'Arella, listen to me. Don't take it as a dream. This is all real. Sometimes, the truth lies deeper than what meets the eye. The rabbit you imagined was real. Your eyes have limitations. That is why you couldn't find the rabbit with your eyes. But your senses are limitless. The sounds you felt took you to the rabbit." A strange seriousness wrapped Nicholas's words.
Arella couldn't help but be drawn to him. She trusted him. Although they had only met twice, with him, she felt a pull, a connection that she couldn't deny. A connection, which allowed her to trust him, to depend on him, and to follow him.
Doubting his words or taking them lightly never crossed her mind. When she saw his somber look, something inside her told her that she must listen to him.
"It was my fault. I acted before thinking. But now, since we are already here. It's better if you listen to me. Arella, time is running out. You have to catch up soon. If you miss this chance, I don't know when the next eclipse will happen."
"I don't understand. What do I need to catch up to? And for what is the time running out?" She was filled with queries. And along with it, a tension crept up her spine.
"You only have to train harder. Your body is too weak. Stop depending on your organs. If you follow your senses, you will know everything. Just like the hunger you felt earlier. You were hungry, right? That is why you felt the movements of the rabbit." Nicholas tried to explain the cause and effect.
"So, as long as I close my eyes, I will be able to feel the senses?" She was trying really hard to decipher all this and keep up with his chain of thoughts, but everything was too cloudy for her to see clearly.
"Yes and no, it is not only about the eyes. It is also your limbs. Start giving in to your senses. Feel what you really want. Don't succumb to protocols or procedures. Be free. And feel what you want."
"I..How do I?" She wanted to know.
"Shh…as long as you follow your senses, you will know. Not only senses, you need to hone your powers as well." He spoke in a calming manner.
"My…my powers? But my aptitude is so low. No matter how hard I try, I just can't upgrade. My beast tamer powers are just average." She lowered her head and reported her status. She felt embarrassed.
"You should always remember that before a beast tamer, you are a beast. Feel your beast spirit. It is inside you. Connect with it, and your powers will improve." He knew that his shield was weakening by now. He should leave, otherwise, his presence would be exposed to the outsiders.
"Remember, connect with your beast. Train your powers and follow the senses. And stay near Adrian, his beast can help yours." He hurriedly spoke. And then, he transformed into the Hawk and flew upward.
"Madam, are you done with the lunch? Shall I clean the table now?" A distant voice fell in her ears. She instinctively moved in the direction and found the cook coming towards her.
She looked up, and the hawk was long gone. Even the shadow couldn't be found.
"Oh my! Where did this come from?" The cook's eyes caught the sauce smeared meat and asked curiously. She remembered she didn't cook this today at all!
Arella looked at the table, and on it was half of the rabbit meat.
"I will clear it at once." Finding something of an unknown origin was a shock to her. But the main thing was to get rid of it in this instance! Though it looked appetizing, who knows what's under those tempting sauces?
"Let it be. I want to eat it." Arella absentmindedly spoke and then, touched it with the spoon. She tore a piece and ate it. The fragrance assaulted her senses, and the seasoning tasted divine. The hunger she had felt earlier resurfaced.
"You go, I will eat it first." She instructed the cook and then started devouring the meat. It was heavenly. She hadn't tasted anything so finely prepared to date. The rabbit meat was perfectly cooked and seasoned.
No wonder he took half of it away! No wonder he looked so obsessed with it!
This was indeed a nice catch! She took in the aroma, touched the tender meat, and licked the sauces. It simply tasted divine. She wanted to save a piece for Adrian as well. But by the time he could come, the piece would go bad. So, she ate it all without any remorse.
It was only after having the rabbit meat that she felt a little full. Once satisfying her stomach, she went straight to her bedroom.
Sitting cross legged on the bed, she tried to remember his words.
'Connect with the beast, train my powers, and follow the senses.' She mumbled. It wasn't a traditional training method. No one in the beast clan emphasized on connecting with the beast spirit.
Connect with the beast. The beast spirit was too pristine, and only people with higher aptitude could connect with it. She, at her current level, couldn't even feel her beast, connecting with it was a gone case!
Next was to train the powers. The last time she tried the power of a beast tamer, she had almost overdrawn. But at least it was a success. She wanted to train too, but the problem was that she was only a D ranked tamer, so, she wasn't allowed in the expeditions and healing centers. There wasn't any means through which she could exercise her powers. There wasn't any outlet!
Hmm, leaving it behind, the next step was, to 'follow the senses'. For this, she didn't have any particular idea either. Should she simply do what she did today, close her eyes, and listen to the movements?
But he had said that it was not only about the eyes. It was also about the limbs. What exactly did he mean by that? Were my limbs restricting me? She really didn't know what to do.
Wait. There was one more thing! He asked me to stay near Adrian! Why did he say so? Does he know that Adrian is a Dragon? Is Nicholas counting on a Dragon's innate powers to lead any beast? But how is that even possible?
Nicholas was an outsider. He shouldn't have known of Adrian's beast form. Moreover, it was practically impossible for her to be near him at this moment! No matter how much she wanted, she couldn't bypass the military restrictions!
So, she cannot connect with the beast, cannot go to Adrian, cannot upgrade her aptitude, and doesn't know how to follow her senses! She felt she was an impossible case!
Also, he had claimed that the time was running out. But what for? And he also mentioned the eclipse. What does her life have to do anything with it? Exhausted, she lay on the bed and fell into a deep slumber.
When she opened her eyes, it was too dark. And in the darkness, her red ruby flashed brilliantly. Just like a flame in the darkness. It looked hypnotic. She raised her hands to touch it. It was too hot. But she could easily hold it in her palm.
The heat was comforting, but after some time, the heat started to become unbearable. Her hand felt like it was set on fire! She wanted to remove her palm, but her palm refused to move! Pain coursed her veins, and flames started engulfing her palm.
Stop, stop, she desperately wanted the flames to stop crawling and consuming her palm. Then, after some minutes, the flames started dying out on their own. And she once again fell asleep.
Unbeknownst to her, a hazy flame like red mark had appeared at the back of her neck.