It's been a day since Simon and Annie left from the foot of the mountain, and found the main road to the capital in a thinner part of the forest. Conveniently enough, it was right next to where the village was. When they initially went back to that area, they discovered that most of the structures in the village were just gone; all except the place where Joel and Annie lived together. With nary a word between them, they picked up necessary supplies from Annie's now vacant home into a large pack that Simon now carries on his back and hit the road.
"You know, it always felt like a dream there in that village. I can even think of multiple strange occurrences that just don't make sense to me now... but rather then being trapped in an illusion, it seemed I was more safeguarded then anything. But now, we're on the way to the capital, with no one to depend on except ourselves... What a change of pace."
Annie's soft voice was wistful as she spoke.
They had not yet encountered anyone on the forest road so far, so they had only the sounds of nature and their own conversations to keep them company. This also allowed them to get a better grasp of each other's situation.
"But Simon, do you really have only a few memories?"
"Yeah, it seems so. I remember I used to be human... but details mostly escape me. I had to deal with a bunch of old stuff, but I remember enjoying my work, whatever it was exactly."
"What about family and stuff?"
"Family? ... I get the feeling I didn't really have that anymore."
"I see... I guess we're the same there huh? But that's okay; me and Liam can be your family!"
After saying this, she quickly reaches and scratchs Simon's head.
"...Hm."
They continued on in silence for a few minutes before Simon spoke up again.
"Hey Annie. Somethings been bothering me."
"Huh? Like what?"
"You smell."
"At least I don't smell like wolf."
"Yeah, but I smell like a clean wolf."
*****************
Taking note of the placement of the road as night starts to fall, Annie directs Simon over to a pool of glimmering water as Simon puts the travel pack down...
(Wait, isn't this glimmering a bit too much? It's WAY too bright to be normal!)
"Uh, Annie, are you sure this isn't acid or something? It's the middle of the night but I can still see around the area because of how bright it is..."
"Relax; this is where I always bathe!"
"...I'll take your word for it th- what are you doing?"
Annie is in the middle of taking off her clothes when she hears Simon's question.
"Do you want me to keep them on while we bathe or something?"
"You could at least wait till I'm on the other si- Hey!"
Ignoring what Simon says, she tears off Simon's cloak and throws it to the side.
"Take off that skirt thing too. What are you all embarrassed about anyway? You're like seven or something."
(No use hoping for a women's modesty from a twelve year old I guess...)
***********
Simon is soaked almost completely into the warm water, ears flat atop his head and eyes closed, with only half his head un-submerged. He cracks open his eyes a little and sees Annie doing much the same thing. He pulls his head out slightly calls out to her -
"Oi."
"Hmmmmm?"
(She's basically out of it.)
"This is nice and all, but how's this supposed to clean us? It's just water right?"
"Huh? No, its a cleansing pool."
"A cleansing pool?"
"Yeah. It's known to eliminate impurities and prevent diseases... It's why I have basically never been sick as long as I had been in that... village."
"...I see. It's nice."
"Yeah."
They sit in silence for a while, before Annie speaks first.
"Oh, and a cleansing pool doesn't just clean you. Try to meditate for a second and you'll see what I mean."
"Meditate? I'll try I guess..."
This time around, Simon closes his eyes and sinks into the water not just to relax, but to focus.
(Meditation... the inner self... what the hell is that supposed to mea- Oh!?)
He felt a steady pulse of energy in his mind's eye; the focus of the star rank, also known as the Mental Core. He felt it once before on accident, but now it seemed different.
(It's... pulsing faster?)
He goes wide-eyed and looks at Annie in surprise. She has a smug smile on her face seeing his expression.
"Heh, cool right? I've got lots of tricks for a young pup such as yourself!"
"Yeah whatever, but what does it mean when it goes faster?"
"For people below 4*, the level of understanding of whatever path you are going on is accelerated; if you don't put in the work, it won't make any difference though. I managed to break through to 3* due to me grasping the idea of using mana on my bow and arrows. I don't know how it works for someone like you who doesn't use weapons though. You use just your body right? I know some races like the Shars focus on the power of the physical body and shun mana; you might be able to learn something from one from the capital. Well, if you're willing to show them what you look like at least."
(The Shars... I remember reading about them from some of Annie's books.)
The Shars were a race of hunched over humanoids, and lovers of the cultivation of their bodies. They were quite a jovial race, but fierce on the fields of battle. They also were proponents of "free love", whatever that means.
At this point, Simon's wet fur reminded Simon of a pressing matter-
"How am I supposed to dry myself off?"
"Huh? Just shake yourself off and sit by the fire I'm gonna light."
"I feel like it's gonna make all the fur puff up..."
"Don't worry, it'll be cute."
Simon glares at Annie as she snickers. Suddenly, he hears a very slight noise-
"A branch breaking? And talking... Someone's here."
"I know. I can feel it on the wind."
Simon turns to Annie with eyebrows raised In a questioning manner. She again puts on a smug smile.
"Heheh. I'm a prodigy, remember? I've practiced manipulation of air with mana along with my archery; pretty good combination, if I do say so myself!"
She then puts on a sly grin.
"So lets see if these guys are good or bad..."