In the back of the wagon,
"Puu," Al exhaled. He was beat from the Mind Qi expenditure. His heart ached a bit as he watched Nientel recede. But, the anticipation for the future soon beat out the melancholy of the goodbye.
'I'm going to come back eventually, after all,' he thought.
The wagon skipped over a bump again, making the white canvas cover tremble. Due to the disturbance, his long hair fell into his face again. 'Alright! That's it! I'm cutting it.' he thought. From his backpack, he took out a first aid kit that had a mirror in it.
Al looked at himself in the mirror and took the bandana off his forehead to let his hair down. Only a little light came through the cover, but his peak Purification Realm realm eyes could still easily see.
The removal of the bandana revealed a tattoo on his forehead. The tattoo was a spell diagram, a very complicated one. Composed of thousands of small intricate lines and symbols, it pained Al's eyes every time he looked at it.
His mom had explained to Al that spell diagrams are the core of spells. they are like the language of Qi, they tell it what form to take and what to do. Each of these diagrams has a specific attribute it speaks the language of. The diagram on his forehead speaks to the Mind attribute which allows him to cast the 'Shape Self' spell.
The 'Shape Self' spell was his father's greatest treasure. The spell has two parts 'Display' and 'Obscure'. The projection he just used to talk to Dorian and mom was the 'Display' part. It showed a replica of the self, while 'Obscure' did the opposite, it hid the self.
He had used both of them during the fight with Rocky and Fatty. He hid with 'Obscure' and replaced himself with 'Display'.
As he began cutting his hair, Al did his best to not look at the diagram. He preferred it short so that it wouldn't get in the way during a fight. so he cut it very short on the sides while he left a bit more length on the top, for style. But, he did cut it short enough so that it wouldn't fall into his eyes.
He then put the bandana back on, hiding the diagram.
""Mooo!"" the oxen pulling the wagon cried out, putting Al on guard. Footsteps followed it, they were approaching the back of the wagon.
Al quickly put on the backpack and funneled the remainder of his Mind Qi into the Shape Self spell. He activated Obscure which turned him invisible. He hadn't exactly asked for permission for the ride-along, so Al thought it best to remain hidden.
The curtains of the white canvas cover were lifted, and behind Al saw two people. One was a tiger and the other an expressionless girl about his age covered in a blue riding hood. Yes, it was a tiger. Al couldn't believe his eyes.
On two legs it stood, its orange, striped fur hands lifted the curtain. Its body's mechanics looked human, only covered in fur, and with a tiger head. And, Al was also pretty sure he could see a tail swinging about.
The expressionless girl climbed into the back and went straight for where Al was standing. He noticed she had her eyes closed. Her straight path toward him made him panic a bit, for a moment he thought he had been detected, but after he quickly stepped aside she just walked past him.
He held his breath, trying to make as little noise as possible.
The girls opened one of the crates. A cold blast of air come out of it as she picked out a frozen fish. She tossed it to the tiger. She spoke some words Al couldn't understand. The tiger responded, but Al couldn't understand again.
'Are they speaking a foreign language?' he thought.
The tiger let the curtain back down while the girl stayed, she sat down in front of Al, leaning against the wagon's side. From under her side pocket, she pulled a carrot.
"Don't waste your Qi on that spell, I know you're there," the girl said.
'Damn, I messed up.' he thought.
"How?" Al said. He should be more alarmed but was too tired from the Qi expenditure.
"Well, your spell only hides you from sight. But, I've never been one to rely on it." The girl opened her eyes which revealed two empty eye sockets. "Also, that revolver shot wasn't exactly a cautious manoeuver. It hurt my ears."
"Makes sense, I guess." Al slapped himself inwardly, he should have been more careful.
Her expressionless face made a curious expression. "Shouldn't you be panicking a little more? You've been found out."
"I don't have the energy to run away, and I don't think you'll hurt me."
"Oh? Why?"
"If you wanted to hurt me, you wouldn't have sent the big guy away." Call Al crazy, but he thought a big Tigerman would be useful in a fight.
"And, what makes you think I need him to hurt you?"
"Oh you don't, but two is always better than one."
Upon closer inspection, Al sensed immense, hidden energy within the girl. The girl is at least in the 2nd Realm. 'She isn't in the Purification Realm, that's for sure,' he thought.
"Good point." She stood up. "Alright, I don't feel like you are much of a threat, and I don't want to kill an innocent. You can travel with us." The girl stood up and extended her hand toward Al. "I'm Mia. You must be Alexander Monet."
He shook her outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you creepy Mia."
"Can you blame me to have heard of you? you're a bit of a celebrity in your village."
Al thought about how he had annoyed everyone in the village one way or another as a kid. "Fair enough."