"I'm glad you've returned safely, father." Katy said, giving a slight bow. The man nodded and looked at Val.
"You chose a Nightstalker?" He asked, inspecting her.
"Yes, she is a chosen and we decided it would be a good choice for me." Katy said opening Vals stats for the man to look at. He looked over them for a moment before nodding.
"Well, considering the difference in your strength, you will need to train her very carefully." The man said, dismissing Vals status screen.
"Of course father, I'm starting her physical training tonight." Katy responded with a nod.
"Good, you can use my personal training room." He turned, giving his attention to the others in the party..
"Thank you." Katy said as he turned, she received a slight nod, but nothing more.. Rose Shifted closer and rested a hand on her shoulder.
"That went well I think." She said in a whisper to Katy.
'That was a good interaction. It was straight forward and down to business, not what I would expect from a father daughter interaction.' Val thought, still resting on Katy's shoulder, her wings tight around her form.
A few minutes pass with Katy and Rose staying on the outskirts of the party sitting on a patio.
"How long did mother say I must be here?" Katy asked Rose in a whisper.
"We just have to be here for an hour longer dear." Rose said, putting a reassuring hand on Katys back. Katy let out a large sigh.
"I guess I can survive an hour." Katy said, grabbing Val off her shoulder and setting her on the edge of the railing. Val Stretched her wings and let out a chirp. Katy started to rub Vals head softly.
'Having my wings closed like that is more uncomfortable than I thought.' Val considered while Katy continued rubbing her head with a thumb. The group of three sat outside for a while alone, looking at the night sky. Val being able to see it fully for the first time. 'The sky is so clear.' Val stared at the stars, her eyes filled with wonder and amazement.
Val glanced back at Katy and flapped her wings then went back to looking at the stars. "Do you want to fly around?" Rose asked, leaning close to both Katy and Val. Val chirped and flapped her wings again. Rose looked at Katy expectantly.
"Go ahead, just don't go past the fence and don't be gone for too long." Katy said, rubbing Val's head slightly again. Val took off soaring through the skies. She flew all around the estate seeing a small greenhouse behind the house. She flew closer, seeing the door open, she peeked inside.
"What are you doing out here little one?" Val heard a voice say behind her. She turned and saw a large lion looking creature, its fur a soft cream color, eyes shining similar to the sun, and mane matching its eyes, looking like the outer ring of the sun.
'It looks like a sun lion or something, damn that's so cool.' Val thought and let out a small chirp as she hung from a nearby branch.
"Can you not speak yet, child?" Val nodded in affirmation. "No matter, as long as you can understand me." Val nodded again. "A few questions then. Are you a familiar of someone here? Are you a chosen?" Val nodded yes to both questions. "Do you know which god/goddess has chosen you? Will you lead me to your contractor?" Val nodded no to the first and yes to the second.
Val dropped off the branch and started to fly back to where Katy was, the lion-like creature following her closely. Val landed on the railing and looked down, the lion no longer there.
"Lady Kathrine, is this your familiar?" Val turned, seeing the lion up on the balcony with them.
"Sól, why are you here? Yes, she's my new familiar." Katy said standing next to Val a hand out in front of her defensively.
"You have chosen a smart one, train her well. And your father has requested I stay out of the party, to eye catching for him." The lion said, glancing towards the party. He sighed and leapt off the balcony. "If you need help training her feel free to ask."
"Of course thank you Sól. Actually, we are starting her training tonight if you would like to join." Katy said, her face shocked at the offer.
"Yes I shall be waiting for you after the party." The lion's body shimmered and he vanished.
"Did Sól just offer to help train Val?" Rose asked in shock.
"That's what it seemed like but why would he? He hates other familiars. Also, Val? I like the nickname. " Katy looked at the spot where the lion had vanished, then to Val. "I guess you're more special than I thought." Val tilted her head puzzled.
"Well, I guess Val is gonna have quite the training tonight." Rose said, putting her arm around Katy.
"Looks like it, but she might hate us in the morning." Katy said her hand resting on Roses.
'What do they mean I might hate them? What is this training?' Val reasoned looking at Katy and Rose worried.
The group took a few more moments outside and joined the rest of the party. Val assumed her spot on Katy's shoulder, her wings tight against her body once more. They stayed In the party mingling and talking with the other guests for the next hour.
"Please excuse us, we have to go and start the training of my familiar." Katy said, pushing away from a group of men surrounding her and Rose.
"But lady Kathrine, the party is only starting." A man in his late 40s said.
"Yes, but we have to get to training as soon as possible." Katy stated, moving past the crowd of men and walking to the door, the group following like hungry animals. "The training is private." She said in a firmer tone, the men grumbled and dispersed back into the crowd.
They walked through the house going into the basement. In the basement they continued through hallways passing multiple large metal doors. Stopping at the end of the hallway Katy walked up and pulled out a small medallion. The wall glowed and started shifting. It opened into a large hall filled with weapons and a large crystal in the center.
"Alright, Val go touch the crystal in the center." Katy instructed, Val chirped and flew to the center crystal, touching it.
"Good to see you're starting so soon." Sól said, appearing in a flash of light. The lion walked over to Val in the center of the room and placed a paw on the crystal with Val.
Val felt her mana getting drawn into the crystal. The crystal glowed and a low hum sounded in the room. "Ummm Sól, are you sure about doing that?" Rose said, glancing at Katy worried.
"I said I will help train, and that's what I intend to do." Sól affirmed, the hum growing louder and the crystal glowing brighter. A pulse of magic flowed out and enveloped Sól and Val, stopping just before Katy and Rose.
(You are entering a training crystal for participants {Valentine: Nightstalker}, and {Sól: Eclipse lion} the difficulty will be set for {Valentine: Nightstalker}. {Sól: Eclipse lion} will take the role of mentor/administrator for the duration of the training session. Good luck.)
Val opened her eyes, the training room gone, replaced with a forest in the dead of night. She looked around, seeing nothing but trees. "Valentine, this will be the first step of training. I need to see where your skills are to train you effectively. Hunt the creatures here and survive as long as you can. Time here passes differently than on the outside, so by the time we are done with this training regime only 20 minutes will have passed in the real world. Good luck." Val heard a voice that was similar to Sól's but more feminine state.
'Well let's get to it then.' Val thought as she began to fly between the trees. She moved fast and quietly, her stealth skill active, hiding her presence. She landed on a branch, looking towards a group of sleeping deer-like creatures, their skin more like bark than actual skin and fur, their horns looking like twisted and warped branches.