I sat down at the diner table with Oria, Rosea, and Edea and had lunch with them. I still had plans for Oria and Rosea today and I could see the excitement on their faces. After eating lunch with them, Edea decided to clean up around and allowed me to continue playing with Oria and Rosea.
I noticed Oria following Nebula around. I was also curious to know where Nebula was headed. Rosea followed us and all three of us followed Nebula around. She wandered into the city and we followed her.
"Does she normally do this?" Oria asked.
"Not from what I know, but she does seem to wander about at times." I answered.
Some of the women watched us as we followed Nebula. Nebula sniffed some of the flowers and walked off. Oria looked at the flowers and noticed the gardener tending to the flowers. The gardener smiled at her then handed her some flowers. She looked at me and smiled. I waved at her and nodded my head.
"On kid duty today." I chuckled.
"I see." The gardener chuckled as well then went back to tending to the flowers.
We continued to follow Nebula and she had wandered into the market area of the city. We watched her and the women looked at her in awe.
"A wild horse?" A woman asked.
"No, that's the King's horse. That's Nebula, but where is the King?" Another woman asked.
"He's right there with his children." The woman pointed.
Oria and Rosea wandered ahead and I followed behind them looking around. I looked ahead and noticed they had stopped then Nebula stopped walking. One of the workers gave Nebula a carrot and Nebula whinnied as she happily ate the carrot. She trotted off once more and we followed behind her.
She stopped and looked around, sniffing the air. She walked off then headed inside of the Sacred Forest. She had sensed Ixia's aura and began following it. I looked at Rosea and Oria.
"I guess this-"
"Let's go in! She might've sensed something cool!" Oria said.
"But we don't have Rockie! We can't go in!" Rosea said, afraid.
"But we have dad, plus you have a Beast! I want my own Beast!" Oria said and crossed her arms then looked at me. "Please dad? Can we go in the forest?"
I looked at her and closed my eyes. "Mmm...alright." I reluctantly said.
'Edea is gonna kill me when we get back home..' I thought to myself.
"Yay! Let's go inside of the forest!" Oria skipped into the forest.
"H-Hey! Wait for me!" Rosea said then hurried behind her sister.
I rubbed the back of my head then followed then inside of the forest. Ixia's Crest shined on my hand and I looked at it.
"I think I found your horse." Ixia giggled.
"Yeah, I know, but that's the least of my worries. Oria has the spirit of a warrior and we are now in the forest looking for Nebula and she wants her own Beast to take care of." I replied.
"I can gift her a Beast. There are a lot of Common and Rare Beasts where I am. She can definitely pick one up." Ixia said.
"Mmm, I'll swing by then." I said then her Crest disappeared.
Oria looked around and smiled, listening to the sound of the ambience of the forest. She looked around and heard a bit of an aggressive bleating then stopped. Rosea and I also stopped in our tracks. A panda walked from a few bushes and a Crest shined on his forehead. The panda had antlers and wings.
"A Rare Beast..." I said. "It's a Panda Species Beast."
Oria hurried behind me as well as Rosea. I looked at them then looked at the Panda Beast. I held my hand out towards the Panda and looked at him. The Crest of Ixia shined on my hand.
"It's alright. Would you mind being my daughter's Beast?" I asked.
The panda looked at me then closed his eyes and lowered his head. He turned around then walked off, refusing the offer, but did agree to not attack if he ever sensed her again.
"What did he say?" Oria asked.
"He refused the offer, but at least he won't attack us anymore." I said.
"Aww.." Oria said sadly then looked down.
"Don't worry, a friend of mine said she's willing to give you a Beast of your own. Follow me." I said then held my hands out to Oria and Rosea.
They took my hand then I followed the aura trail by Ixia. They looked around and noticed we were entering a Mythical Beast's territory deep in the forest. They looked ahead and noticed Ixia and Nebula wandering around Ixia's domain. I smiled and looked at Nebula.
"I'm glad you came and your children are in one piece." Ixia giggled. "I spoke to some of the animals and only three agreed to be Oria's Beast, but she can only pick one."
Oria looked at Ixia and noticed Three Rare Beasts. One was a Rabbit Species. The rabbit had bat wings for ears and had smokey gray fur. The beast was known as the Black Rabbit. It was one of the many kinds of Rabbit Species. The second was a Deer Species. She was a majestic deer with markings around her eyes and her antlers curved around her head like a halo. She was known as the Angelic Doe. The last was a Bear Species. The bear was completely blue and had a Crest on the top of her head. She was known as the Spirit Bear.
"Whoa..." Oria said then walked to the three Beasts.
"Tell me more about Rockie." I said and looked at Rosea.
"Rockie is a Rare Beast known as the Plant Turtle of the Turtle Species. He has a bud on his back and it grows into a flower during the day time. He rarely moves around, but when he does he can move very fast. I called him Rockie because of his pre evolution. His shell was pure soil and rocks then the bud grew when he evolved." Rosea said.
"Evolved huh...I wonder what I could call Therris's transformation if Legendary Beasts can evolve." I said.
"Mom told me not all beasts can evolve and if they can evolve, their highest form is Rare Beast. Mythical and Legendary Beasts can't evolve, but do have transformations like you do." Rosea said as she looked at me.
I nodded and watched Oria choose between the different Beasts. I looked at the three Beasts and they all patiently waited for her decision.
"I choose her!" Oria said then pointed at the Angelic Doe. "I really like her!"
The Angelic Doe bleated and nuzzled Oria. Oria giggled and rubbed her new Beast. Ixia smiled and nodded then clapped her hands then the other two wandered off in the forest.
"I like her beautiful fluffy fur on her chest and the way she looks so angelic. I'm gonna call her Cotton!" Oria smiled and looked at Cotton.
"That's a cute nickname." Ixia smiled. "Take good care of Cotton okay?"
"I will! Thank you!" Oria giggled and noticed Cotton wanted her to get on her back.
I chuckled and helped Oria get on Cotton's back. I then helped Rosea get on Nebula's back then we all went back to the castle. Edea looked up from the outside garden then noticed us. She noticed Oria on the back of Cotton then looked surprised. She hurried over to me and grabbed my arm, pulling me to the side.
"You took them inside of the Sacred Forest?" She asked.
"I know it was dangerous, but come on. Look how happy she is with her Rare Beast to call her own. Rosea has one so why can't she get one." I smiled at Oria and Rosea, watching them ride on the backs of Nebula and Cotton as they headed to the indoor garden.
"It's dangerous to go there with them! The wild beasts could've hurt them a lot!" Edea said.
"I would throw myself into danger for them. I won't let our kids get hurt, but they are growing. They can't be sheltered from their home forever. They need to learn and grow, just like we learned and grew. The more you keep them inside the less they will know about the wonders of the kingdom." I said. "I know it's scary, but we can't let them be blind forever."
Edea looked at me then sighed and I placed my forehead on hers. "Okay, love. I understand."
I smiled and stroked her hair. "Give me a kiss."
She smiled and kissed my lips and I kissed back then we broke the kiss.
"It's gonna be okay. I won't let them get hurt okay..?" I reassured her.
"I trust you my love.." Edea smiled and looked into my eyes.
I smiled and nodded then pulled away. "Come let's meet Cotton."
"Cotton? You named her that?" Edea giggled.
"What? Heavens no, I wouldn't name her something so simple." I chuckled and walked with her inside the castle.
"Nebula is a very simple name." Edea laughed softly.
"Oh? And Essu isn't?" I smirked and looked at her.
"It isn't!" Edea said.
"It's literally four letters." I chuckled.
"Whatever!" Edea smiled and rolled her eyes, holding my arm.
Lythia got off the boat to Yesha and wore a cloak. She held her son's hand, who also wore a cloak. She looked around and noticed multiple knights holding their weapons toward Lythia. A man walked forward and the knights made way for him.
"Ryoma isn't available at this time, Lythia." My brother said.
"I know. That's why I'll wait for him here in Yesha, Takeo." Lythia said and took her hood off.
"Help yourself, but you realize once you've taken your first steps here, you will no longer be Yascean. Your alliance will be with the Yeshan people." Takeo said.
Lythia and her son walked forward. "My mind's made up."
Takeo watched her and looked back at her. A knight walked toward him and he grabbed his shoulder. "Put her under heavy surveillance. We will not have another Manami situation."
"As you wish, Your Highness." The knight said then walked off.