After traveling for what felt like an hour or two the density of the forest finally subsided as the trees were a little more spread apart allowing me to finally lift my head and release my back from its irritating tension,a few hollow logs scattered across the ground with the usual mushrooms and moss to go with it,mana beasts of all kinds could be seen sprinting and chasing after each other along with small families of some sorts.
Although I couldn't deny the gorgeous scenery my eyes constantly searched for any sign's that we were on the right track to Loridea, whether it was old tracks left from carriages or feint dust roads I looked for anything that pointed towards a city being in the direction we were dead set on as the beast didn't listen to any new path I tried steering it to.
'I should've just insisted on going on foot'
sighing I decided to give up and plan on ways to kill the beast whenever it decided to come to a halt out of exhaustion or lower it's guard however as time passed and the beasts stamina showing no signs of depletion I found myself being the first to be overcome with tiredness and exhaustion as my body reacted to minimize my boredom and anxiousness,it didn't take long till my head buried itself into the beasts large soft mane that cushioned my head like a pillow.fighting the urge to doze off I tried lifting my head however my body quickly snapped back as my eyelids became heavy and my vision eventually turning pitch black.
"-ELAINE!!"
my eyes now shot open I hastily stared down at my chest,a sword clad in red was now driven straight through it and my hands drenched in the same horrifying red colour as figures with their faces blurred out but still recognizable shouted pieces of my name.
"Curtis?"
my voice was surprisingly clear despite the state my body seemed to be in however the figures in front of me only kept shouting my name as they resorted to shaking me a few times,trying desperately for them to hear me the vision or dream slowly faded away and I was jolted up to my feet clenching my chest making sure it wasn't impaled which thankfully it wasn't.
my concern for my bodily state secured I turned my head left and right to find I was in yet another dense part of the never ending forestry with sunlight coming in like cracks,I'd been sleeping on a large conveniently flat rock with the item that the Roswaals had given right beside me however the Felis beast was nowhere to be found. Surprised by the thoughtfulness of the beast but annoyed at the fact that it just ditched me I took the item and slid of the rock fully ready to leave on my own till a large splash caught my ear.
nearing the source of the splashing out of curiosity I found the Felis beast with its tail raised high and it's legs submerged in knee height water at least for me searching and pouncing a few times at whatever was trying to avoid it within the small lake,splash after splash followed by growls and hisses of annoyance I watched in amusement as the Felis beast struggled to catch the submerged prey.
"loving the effort!!"
I shouted in sarcastic words of encouragement as the beast looked back and shot me a glare before turning it's attention back in the lake,shrugging and allowing it to go by it's hunting I stared at the item gifted to me and started unwrapping it from it's extravagant cloth.
A metallic obsidian like scabbard with letter "Y" engraved onto it I sighed at it's extravagance but thankful I had a weapon again and unsheathed the sword that was just my size,it wasn't as long as I was used to but the size was truthfully more fitting than the longswords I was accustomed to using,its silver blade glistened with 3 runes ingraved on the edge,smiling I swung the sword in a fast motion causing a whistle of air as the surprisingly weightless like sword cut through the air.
'just where did they get the money to make a custom sword?'
pondering on the question which was interrupted by another large splash with the Felis beast now staring at me with eyes no longer glaring at me but expressing cuteness behind it and ears drooping as it made light gestures to the lake,raising a brow I sheathed my sword and crossed my arms at the beast.
"you're not actually asking for help after being the worst means of travel ever right?"
the Felis beast kept it's cute gaze however I leaned back and shrugged giving it a short wave causing the beast to let out a huff of anger to my refusal,time flew by as I refused to fall into sleep in fear I'd be met with another nightmare of the past.
Lifting my head to the Felis beast that was still hard at work in trying to capture whatever prey was doing a good job at avoiding the now desperate beast, I lifted myself from the ground and unsheathed my sword as my stomach now growled at me to eat something.Practically beaming at my appearance the Felis beast was rejuvenated with a new sense of hope and readied itself for another attempt,I frowned at its obvious excitement and rolled my eyes as I threw off the coat and rolled up my pant as I scanned the lake for the prey.
A flicker and a flash I spotted a fish roughly the size of my leg dashing away from me before it's colour switched to obsidian as it camouflaged with the colour of the water,the Felis beast reacted instantly to the sight of the fish and assumed it's location when it had instantly camouflaged however the result ended in failure.
"camouflage.....this might be harder than I thought"
the Felis beast practically scoffed at my comment and waited for the sight of the fish once more,minutes passed by as I counted each one while scanning the lake for its distinct white colour.
Flash!!
reacting near instantly to the sight of white I twirled the sword in my hand and threw it directly at the fish however it sharply turned it's body moments before the sword could make contact,cursing under my breath at the failure I pulled my sword from the lake and gripped it tightly as the hunger inside me became irritated.
'12 minutes that's how long it's camouflage lasts,25 seconds before it can eventually use it again....gargh these are just numbers!!'
Kicking the water as I vented out my frustration I felt the urge to use a spell however as expected I was met with a spark of purple but nothing more.
"damn...its going to be hard getting used to the fact high class spells are impossible for me now,didn't Cale say my mana flame was almost dead that doesn't mean I can't use extremely basic mana skills like mana sense right?"
clinging to the hopeful idea I closed my eyes in concentration as I channeled mana from my mana flame which truly did look like a slowly dying flame,frowning at the deep blue colour of my mana flame I dispersed the mana inside me as far as I could in the shape of a dome.The mana went as far as 2 meters which was understandable at the stage of my mana flame but slightly frustrating.
'concentrate Yelaine, now where is this fish'
I was given a blurry but easy to understand outline of the part of the lake my mana sense ranged,large and small rocks with other miniscule creatures all outlined in blue.Patiently I waited for the fish to come in range as I could hear the splashing and roaring of the Felis beast trying it's best to capture the slippery target,time passed slowly and I could feel the range of mana sense diminishing as my mana was decreasing by the second,desperate I nearly decided on moving somewhere else till I saw it!!
the large fish outlined in blue swam slowly and patiently to my legs which I assumed was because of my body that'd been statue still for 20 minutes and most likely the fact it was camouflaged,smirking within my head I slowly tensed my body as I got ready to strike.
Slash!!
Bringing the sword just short of my leg I successfully stabbed it's back and dug my sword into the floor of the lake, making sure there was I'd caught it.
"caught you!!"
noticing the thrashes and my shouts of victory the Felis beast jumped a bit with a face laced with happiness to which I frowned and tilted my head while keeping a firm grip on the fish.
"who said you're getting any of this?"
*3 hours later*
Crackles sounded from the fire I'd made as I turned the fish ever so slowly, not wanting anything burned or undercooked.The Felis beast sat still with a mouth drooling so much that it caused a pool of saliva under it's feet,pleased with my sudden control over the mana beast I took a small piece of the fish and feigned a throw before eating the meat myself.
"you know if you listened more I might've thought about sharing half of this buuut sadly you don't"
taking another piece in front of the mana beast it's body twitched a bit as if irritated but slowly walked towards me, bowing it's head low enough for me to stroke it.
"this is a formal life time pact now got it?, break it and I'll eat you next I already have a good idea what Felis beast meat tastes like"
shuddering at my words I chuckled and gave it half the fish causing it to hurriedly scarf it down like it hadn't been fed in days,taking my own share of the meat I spotted a rolled paper drop from the pouch next to the saddle with a crimson ribbon tied onto it.
Curious and sighing at the absurdity of three gifts the Roswaals had given me I untied the ribbon and opened the paper wide to find a map of the entire region including Loridea,furrowing my brows as I read a sentence at the bottom of the map with Cale's name written next to it.
"The Felis beast will lead you straight to Loridea,it's a stubborn mana beast however it's navigation skills are second to none"
I glanced back at the Felis beast that was now searching the floor for any scraps it may have left and raised a brow.
"sure....."
sighing rolled back the map and tied the ribbon once more before placing it back inside the pouch and gestured for the beast to lay down.
"I'm not going to rest my head on the ground"
rolling it's eyes the Felis beast did as I said and I layed my head onto it's oddly soft mane,exhaustion trickling towards me and the mana beast I yawned and stared at the star filled night sky with a glowing crescent moon to fit.
"I just noticed you don't have a name, I can't just keep calling you with gestures"
the mana beast opened one of its eyes doubting my naming skills however I scoffed and pondered on a fitting name for my new partner.
"ha got it I'll name you Belrog,how about that I'm an expert right?"
Belrog huffed and closed his eyes dismissively.
"no fun huh?"