Walking through the scattered sunlight under the thick canopy of the White Popper trees, Casmir slowly walked to the boundary of Ellaris Park that marked his home.
Still sifting through his own thoughts, trying to find the perfect solution to his problems only to drown out any realistic options with stress worry.
'I need to be strong.' He thought, yet how would he grow that strength?
Was it through combat training? Cultivating his Qi energy? Discovering new Knowledge?
Casmir circled around and around as he worried about his family and those he loved, what if they encountered a ferocious beast one day? Would he be able to protect them if he neglected his cultivation to focus on gaining knowledge? But what if that knowledge could save them?
Various worries and hopes raced through his mind, unwittingly bringing him great stress and apprehension towards the future.
Finally, Casmir exited the shaded forest and arrived in the open grassland brightly lit by the evening sun that resided behind Casmir's home.
As the light hit him, a gentle voice call out to him, the sudden change pulled Casmir out of his thoughts for a moment.
"Casmir!" Rose called out from the small wall surrounding Casmir's home, she was clearly waiting for him.
"Rose?" Casmir said questioningly.
"Why are you waiting for me out here? The wind is pretty cold out here today."
Rose stood up and walked to Casmir, taking his arm in hers as they walked into the house.
"Well I knew that you would be having a long day today... I wanted to see you as soon as you got back." Rose said with a smile as she lowered her head.
She did want to see Casmir however it wasn't just to welcome him home, she wanted to talk to him about marriage but she didn't know how to bring it up.
Oblivious to her thoughts, Casmir smiled when he heard Rose, he leaned into her and kissed her deeply, as thanks.
After a brief flutter of affection, they walked through the garden and into the house. Casmir brought Rose to a small side room in the house with a large lounge chair with enough room for three people, he just wanted to rest her for a time.
Rose noticed that Casmir was quite sullen and unresponsive as she spoke to him about a few minor things on the way, when they sat down Rose questioned Casmir about his day.
At first Casmir didn't want to bother Rose with his thoughts, he told her about his day as if nothing was bothering him.
However as Rose asked him more questions and showed a clear concern for Casmir's safety, he started opening up.
He told her about the complex feelings he felt when he stared death in the face, he explained his worries about the future and what he wants to achieve.
Will he be strong enough? Will he be able to cultivate to a level he needs to?
For the last couple of weeks while Casmir was training, he was drained both physically and mentally, constantly cultivating day in, day out, effected Casmir's will and motivation more deeply than he realised. If Casmir had to train like this for months or even years, he didn't know if he could keep it up, regardless of the Life Giver Orbs gifts.
"Stop!" Rose suddenly called out as Casmir began spiralling around his worries.
Rose didn't realise that Casmir was under this much pressure until now, she had been thinking about their future from her own perspective and didn't even consider Casmir's worries.
He had never shown any deep concerns like this before, if anything Casmir seemed happier than ever, he was engaged and curious about cultivation. Even though Rose saw the fatigue in Casmir's body when he came home, after only a short rest he would be as energetic as a child.
Rose knew what it was like to feel such pressure, she had run away from the pressure and problems in her family when she was younger, so she knew what Casmir was feeling. Her choice, was to run and brush everything aside, to this day she still held regrets to her past choices and she didn't want Casmir to do that to himself.
She knew better now.
Rose got up and sat down on Casmir's lap, straddling him face to face, her apple cleavage lightly pressing on Casmir's chest.
"You're over thinking things Casmir, if you feel like you can't continue doing something, it's ok to stop. Take a break from your training for a while and just relax... here, I think you'll enjoy relaxing like this.." Rose explained as she wrapped her arms around Casmir's head, bringing him forward into the soft cushions that protruded from her chest.
Casmir's face pressed softly into Rose, for a moment Casmir felt a heat rise inside of him but he realised that satisfying his carnal desires wasn't what he wanted right now. He wrapped his arms around Rose's body, closed his eyes and just rested for as long a time that Rose would give him.
Rose spoke in a gentle, soft voice to him "It's all about balance.. If you work too hard.. then you lose motivation and a desire to be better... If you don't work enough... you let down those people around you."
Rose gently brushed her hand through Casmir's bushy hair, helping him to relax him further.
"For the rest of this week and next week... come home early if you can. You shouldn't need to train as hard as you did before because you'll be having normal then.." Rose suggested.
"Ok.." Casmir mumbled.
"Whenever you need us, me and Elena are here for you... If you want to talk.. we'll talk.. If you want some love... we'll give you love.."
Casmir lightly rubbed his head on Rose, he didn't want to admit it but Rose's gentle and loving words sent a chill down Casmir's spine, as his eyes grew slightly watery.
Casmir tightened his grip on Rose's body as he.
"Thank you.. I love you..."
Rose smiled beautifully as she heard that, she couldn't help but remember how she felt when Casmir spent the night with her not too long ago.
She woke up to Casmir absence and she felt so cold and stressed, yet moments later he came back, having only left to spoil her with a nice breakfast.
That warmth she felt when she saw him was tantalizing and the weight she felt lifted off of her changed her entire view of Casmir, in that moment she truly loved him.
Now, she had the opportunity to give Casmir that same love.
After a long quiet embrace, Casmir let go of all his previous thoughts and Rose too let go of her worries about marriage.
'If Casmir wants to get married, then we'll get married, if not, it doesn't matter because we'll still be together.' She thought to herself.
While Casmir was resting in Rose's embrace, he suddenly remembered something.
He slowly leaned back from Rose and looked down at her navel, he touched his hand against Rose's belly and gently rubbed.
Rose giggled as she felt Casmir's hand and placed her hand on top of his.
"Hehe, can't wait to meet them can you?" She asked.
"..mhmm.. It's going to be a long time yet, isn't it.." Casmir said as he looked at Rose, as if she could speed things up a bit.
She patted Casmir on the head before saying.
"Hmph, you'll have to wait and see. In the mean time you can use this as motivation, every day you go to the academy and work hard, I'll let you 'check up' on them." Rose said almost like a real mother, protecting her child.
Casmir shook his head at her and smiled, then suddenly his hands reached out for Rose's waist and he grabbed her tightly.
"Ahh!" Rose screamed as Casmir lifted her up like she was a pillow.
He gently laid Rose down on the chair before he climbed on top of her and began 'attacking' her weak points, his hands grabbed and squeezed while he gently kissed Rose's neck.
"Oh.. Casmir.. ah.. what are you doing..." Rose softly said, fully aware of what Casmir wanted to do.
Casmir said nothing as he caressed Rose's body for a short time, he gave Rose's one last kiss before he suddenly stopped and quickly got up off of Rose, leaving her pining for more.
"Ahem.. I'll see you later tonight. I couldn't leave without teasing you a little bit.." Casmir explained with a sly smile.
Rose quickly realised she had been taken advantage of, Casmir had deliberately lit a fire in her without quenching it properly.
She quickly jumped up, hoping to grab Casmir and tease him back, but she was too slow.
Casmir quickly ran out of the room, leaving behind a few words of... comfort.
"I'll come for you later.. "
Rose was naturally unsatisfied, she made a short "Hmph!" sound as she crossed her arms unhappily.
However contrary to her outside appearance, she was quite happy internally. She was already thinking of idea's to tease and satisfy Casmir with later.
Sure enough, she soon left the room and made for Casmir's bathroom, to 'prepare' herself...
==========
After that heated engagement, Casmir made his way to Elena's room. She had previously told Casmir that she would be sorting a few things out and that when he got back, after the tests, he should come find her in her room.
As Casmir walked down the corridor leading to Elena's room, he realised her door was already open. Casmir quietly approached it and snuck his head into the room to find Elena facing away from him tending to some indoor plants.
Casmir was feeling quite playful at the moment so he quietly snuck into her room and stood directly behind her before he reached out his hands.
However just before he hands could strike, Elena spoke out, striking a fatal blow.
"Casmir. If you continue, you'll be tending to your own garden this week.." She said in a cold voice.
Casmir quickly retracted his hands and instead, slipped a quick kiss onto Elena's neck as he asked her about her day thoughtfully.
As for the consequences she insinuated, that was something neither of them desired.
Elena put down the small pair of secateurs she was using as she turned around, smiling at Casmir for making the right choice.
"It's been quite boring actually.." She said as she leaned in to Casmir and gave him a kiss back.
However as Elena did so, she smelt something on Casmir, namely Rose's perfume.
She was slightly jealous for a moment before she shook her head, knowing that it couldn't be helped.
"Have you seen Rose already since you got back?" She asked.
Casmir nodded saying "Yeah, she was waiting for me when I got back. Come to think of it, I think she might have wanted to talk to me about something..."
Casmir went on to explain that he had spoken to Rose about his day and she had openly helped him.
"I wanted to stay with her for a little while but I want to talk to you about what happened today." Casmir explained.
Casmir brought Elena over to his bed so they could talk about everything, this time Casmir didn't hide anything about his day. He told Elena about everything from his near death experience to the strange vibrations he felt from the Life Body Cycle.
Elena was more experienced in cultivation that Casmir and Rose so she understood more about what Casmir had gone through today. She smiled happily as Casmir explained everything like a child returning from a field trip.
Back and forth they spoke, Elena explained something to Casmir and then Casmir explained something to Elena.
Eventually they arrived on the topic of the 'Will resonance' state.
"Perhaps the Life Body Cycle's additional affect enduces this state? It's too coincidental to be something else.. you did say you can only activate this state while using the Life Body Cycle, right?" Elena said.
"Yeah, I think so too.. but from what the instructors told me about this state, it shouldn't have anything to do with abilities or techniques, it's purely about an individual's insight into controlling Qi energy and the body." Casmir explained.
Elena thought about for a moment before she spoke.
"..It's strange.. but I guess it did come from that Orb... I don't think we can understand it right now. Perhaps you'll understand it as you master the Life Body Cycle to '100%'.. whatever that means.."
Casmir nodded and agreed with her, then he grabbed Elena's hand and asked her in a serious tone.
"Elena.. I know this might sound a bit selfish but.. I want to train you.. you and Rose.. to defend yourselves. Fighting against that ferocious beast made me realise how weak we really are, Let me train you in combat.. not everything, just enough for you to defend yourselves." Casmir asked without a smile, he took their safety very seriously.
Elena was surprised at Casmir's seriousness, she wasn't against learning to defend herself but she always thought she might learn it during her time at the academy.
"Are you ok with doing it yourself? I could learn it at the academy or.."
"Let me teach you.. I might not be great right now, but Zaya, my partner during the test, is a fully capable warrior. I'll learn from her and teach you two." Casmir explained.
Elena could see the intensity in Casmir's eyes as he spoke, she knew he wouldn't take no as an answer.
She smiled and she placed her hand on Casmir's face.
"Ok. You can teach us, I'll talk to Rose about it but you need to talk to her first."
Casmir let a sigh of relief, he didn't think Elena would reject him but he was still concerned about her reaction.
With that out of the way, Casmir started to talk to Elena about less serious issues.
A little while later, they went to the kitchen to have some dinner. Felicity happily served them some freshly made pie, they didn't eat it together with the rest of the family however, Casmir wanted to pamper Elena a little and not have to worry about his quirky grandparents.
Elena enjoyed their dinner and asked Casmir to stay with her for the night, unfortunately Casmir had prior arrangements and he could only disappoint her.
He promised to give himself to her through out the day tomorrow, Elena reluctantly accepted as Casmir coaxed her with a few gentle kisses.
Soon enough, Casmir was walking back to his room hoping to rest for a moment before he went in search of Rose.
However when Casmir opened his door, he found Rose lounging seductively on his bed wearing a thin white dress that was almost see through.
"I've been waiting for you, you know?" Rose said seductively as she loosened the straps on her pure looking dress.
Suddenly, a pair of milky white devils revealed themselves to Casmir, stealing his eyes away from his control. These alluring devils swayed from side to side like hypnotic pendulums, unwilling to be ignored...