Luciano got out from the pit he was in barely able to pull himsekf up because of all the sound and looked at Ferrardo who sat on his tail watching him.
"I'm done" he announced picking up his shirt that had been discarded on the floor then dusting it and using it to wipe his face.
"Oh" the old wolf answered still in the same position and Luciano sighed. After living with the old man for quite some time he could tell that the man answered so non-chalantly because he had already forgotten what it was that he told the young man to do.
"You told me to dig until I found solid earth" he explained walking towards the man and pulling him up fully aware that the old man's legs had gone numb from sitting in that position for a while.
'you'd think the old man could take care of himself with how the confidently took me in despite being in a desert' Luciano thought shaking his head mentally. A small, shaky thump on his head caused by the old man hitting his rickety walking stick on him brought him out if his thoughts and he focused his attention on the shaky old man he was supporting
"I said take me to the pit" the old man reiterated and Luciano nodded despite the guy not being able to see and took him to the pit. Standing at the edge of the pit, he set Ferrardo down so he was sitting with his legs hanging down the pit
"Be care-" before Luciano could finish his sentence, Ferrardo jumped or rather let himself fall down the pit startling Luce who crouched down prepared to grab the old man
"Wait" Luce paused his motion allowing the man to fall in obedience to the man. Surprisingly the old man landed softly in his feet his walking stick held up so it was facing the sky
"Ever since you came here, you've been obediently digging this pit regardless of how ridiculous the task seemed -"
Luciano smirked "oh, so you were aware how ridiculous your assignment was" he muttered cheekily
"Your patience, resilience as well as blind trust have amazed me and as such, your training will progress to the next stage" Ferrardo completed ignoring Luciano's remark. Luciano raised a brow
'training?' He thought, he had just thought the old man needed a youngster to do chores for him since they were in a desert' and all.
"One of the characteristics of awakening your inner beast is the ability to draw out and resonate with nature's essence" Ferrardo moved his right leg forward while bending his left and hunching his back drawing a circle in the ground with his right feet
'inner beast?.....awakened?.....how'd he know I'm not a simple human?' Luciano's thoughts were running wild but he chose to say the most logical thing that came to his mind
"We're in a desert old man, what nature am I supposed to draw essence from?"
Ferrardo smiled
"The desert is also a part of nature you know, just a little bit lacking in life" he explained
"So I'm supposed to give it life?" Luciano asked raising a brow
"No not life itself, life force. No one is capable of giving life except God" Ferrardo replied and Luciano simply nodded, a gesture that told Ferrardo that the youngster wanted him to demonstrate.
Ferrardo breathed out slowly, he dropped his walking stick and stretched out his hands in front of him and locking at the fingers. He took in a deep breath then let it out slowly. The air around his moth crackled with static electricity turning cold. His right palm faced down and Luciano looked down at the hard dark ground directly beneath it.
The ground began to crack, at first it was a tiny barely noticeable split, then it became a medium crack and soon the ground pushed apart from each other as if bearing the same poles of a magnet repelling each other and even more slowly a purple orchid began to sprout. Luciano's eyes widened in pure shock while Ferrardo remained focused on making the plant sprout. Finally the plant was completely out of the ground and Ferrardo smiled, Luciano pulled an 'are-you-serious?' expression on his face staring down at the plant
"Isn't it beautiful?" Ferrardo sighed "It's been a while since i saw something other than orange and sand. This is relief for my eyes" he nodded self-appreciatingly to himself
"Yeah the flower's alright, but why is it growing out of a cactus?" He asked, Ferrardo looked up at him and smiled
"Maybe it's a plant-borg"
* * * * *
"Dad! I have arrived" Luna announced bowed down whiled the guards pulled open the giant double doors to the also guant throne room.
Valentino stared down at his daughter with a questioning look as he was yet to receive any info on her progress from elder Lyka.
"What are you doing here?" He asked and Luna sighed
"I deemed it necessary that I come home as Elder Lyka was not taking the job or training me which you assigned her seriously" she replied causing Val to furrow his brows in complete understanding of the situation. He shook his head in exasperation
"Well, as she didn't release you herself, you will be going back dearest daughter. However, I won't force you, I want you to go of your own accord. That way I know and she knows that you are ready to learn" He said, Luna's head shot up quickly to look at her father
"But dad~" she whined, Val rolled his eyes planning to ignore her but then his nose twitched as he smelt another's scent on his daughter, "Elliape why-" "dad, tell me about the Luna's Chosen" Luna quickly cut him off due to the fact that she felt what he was about to say was absolutely useless.
Val squinted his eyes in annoyance but still sat down back anyway
"The Luna's Chosen is the Luna's mate. Contrary to the belief that the Luna can only have one mate for eternity until death, it is said that the Luna's true mate is one whom is chosen by her moon spirit and thus the name, Luna's Chosen" he explained crossing his legs. Luna folded her arms in thought
"Chosen by her moon spirit huh? So there can only be one Luna in a pack"
"Yes"
"And her fated mate is not usually her true mate?"
"Yes" Val nodded
"So then finding the fated mate is useless?" Luna asked
"Not always, the fated mate might turn out to be the true mate" Val replied
"And what about power? How is it shared?" Luna tilted her head, Val felt his daughter was very cute but could only clear his throat in an effort to control himself from tackling and cuddling her.
"The Luna's lower is usually shared with her mate, the gift of sight and healing being the only ones kept peculiar to her, however, the Luna's fated mate will never be able to manifest or assist the Luna in manifesting any of her powers" Val explained.
"So wait, Lunas need their mates to manifest their powers?" Luna asked suddenly feeling annoyed as Luciano's face popped up in her head. Val smiled unaware of this annoyance which made Luna feel he was mocking her.
"Yes, afterall, mortals were never created to stand alone"