The catgirl tilted her head to the right, moving her ears again. Only a question mark above her head was missing.
"My eyes are usually brown… why are they green? And now that I take a closer look, the gem on Vurtalis' hilt is also green…'
"It was already like this when I found you."
"How is it possible?!"
"Drayd, you are fine!" Raidha's voice sounded next to me.
My cry of surprise seemed to have awakened the sleeping princess and, like a madwoman, she jumped on me even though she was hurt herself. That made my whole body ache even more.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Let me go, all my body hurts! You idiot, think a bit about what you do!" I reproached her while living a hell between her arms.
"Ah! Sorry. Wait a minute, your eyes!"
"Yes, my eyes… I already noticed."
At that moment we realized something. Apart from the bandages, we were in underwear.
"Waaaaaaaaaaa!"
Raidha's scream was drowned out by the sound of the meaningless blow she gave at me.
"Shit… why are you hitting me?! You are the one who jumped on me in underwear… I should hit you instead!"
"It was an instinctive reaction… Where are our clothes?!"
"Your clothes are a bit broken, but I suppose can be fixed. On the other hand, Drayd's is completely in tatters. Wait here, I'll bring you some new clothes," Mirthia replied.
She came with what seemed to be the typical clothes of that village. She gave me a simple t-shirt and long pants of a muted yellow color. The fabric appeared to be made of flax or some similar weed. They seemed to have been crudely crafted. Their seams were quite rough and did not look extremely comfortable.
"Thanks… but… these pants have a hole in the ass!" I said as I lifted my pants in front of my face.
"Sure, for the tail."
"We don't have a tail… I think it will look weird…"
Anyway, I did not say anything more and accepted it gratefully. Better have a hole in your ass than go naked around there.
***
A couple of days passed and surprisingly my wound healed enough to let me at least get out of the bed and walk again. At first I did not understand the cause of the green color of my eyes, but after seeing that amazing recovery I understood a little. Apparently, I had obtained a very strange power, one capable of healing horrible wounds as if they were mere scratches. Unfortunately, little by little that power became weak and it was not enough to heal me completely. Anyway, I couldn't help but be thankful for allowing me to recover to such an extent.
The pain in my ribs was reduced enough to let me breathe normally and I no longer bled from all holes, so the organs seemed to have "solidified" again. The only dangerous thing left was that finger-sized hole in my abdomen. However, it also didn't bleed and seemed to be closed enough to not threaten my day-to-day life.
For the first time I left that house to observe the village. From what Mirthia had told us, I already knew we were in the middle of a forest, but I didn't expect what I saw.
The village was built right in the middle of a large clearing, between a lot of trees of considerable size. Some rose more than five meters above the ground, forming a leafy ceiling of deep green that covered part of the village. The diameter of their trunks was also so great that I could barely hug them. Some I couldn't.
I took a deep breath. Clean air filled my lungs as the fragrance of grass filled my nostrils. A relaxing feeling that I hadn't been able to feel in many days brought a slight smile to my face.
"Finally some peace…"
I looked at the houses around me. There would be between forty of fifty rudimentary houses, made mostly of wood and straw. Most were on the ground, but some were also built on top of the thickest and strongest trees. None of those houses had a secondary story. Everything pointed to the fact that it was a village of a tribe far away from civilization. Anyway, it was not an unpleasant place.
'We are far from modern areas or is every place like this?' I wondered as I sat near the door.
The lifestyle of the village was as simple as its buildings. They lived on what they found in the forest, both plant and animal. Mirthia appeared to be some kind of hunter and soldier of the tribe. She was also capable of using magic like Raidha. She kept the village out of harm at the same time that was in charge of hunting. She was also kind and everyone loved her. A person… or cat… magnificent. Quite the opposite of me.
Raidha, unlike me, was still quite injured and couldn't move normally for the moment. That showed how incredible was the power that had awakened inside me.
'If I could find out where it came from…'
I was still lamenting how useless I was. I narrowly escaped death. If that situation was repeated, I would probably not have the same luck.
"How useless you are, again delegating your problems to others," I foolishly repeated the last words that voice said to me, voice that had not spoken to me again since that moment.
I looked up at the sky, remembering how Raidha used that black energy to defend us and how those Katyde released terrifying rays of light.
"I can't continue being like this… Id something similar happens again…"
I got up and snorted loudly.
"Magic, huh? If I was able to use something like that…"
I decided to change, to get stronger, but I was not sure how. However, it's not like I can't do anything. I decided to swallow my pride and ask for help. After all, I had someone capable enough at who I could ask for help.
"Decided… I'm going to learn magic!"
With such resolution I went back into the house and waited for night to fall on the forest.
***
After Raidha fell asleep, I went with Mirthia. I was resolved to make her help me, both with sword and magic. I needed to learn to fight no matter what. I walked over to her bedroom door and knocked three times. She got out right away. I was lucky that she still hadn't gone to bed.
"Meow, what do you want?" she asked with a yawn.
"Mirthia… maybe it's too much to ask after you saved my life, but… would you teach me to fight?"
She turned her head and began to scratch her left ear. Then she crossed her arms and began to speak in a very serious tone.
"What happened to make you ask that all of a sudden? You are not even completely healed and can hardly walk. What are you thinking about?"
"I'm too weak… I am not good with the sword, I have no aim, I do not know how to use magic… I always avoid problems and fights. Until now I have lived running from everything that bothered me… Therefore, I have to change."
"If you always lived this way, why do you want to change just now?"
"You saw our state when you found us… That happened because I didn't have enough power and we survived by a miracle. I am sure that if that situation is repeated we will not make it out alive again."
"Meow… is that really why?"
I was quiet for a few seconds and closed my eyes, really thinking why.
'Why have I decided this? Because I don't want to run away anymore… Because there are times I will have to fight… Because I want to be able… No…'
I opened my eyes and confidently answered.
"It's probably because… I want to protect Raidha."
Mirthia stared into my eyes silently, with a serious look on hers. For a few seconds we were both in complete silence, neither our breathing was heard… Seconds after which her face began to deform.
"Pfffffffffff ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, typical, ha, ha, ha, ha. Oh, how funny, ha, ha, ha. Oh, oh, I'm dying ha, ha, ha," she began to laugh while holding on to the door frame to keep from falling.
My face became all red at her laugh. I didn't expect her to react that way to my honest answer. She was laughing so hard that seemed to hurt her stomach and was about to start rolling over the floor.
"There was no need to laugh…" I said in an embarrassed voice.
"Yes, yes, of course, ha, ha, ha. Do you want to be something like a knight, boy? This nonsense makes me very funny. Anyway, it's okay, I guess I can teach you a bit. Of course, don't expect too much from me, I'm not a good teacher and I don't know how to control myself very well. I hope you don't die during training, ha, ha, ha. It would be a shame after saving you, meow."
And so I began to regret my decision...