ISOLA POV:
"You didn't have to be so fierce with him." Dania said with a chuckle as Marshall fled the house.
I turned to her and replied, "As long as Mika is my patient, she is my responsibility. His interference is setting things back."
"I'm sure it has nothing to do with your distaste for males."
"That's entirely beside the point." I shot back. This clever chipmunk who seemed to be entirely motivated by food, was actually quite observant.
"Whatever you say, then." She said with a smirk. "I brought you guys some food, and Mika's stuff is over there" she said, pointing to a huge backpack.
"Sure, thanks. Now, I will be getting back to work." I dismissed her.
She didn't leave, however. She wandered around my place, tidying things up.
I went over to my cluttered study and picked up the book I found last night. It was a journal by a Majin apprentice who died some time after the Great War. He was witness to all manner of things and did some less than ethical experiments with his master.
Mika is an exceptional case, truly remarkable. I have always loved studying and unraveling mysteries. Her case is unlike anything ever documented. If I can solve this then I will be the greatest alchemist in history! I checked the cupboard where I keep my tinctures. The formula I made to force her beast transformation would be finished distilling in a week.
Meanwhile I need to come up with a formula to help strengthen her vitality. Or maybe just help speed up the recovery since she will be working with Ishi every day. I grabbed a few of my alchemical books and herbology books to start coming up with a formula.
Dania eventually made her way into my study to dust the shelves and help organize my stacks of books. I let her be, it was nice having some company and she didn't interfere with my work.
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MIKA POV:
I was knocked to the ground for the hundredth time. I laid on my back in the grass, covered in sweat and dirt. Ishi has no mercy during training. It's like she uses this as some excuse to vent her repressed anger or something.
It's past mid day, getting close to dinner time. She's been beating me up since morning and I've only been able to take one small break all day. My stamina is at it's limits. She started by throwing things that looked like coconuts at me and having me dodge them, 'to train my reflexes' she said. Then she taught me the 3 basic moves for close combat fighting and some defensive maneuvers. She made me practice those over and over… She has a piece of bamboo that was long like a ruler, she would whack me with it when my posture or form wasn't perfect. Once it was 'acceptable' we moved on to sparring.
"Please, Ishi, no more." I panted heavily as I sensed her approaching.
This last blow I took sent me flying and broke more of the buttons off my tunic. My tunic was opened all the way down to where my ribs flared, but I had a makeshift bra on and it was just us girls, so I didn't even bother to fix it.
Exhausted, I just laid there like a starfish on a rock and prayed for mercy. When she didn't move or say anything I decided to open my eyes and peek. She stood, frozen on the spot, staring at me. I couldn't make out her expression due to the shadows that fell across her face, but I could guess that she was disgusted with just how useless I was.
I decided it was useless to try to impress her, I don't think my body will be able to take any more. "Can we call it for today?" I asked her, using my most pitiful expression, "I don't think I can take much more.."
I heard her swallow heavily, and she still didn't respond.
"Ishi?" I asked, squinting up at her, trying to read her expression. I'm guessing that she is trying her best to not just kick me and tell me to get up.
I groaned and rolled over, my stomach was sore from getting the wind knocked out of me so much. I propped myself up on my hands and knees and prepared to get back up. "Ugh, okay. I'll keep trying. But at this rate I'll have no energy to make it home." I struggled to stand up, my whole body was sore.
To my surprise, Ishi crouched down and supported my forearms with her own, and helped me stand up. I looked up at her to say thanks and noticed her gaze. She was staring at my chest. I was covered in sweat and dirt and my ripped shirt and messy hair probably made me look frightful. She must feel bad about ruining my top, she has been staring it in silence for a while.
"Ah-haha, don't worry about this," I said as I adjusted my top to cover me up to some degree, "I can fix it later, I'm quite good at sewing." I smiled up at her to reassure her that I was not mad or worried about it.
She seemed to snap out of her daze as she cleared her throat and said, "Yes, well, you will need something clean to wear anyways. I will show you to the showers and get you something while you wash up."
"What about you..?" I asked, quickly realizing that she didn't even break a sweat. Not a single hair of hers was out of place. "Ah, never mind… haha." I said awkwardly.
She had an odd expression to my initial question, however she quickly recovered. She went back to her usual cold self as she led me across the training yard to the exit.
"You need to learn how to control your strength. I've watched you make a fool of yourself when coming and going from the city." With this comment I blushed. "It's not hard to do- so pay attention. Keep your eye on your target, feel your strength through your entire body, trust your body to make the jump without over thinking it."
My strength has grown so quickly that I haven't been able to accurately gauge how much of my strength to use when jumping, which has led to my failures. This world is full of magic and things I might never understand. I decided to take her advice and forget everything I thought I knew. Forget physics, math… forget all the logical things and just go with instinct.
I took a deep breath and cleared my mind. I crouched to gather strength for the jump.
"Too low, don't couch so much." I heard Ishi say from behind me.
I adjusted my stance, but it felt a little awkward. I was trying to trust my instincts but I felt nervous.
I heard an exasperated sigh from behind me and I felt Ishi grab my hips and adjust my posture. "Like this." She ground out, sounding like she was losing her patience. She didn't remove her hands from my hips right away, which made me a little nervous.
I could just imagine her losing her patience and throwing me. That would be too embarrassing.
"Umm.. Thanks.." I muttered, as she stepped back reluctantly.
I stared at the platform where I wanted to land. I visualized landing with grace like Ishi does. I held the posture and felt strength flood to my legs. 'Eye on target.. strength.. and jump' I was thinking to myself.
I pushed off from the ground and leaped straight up into the air, like way up into the air. I wasn't even close to my target! I was looking down at the platform, cursing myself for being a fool, as I felt myself start to fall back towards the ground.
Ishi leaped from the ground at the perfect moment to intercept me and launch us both into the platform. To be exact, she did a mid air tackle and landed on top of me on the platform. When my back hit the wooden deck I felt all the air in my lungs be forced out.
I looked up at Ishi, who was perched on top of me, her tail swishing. "You don't listen." She said.
"I did!" I said back.
"I said feel the strength in your whole body, not just your legs, you imbecile." She chastised me as she helped me up again.
"Ugh.. sorry." I said back.
She led me between the huts and trees, to a long building in the corner of the city. I followed her in silence the whole way, holding my ripped shirt closed. She pointed at the building and simply stated, "Showers."
I nodded and walked towards them.
"I'll be back with some clean clothes. You can toss those." She said with hint of disgust.
I headed inside and found it was a lot like a locker room. They had bathrooms sectioned off and the showers were wide open in rows. Lashwood really has some nice amenities. I happily discarded my clothes and prepared for a nice warm shower.
The water was so nice and warm and felt so good on my aching body that I ended up spending more time than I realized in there. I even took the time to wash my undergarments and wring them out.
I turned off the water and remembered that I didn't have a towel. I stood there soaking wet and naked, wondering what to do. I already tossed my dirty pants and tunic aside, I didn't really want to put them on again after cleaning up. Thankfully it wont take long for my underwear to dry. I carried them with me and found a dry place to hang them. I noticed there was a stack of towels in the corner sitting on a bench. I went over and grabbed one and started drying my hair.
I didn't hear the door, or any footsteps. But at some point while I was in here, Ishi must have stopped in with some clean clothes for me. I saw a clean outfit laid out near where I hung my underwear. I finished drying myself off and grabbed the clothes and got dressed.
I know that the fashion here is a little different, but this outfit was too much! The top was small and tight, fitting like a push up bra with halter straps. And the bottoms were a skirt -if you could call it that. It was a thick gold encrusted belt that sat just below my hips, and two long pieces of fabric which covered my backside (leaving a little gap between the belt and middle of the back side of the fabric for my tail) and my frontside. The sides of my legs and hips were totally exposed! I ended up not wearing my bra with the outfit since it was so tight already. I braided my hair and ripped a piece of cloth from my old tunic to make a hair tie.
I tossed my old clothes in the garbage and bashfully left the building. Thankfully it was just us girls, so it wouldn't be too awkward. I still couldn't help the blush that was on my face, it was too embarrassing to be seen in something like this.
Ishi was waiting for me outside. She was perched on the railing, looking out over the woods. when she heard me approach she turned around and jumped down onto the platform. She looked me over, quite openly, as if she was admiring her handiwork. He tail was flicking back and forth.
"Thanks for the clothes." I said, embarrassed to even call these clothes. This felt more like a f*tish thing.
"They suit you." She said, with a rare smile on her face. "Wear them tomorrow too."
My face reddened at the thought of wearing these while sparring. It would expose everything!
"They are easy to move in, you will find them to be much less cumbersome than those rags you wore today."
"Oh.. umm.. okay." I said, still embarrassed but not daring to go against Ishi.
There was a brief silence where Ishi just stared at me with an odd expression. Then she pointed to a bridge nearby and said, "That will take you back to the plaza. Go back to Isola's."
With that she stalked away. Before she was completely out of earshot, she called over her shoulder, "Don't forget. Tomorrow at dawn. Otherwise I will come drag you out there like I did today."
I felt a cold chill run down my spine at the thought of doing this again tomorrow. I obediently headed back to Isola's place.