Returning from the baths, healing his injured hand and cleaning himself at the same time, Siu felt refreshed, and admittedly, very hungry. Feeling the same way, agreeing with his thoughts of food, Arya hopped down from his head, shaking herself hard enough that her fur puffed up like a bristled brush, being shiny and clean.

  “Where is she?” she asked, marching to the center of the room, going in circles, getting impatient. “I deserve food!”

  “Patience,” Siu replied, rolling his shoulders and flexing his fingers, noting that they no longer trembled, even if two of them still stung just a little bit. The pain wasn’t sharp, but it showed he would need to keep working his bones, quite literally, making every millimeter of his skeleton stronger than it was now.

  "I was patient in the bath!" Arya answered, sitting down, looking up at him, "Master, when she comes, I'll guard the meat, you go, play with her, take her to the bath or something."

  "First, you are talking nonsense," He looked back down at her, answering out loud, "Second, I am not trusting you with the food. Even if we go away, I am dragging you along, because if I leave you here, you will eat yourself to death."

  "Master," she narrowed her mismatched eyes at him, “Nobody dies from food. That's impossible!”

  "Not for you." He snorted, shaking his head. "Come,” he told Arya. “We’ll set up the campfire outside for roasting our dinner.”

  That was enough to cut Arya's answer short and cause her to rush outside between his legs, straight into the twilight. Outside, the air was cool, still pleasant, making Siu take a deep breath before stopping a short distance from the cave entrance in a shallow clearing. It had an old, half-crumbled stone wall on three sides, and old soot stains on the rock, hidden under the wild grass, as if other disciples had once used the place for the same purpose, which was exactly the case.

  “This will do,” he nodded to himself, beginning to quickly make a little bit of clearing, and bringing over some thick logs to sit on.

  He arranged stones he borrowed from the crumbling remnants of a wall into a small ring, then stacked dry branches and some kindling, and soon he produced actual flames with just banging two rocks together, which made Arya watch with awe.

  "Whoa! Master, how did you do that?!"

  "Magic." He answered with a joke, but apparently... she took it seriously.

  "You should use it in a fight. I had seen one of my own do it... It opened his mouth and went... ROOOAAAAR! Then a big fireball came out, and booooom, everything and all was burning and... big WOOSH!"

  "..."

  Suddenly... He was very much aware of what their fight may bring against something like the Icecrown Stag. Hopefully, that creature wasn't like the one Arya was imitating now, standing on all fours, tail pointing towards the sky, giving out adorable roaring noises with her high-pitched voice. Then, before he could let out a sigh, a pair of footsteps crunched on the leaves, coming up on the path behind them. Siu’s head tilted slightly, standing up so the approaching Neya could notice him when she emerged at the edge of the clearing, a massive, wrapped bundle in her arms.

  “I’m not late, am I?” she asked, half-joking as she walked over.

  "THE MEAT BRINGER HAS ARRIVED!"

  “Arya, stuff it,” Siu replied out loud, glancing at her, before hurriedly taking away the heavy bundle from Neya.

  "Oh, I will, Master!"

  “Don't blame her, I bet she is hungry,” Neya said with a laugh, glancing at the tiny fox, jumping up and down around them, turning into a gazelle all of a sudden.

  “I will be watching you,” she declared at once, “But you cannot steal the best piece. You can have Master's meat, but the big one is mine!”

  "I guess she said something to me?" Neya laughed again, looking at Siu, who was simply twitching his eyes.

  “She has a foul mouth.” He snorted, sitting down on one of the rocks, and soon, he had meat skewered on the metal rods that Neya had brought along, starting to roast the finely prepared meat over open fire.

  “What’s that?” Arya asked, seeing that Neya also pulled out some little bottles.

  “Spices,” Neya explained, as if she understood what she asked, giving them to Siu, who began seasoning the meat at once.

  "You thought of everything, hm?" Siu asked, making her blush but nod proudly.

  "I did this a lot back home." She began, but then quickly added, "Well, not that many times, but... when we were celebrating something. You?"

  "Did it a lot." Siu chuckled, watching the fire, "But not at home, we were too poor to always eat meat. But, when I left and was on the road, I did hunt for myself so... Yeah. I roasted a lot of things."

  "Oh... I see." Neya nodded, not knowing how to ask more or if she should. "Do you..." She tried, "Miss them?"

  "My parents?" Siu looked at her, "Sometimes. When I remember them, but I was selected to join a sect at five... So I am also used to being alone."

  "What?!" Neya yelled, jumping to her feet, only to fall back, her lips trembling as she pointed at Siu, "W-w-w-what?!"

  "It isn't a secret." He continued with a smile that was partly amused and partly... sad. "People just don't ask about it and do their theories left and right without confirming anything, I guess. True, I won't tell it to anybody, but you? I don't mind sharing it."

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  "Hauh..." she blushed again, trying to sit back up, nervously playing with her fingers, "You... That's... Wow... But!" her head snapped to him, "But then...? How?"

  "I never cultivated." He answered, understanding the broken question, and even Arya was listening curiously, not interrupting. "I grew up in a backwater place, devoid of most essence. My future Master once explained to me that it was because the sect that once ruled the region grew greedy and harvested too much, without allowing the world to heal, which triggered a cascading effect that turned the land uninhabitable for cultivators. The natural flow of essence became too thin and sparse, and it will take centuries to build back up... Or even more."

  "I never heard something like this..." Neya muttered, lost in his story like a little girl, listening to a fairy tale, "So... Even then, you had talent, despite everything?"

  "I was discovered because the three sects that currently make their home there had a battle near my village, and the one surviving member of that fight was nursed back to life by my parents. Turns out, he tried to sap us for lifeforce, but... Apparently, he sensed something in me when he was about to do it, so he took me back, and things went from there."

  "He... He wanted to do... what?!" Neya turned white in the face, but Siu just shook his head.

  "It isn't a rare thing, you know..."

  "..."

  "Luckily, this sect has higher morals than the ones where I grew up." He chuckled, making Neya finally come out of her shock.

  "If they... Took you... Why didn't you... cultivate? I don't get it..."

  "I wasn't allowed." He answered with a smile, glancing at the sizzling meat, seeing an old face appear in his memories, one that was strict yet warm and caring, punishing him when he deserved it, always explaining why... Not just... doing it. "My Master was from a time when he remembered how it was before the collapse. We don't force children to mature before their bodies are ready, and a five-year-old is anything but that. If I were to cultivate from that age, I would have ruined myself, grown into a mess, a deformed cripple. Or I would have simply died."

  "Oh... Y-yeah... t-true!" She blushed again, as suddenly she remembered all the things she read and heard but forgot from the shock of Siu's past.

  "He helped me fake it," He chuckled, sounding nostalgic, "For long, long years, he taught me a lot, but only in theory, only pushing my physique to its appropriate limits, keeping me in shape and gradually preparing me for the future. Of course, the repeated failures I made when officially tested caused me to get thrown out of the sect."

  "I'm sorry..."

  "Don't be, that was what we both wanted." He glanced at her, shaking his head, "Not long after that, I left, heading towards a random direction until I would find a place that recruited disciples and, well... here I am."

  "I would have never guessed..." She muttered, looking at him, honestly amazed.

  "Yep." He reached out, turning one of the skewers, causing Arya to spring to her feet, salivating already.

  "No wonder you advanced that much at the start, you were bottled up!"

  "You could say that," He agreed, as both of them smiled at each other, making Neya's eyes light up, "Speaking of bottling things... firebombs.”

  "Hm?" Siu blinked his eyes, tilting his head. “You’ve been thinking about it?”

  “Of course,” she began rummaging in her robes quickly, then slowed herself, clearing her throat. “You said you needed fat, bladders, sacs, and glands. So I started paying attention to what I see on the tables...” With that, Neya pulled out some notes and handed them to him. “If you want reliable ingredients,” she explained, “I have collected some suitable targets for you.”

  “Single-horn Lizard." Siu read the first note out loud, "They live near warm stone outcrops and shallow caves. Easy to hunt, has a cowardly disposition, and their fat acts as a quick-burning liquid after being processed. Their bladders hold pressure well, but to create one flask, you’d need several for a proper set.” Flipping it over, there were even notes on where to read more about them, "You are becoming an encyclopedia, huh?"

  “I work on a lot of creatures," she blushed, looking away, "and there's more, because if you don't want to repeatedly search for them, I added ones that could yield more, only, they are a bit harder to kill."

  “Like this, Ash-Wasp?” he grimaced a little as he continued to read, “Their nests can be dangerous, they usually attack in swarms, but their venom sacs are volatile, and their secretion ignites violently when mixed with oils.”

  "Yeah, but... I hate bugs..." Neya muttered, shivering a little.

  "Me too," Siu hummed, shuffling another slip forward. "Red-eyed Squirrel." Then he looked up, thinking this was a misspelling.

  "Read on..." Neya chuckled, seeing his reaction, "It's not a joke."

  "Let's see..." He muttered, "Rare... Aggressive...? A squirrel?" He looked back up again, then back at the paper, "Stronger than a Truffletusk?! How?”

  "Their mouths." Neya explained, "They store all kinds of things in there, and when threatened, they spit it out. I heard disciples getting injured, because they got sprayed with venom and acid."

  "Huh?" Even Arya looked at Neya, not wanting to believe what she was saying.

  "True, I swear!" She laughed, shaking her head, "I hadn't seen one yet, but the disciple, who told me about it, swore that the squirrel had a dead snake-beast's head in its, um, mouth-sack or whatever! Then it popped the thing out, squeezing it and the venomous acid in the snake sprayed directly at him! He swore it took multiple medicinal baths to recover fully as half of his face had melted off..."

  "..."

  "Their mouth..." Neya added, seeing Siu's disbelieving expression, "Would be the best for what you need... Multiple firebomb flask containers could be made from just one."

  "I'll... think about it..." He mumbled as he turned the skewers, listening to the meat's sizzling sound. "Heh... Squirrels..."

  "They are big," Neya added quietly, "They easily grow to be the size of a goose..."

  “You’ve been working hard,” he said suddenly, making her blush, "Thanks, Neya."

  "Ah...!" She flinched, not knowing where to look, “I… I wanted to... Be useful. I… don’t like feeling useless,” she stammered a little, opening up because if Siu had shared his background, she was going to do the same, “Back home, everyone had roles... If you didn’t work, you didn’t eat. Same as here... But still, we helped each other, it was... warm. Familiar. Here...? Everyone’s chasing strength, so much so, they don't care about others, but you helped me start out... So. I... I liked that.”

  "You're welcome," He lifted a skewer, handing it over to her, making Arya howl in anger, but only until she got her own, not even caring about how hot it was, tearing into it with utter zeal.

  “And…” Neya’s fingers fidgeted with the metal rod, stealing multiple glances at Siu, “You could have ignored me as the others did. So I want to… return it, I guess.”

  "I know how far a little helping hand can go, so don't sweat about it." He said, finally raising his own to his mouth to bite into it. "Not everything must be a competition or rivalry; we can have friends. I just make sure to select them well. One actual friend is worth more than many fake ones."

  "You could tell that to Lorean," Neya answered under her breath, making Siu smirk, nodding his head, hearing her continue, “It’s still lonely sometimes,” she admitted, "Living alone is fun but... Haaaah... Yes, I feel proud that I moved out, as I’d suddenly become… stronger.”

  "But you are used to having people around you."

  "Yeah... I was never alone before."

  “Yes.” He shrugged, "I know what it feels like, but we adapt. You will, too."

  "Hopefully... Well, I am still adapting, it seems..." She joked, looking at the fire while biting into her portion, slowly chewing on it.

  "Which is fine." Siu encouraged her, enjoying their little talk, the night settling on the trio while sitting around a warm campfire, "We can take our time, Neya, plus... You are not alone tonight, are you?"

  "Ehehehe," She blushed again, but didn't hide it this time, looking into his eyes, "No. I am not."