Mimin's already four years old.
Time sure passes by quickly these past few years. Ever since Mimin joined our Family, it's been like this.
Every day passes, with the four of us and the Elders doing our best to take care of Mimin. She may have inherited the Silverwolf's and White Fox's abilities, but we still worry about her growth anyways.
She gives off this sort of... impression? That she's a weak child, and she constantly needs to be protected. She also looks like a weak child.
We all know that's not really the case, though. She can easily survive by herself in this forest, despite her young age. She's already smart and powerful, after all.
But... Because of that impression she gives off, I just can't help but worry about her.
Ever since Mimin turned four years old, she's been training her physical strength and stamina, as well as her magic control, every day.
I know it's just pointless worry, but! What if she injures herself somehow? Or she loses control of her magic and it backfires on herself? Mimin needs to learn to take better care of her own body!
I don't know what the Elders were discussing with Mimin last night, except that Mimin got her clothes back from the White Fox Elder. But, today, she seems really motivated to learn about stronger magic. She's also started physical training since early in the morning, before the sun rise.
My goodness, how can I not worry about her when she's like this!? It really doesn't help that she looks like a weak child either...
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Ah! I just realized something. Mimin's already grown so much, in terms of both body size and amount of fur, that using water magic to clean herself isn't efficient anymore. I should get her to take proper baths, starting today.
She's currently practicing her control over her magic, except this time it's a much larger amount, about the same size as herself.
(Mimin! I need to tell you something, so come over here.)
(What is it, Mama wolf?)
As I called out to her, she slowly absorbs her magic back into her body, and walks over to me.
Really, Mimin... What if you end up using too much magic and become exhausted? Can you not make me worry about you, for just five minutes? Haah... Anyway, back to what I was saying.
(I want you to start taking proper baths, starting today.)
(Baths? What's that?)
Yeah... Thank goodness I remembered about this. It would be bad for her otherwise.
(It's a much more efficient way to get yourself clean, compared to water magic. You have grown larger, and grown a lot more fur now.)
(Sure...?)
(Let's get over to a river first, I'll talk about it then.)
Well, I say that, but somehow Mimin keeps her clothes really clean, so I suppose she only needs to clean herself this time.
...
After leading Mimin west from the hill, around some trees, and a specific patch of tall grass, a small lake can be found in the middle of all the tall grass. There's also less trees around here, so it's slightly spacious.
(We're here, Mimin... Hm? Mimin? Where are you?)
(Over here!)
Ah, there she is. She's waving her hands so that I can see her in this tall grass. Since that's the case, Mimin's height now seems to be around 80 cm? The tall grass is about 90 cm tall.
Isn't Mimin kind of small in size, compared to the average four year old? That's slightly worrying...
(Alright. This is where you'll be getting yourself clean, starting today, so please get used to it. So, take off your clothes and get into the water.)
(Yes...)
The tall grass conveniently covers Mimin completely so nobody can see her from further away. I already made sure that there's nobody nearby, though.
Also, she seems to be wearing a pair of white panties now. I don't know when she got them, but I'm glad that the White Fox Elder already settled that.
Once she's done putting her clothes away in storage, she gets into the lake and-
"It's cold!"
-immediately notices how cold the water is.
(Use your heat magic to warm up the water!)
(Yes!)
This is going to be really awkward, isn't it? This whole thing about teaching Mimin how to clean herself... But it has to be done sooner or later.
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It's already been hours since Mimin took her bath. The sun is setting, but Mimin's still continuing with her magic practice. It's the same amount of magic as today morning as well, the same size as her.
Mimin's magic capacity is really high, for a four year old child. I'm still worried about her exhausting her magic though.
The White fox, whom Mimin refers to as Papa fox, is nowhere to be seen this time. Isn't it irresponsible of him, to give Mimin this magic practice and not be around to watch over her? He's not usually like this...
That's why I'm watching Mimin for now. Just in case something happens to Mimin. Just in case.
"Haah... Haah..."
Mimin is sweating a lot, and she just started breathing heavily. Is she getting tired from maintaining control on the large amount of magic?
"...No! I... Haah..."
As Mimin was saying that out loud on reflex, her magic seems to be slowly escaping her control, and after a few seconds, the remaining magic dissipates into the air at once.
Mimin just lost a large portion of her magic, and she didn't manage to recover it. It's not good for her if she continues using magic.
"One more time!"
But, just as I expected, she refuses to give up and tries to use her magic again.
(Mimin, stop! It's dangerous for you to continue!)
Her ears twitched as a reaction to my warning, but she continues to force out more magic anyway. When the magic gets to half the size as before, all if it dissipates into the air again.
"Kh!"
(Mimin!)
I find myself rushing over to her to support her, when I see her fall on her knees. It seems like she's weak now, unable to find strength to stand back up.
"Haah... I'm fine, Mama wolf... Haah... Let me continue..."
(You're clearly not fine, Mimin! Stop!)
She forces out the last bit of her remaining magic, and of course, she fails to do anything with it.
"Ow! Haah..."
Now that Mimin's really weak, she can't do anything, and leans her back against me to rest.
(You can't even use telepathy anymore. That just shows how exhausted you are, physically and mentally.)
"B-but..."
(...Why are you so stubborn, Mimin? Why do you have to force yourself to do this?)
"..."
(Mimin?)
She's been silent for a while now, so I turn around to look at her and... It seems like she's asleep.
Haah... Mimin's fine for now, at least. I'm watching over her this time, but if this happens when she's alone, she's going to be in trouble.
Mimin should already know the consequences of losing too much magic, though. Why is she so stubborn about getting better at magic?
(Mimin. Do you know how worried I am, about you? You never take care of yourself, and your body... Good grief. I can't always be around to care for you, you know?)
I know she's asleep, but I still tell her anyway. It's something that I've been wanting to say to her for a long time.
"...Yes."
Hm? Did Mimin say something? She must be sleep talking, then.
Haah, for now, I guess I'll accompany her until she wakes up. Or I'll wake her up when it's time for dinner...
Next time, I'll have to teach Mimin to not make me worry so much about her, all the time.