNDZhNjIyZDA4Yi5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9OTAwIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.V1_X3hTED885kKvD-p37vBo6fy-Y1hP__Ra9QEAsgAM]
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Morning?"
"Hi~" Kali sung as she turned around, finding a confused Lexy still in her nightclothes sniffing the air.
"Want some scrambled eggs?"
"Mhmm," Lexy nodded, trying to blink away the drowsiness as she settled into a chair.
"Alright~" Kali danced around, moving plates and utensils while she continued stirring the pan. "And done." She turned off the heater and filled the two plates.
"Thanks," Lexy perked up, taking some of the bread as she got to eating the eggs … with her hands.
"Use the fork please?"
"Ah," Lexy's ears drooped, "Okay."
So cute.
Kali took a bite. The flatbread was nice, but the eggs left something to be desired. Can't compare to royal chefs … it's good enough that Lexy seems to like it.
"So," Kali started while the pinkette was still nibbling on the bread. "I'll be going over to Avariel today. Will you be alright by yourself?"
"I will," Lexy harrumphed. Her cheeks and chest puffed out.
"Great," Kali smiled. "We can play again after I'm done, okay?"
"Mhmm," Lexy's head bobbled up and down.
----------------------------------------
"You are here," Avariel's voice reached Kali as she stepped into the Archdruid's dwelling. "Come down."
Kali's ears twitched once, her gaze locking onto the woman's signature down in the basement where they meditated yesterday, and then the activated spell faded away.
"Hi," Kali greeted with a smile, hopping down the stairs.
"Come, sit."
With a nod, Kali walked over and sat down right where she sat the day before. Hopefully she wouldn't have the same weird experience. Her memories of it were still foggy, but a shiver went down her spine whenever she tried to remember it in detail.
"Are you ready to start?" the druid asked without opening her eyes. She sat in a weird position with her legs gathered beneath her and her butt on her ankles. That must be uncomfortable as hell.
"Will it be as … uncomfortable as yesterday's?"
"No," the woman shook her head. "Our Cores have a tendency to … reward, actions that strengthen us."
"That was a reward?" Kali grimaced.
"You did something most only do much further down their paths, just like when you absorbed that large amount of Essence from the wolf beast."
Kali flinched. So I am getting overloaded with all sorts of happiness hormones because ... why?
"Why?"
"It is a natural reaction," the druid shrugged as her eyes cracked open to stare at Kali. "Like it is when a mother sees their child, when a pet sees their owner, when a woman sees her husband. Our bodies react to it. The Core just induces similar things in us."
"I don't think any of it was a so mild as those," Kali blushed, "they were much more … physical."
"Ah dear," the druid frowned. "You are one of those people, then."
"Those?" Kali tilted her head.
"Some people receive 'pleasure' instead of 'happiness'." the woman stared at Kali with a conflicted gaze. "Many go mad, only striving for that. Though that happens with the others too, but to a lesser extent."
"I can see that," Kali shivered. No finger or natural implement could cause as much pleasure to a body as she felt when she first absorbed Essence. "Will I be fine?"
"Your mind is strong," the woman patted the girl's knee. "Keep in mind, these are induced experiences. It is not you feeling them, but you are being made to feel them. If you keep that in mind, you should be alright."
"Didn't you say it was natural?"
"It is," the woman smiled. "In a way it is, but at the same time, your core and you are two separate entities. Very few realize that while it is a part of your being, it is just as much a separate entity living in symbiosis with you."
"What?" Kali frowned, her head spinning to make sense of what the druid said.
"It is of no matter to you at the moment," she smiled. "You can wait a few centuries before you worry about such things. The only thing I ask of you is to come back and see me before you ever take a chance to Ascend."
"Of course," Kali nodded. Ascension was a fleeting dream, untouchable to her for a long while still. "I'll have to visit Lexy once things calm down."
"Things," the woman smiled wryly. "As you so eloquently put it, never calm down, dear. Take it from a woman who lived for thousands of years."
Then, when I get strong enough so they don't matter.
[Illustration:]
[https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/2f462183-7b64-44c1-8052-8b74833dfb3d/dgfk8hj-56ee61a5-ec10-4167-9369-5ee13bce0d7a.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzJmNDYyMTgzLTdiNjQtNDRjMS04MDUyLThiNzQ4MzNkZmIzZFwvZGdmazhoai01NmVlNjFhNS1lYzEwLTQxNjctOTM2OS01ZWUxM2JjZTBkN2EucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.aPhcTR5dFwZAnBRnYZdZzixyMxLERBl5TuS3YZAdPsM]