After leaving elder grandmas, the moment Leo walked into iris's house he nearly collapsed. The amount of stress he had been accumulating physically and mental had finally caught up to him. Iris didn't say anything and simply helped him into her bed, he had been so exhausted that he couldn't even argue about using the blankets on the floor. He didn't wake until the morning of the next day.
When he woke up in the morning he resolved himself, he would master his curse to ensure he would never hurt those close to him again. His first step was to be able to properly use mana. Compared to chi which focused on physical strength, mana prioritized mental strength. Leo figured that by the meditation used to train mana, he might be able to train the beast within the same way. If he gained even a little insight into control, then his efforts would be worth it. So whenever he wasn't out with the hunters, he was meditating.
As the next few days slipped by though, he made no noticeable progress. Except that he was able to create a ball fire in his hand the same way Iris showed him. If it had been Leo a week ago, he probably would've done a dance in joy at his first use of magic. But now he felt a mild thrill at the accomplishment. Wondering if there was something he was missing, Leo thought back to any instance ever since he woke in the village that might help him. Then he thought of something, the day he nearly crushed Curly's arm!
As Leo thought back on that day he recalled that he had felt blind fury at how Curly was rude to Iris. As he tried to recall that he thought he felt something stirring ever so slightly. He tried to channel it, to build upon it. For the first time Leo felt he was close to something. The next thing he knew,
THUMP!!!
Leo thought he had felt a slight change in his body. He couldn't put his finger exactly on what it was, but he new something was different. He had decided to practice near the pond behind Iris's house, so he crawled over to the water and peered into it and was surprised. His eyes had gained a ring of orange surrounding his usual brown. He reached out his hand, as if to touch the water and noticed that his nails had changed as well. They had grown into claws an inch long. Leo suddenly remembered that when he had crushed Curly's arm he had also pierced that skin with his fingers. While still under the effects Leo quickly ran over to a nearby tree.
He felt as if he had powered himself with chi, but he didn't. The small change he managed to trigger had increased his physical capabilities. And as he approached the tree he made a huge swipe with his hand and four deep marks appeared In the tree. Marveling at the power he had managed to tap into, Leo had a thought. He recalled the fire he had created before, but changed the image he had. From a ball of fire, into claws of fire. And as he tapped into the mana the claws he managed to grow, flickered as with a flame for a brief second. He had failed, but that failure showed that it was possible. And for the first time Leo thought about the future possibilities, combining the abilities of the werewolf with the worlds magic. And he was suddenly grinning.
As he was having his revelation he suddenly hear two people approaching. It was Iris and Natalie, and Iris was carrying a bow he hadn't seen before. When the two of them got closer they could see the orange ring around Leo's eyes, and the claws on his hands. Before they could say anything though, Leo closed his eyes and entered the same mindset of when he was meditating. After a few seconds he opened his eyes and they were the usual brown. He looked at the two women and said,
"I think I made a breakthrough! It seems that if my emotions become intense then it might trigger a partial transformation! And if I'm right, I should be able to combine my abilities with the different types of magic!" Seeing Leo was excited Iris couldn't help smiling and said,
"That's good. I brought something for you. You were supposed to get it the night of the offering, but because of the events then it got put off for a few days. It's tradition that the teacher gifts their student a new bow after they make their first kill." After she finished her words, she held out the new bow. When Leo took the bow he could feel that something was different about it. When he looked at the two women they saw the questions in his eyes. Natalie quickly said,
"Usually its tradition that the teacher makes that bow, but seeing your capabilities we decided that the bow made before hand wasn't suitable. We used a harder wood, due to the difference in strength. And used what little capabilities with energy we had to further fortify the bow. It should hold up, but if it doesn't then you can make the next one yourself." Leo felt gratitude at their words, and how they had put in extra effort just to match the the bow to him.
"Thank you. There should be time left in the day. How about a quick hunt then to test it? I also want to see if the discovery I made could substitute chi while hunting." As she heard Leo's words, Natalie suddenly had the perfect target for Leo to try his new bow on.
"Alright then, we'll go for a tusk Giant. Try to keep up since you're not using chi, and don't hold us back." Leo readily agreed and went to prepare. Many of the other hunters thought he wouldn't be able to keep up with out chi, but when Leo recalled the feeling he had earlier he as able to trigger the partial transformation. What surprised them was that not only was he able to keep up with them, he was even using his claws to grab branches as they moved through the trees.
After a while of traveling in a direction he hadn't gone yet, the forest suddenly opened up to a fielded area. And Leo once again, was able to experience child like giddiness.
{MAMMOTHS!!}